solderdude
Grand Contributor
My take on this....
In some cases it is just as pointless as opamp rolling. This depends on the design. You van have lower or higher gain (non overall feedback designs) or noise levels or distortion levels.
The main reason why tubes are user replaceable is not for rolling tubes but to be able to user replace them as they have a tendency to become defective after a while.
In this particular case it depends on the feedback used. Another aspect is a tube delivers output power and solid state an output voltage. So there are different clipping/overload characteristics which helps with lower power amps.
Not in an audible way.
When the goal is to design a good amplifier then driver stages should be low noise and have enough gain (is lower distortion). Output tubes are responsible for the output power so have a direct relation to that.
These different designs have different goals. The whole point of hybrid is to have lots more output power
Much easier to do this with SS output devices
Because they look really pretty and are fun to design amps with. It is really easy to use them and few parts are needed.If tube based amps can be made to avoid "tubey sound", why bother with tubes instead of solid state?
If a tube based amp is designed to avoid "tubey sound", what impact does that have on tube rolling?
In some cases it is just as pointless as opamp rolling. This depends on the design. You van have lower or higher gain (non overall feedback designs) or noise levels or distortion levels.
The main reason why tubes are user replaceable is not for rolling tubes but to be able to user replace them as they have a tendency to become defective after a while.
If a tube based amp is designed to avoid "tubey sound", does it have any impact on the output impedance, current, or other factors that differentiate tubes from solid state?
In this particular case it depends on the feedback used. Another aspect is a tube delivers output power and solid state an output voltage. So there are different clipping/overload characteristics which helps with lower power amps.
Does it matter at all if there are tube rectifiers in the circuit?
Not in an audible way.
Between driver, power, and rectifier tubes, which are have the most impact on the sound, assuming a "non tubey" design goal?
When the goal is to design a good amplifier then driver stages should be low noise and have enough gain (is lower distortion). Output tubes are responsible for the output power so have a direct relation to that.
If tubes don't have a sound, what's the point of hybrid tube amps?
These different designs have different goals. The whole point of hybrid is to have lots more output power
Much easier to do this with SS output devices
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