watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Disclosure: my university education was in applied physics and signal processing, and I currently work in the software industry, so my knowledge of electrical engineering is not zero, but I'm no EE. So apologies in advance for any technical errors.
This thread is inspired in part by comments I've seen from @SIY , and others, that there is no such thing as "tube sound", per se, and that properly designed tube amps should be neutral.
Which then raises a number of questions, in my mind:
--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?
--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?
--Does it matter at all if there are tube rectifiers in the circuit?
--Is there a reason to prefer transformers to boost converters?
--Between driver, power, and rectifier tubes, which are have the most impact on the sound, assuming a "non tubey" design goal?
--If tubes don't have a sound, what's the point of hybrid tube amps?
This thread is inspired in part by comments I've seen from @SIY , and others, that there is no such thing as "tube sound", per se, and that properly designed tube amps should be neutral.
Which then raises a number of questions, in my mind:
--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?
--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?
--Does it matter at all if there are tube rectifiers in the circuit?
--Is there a reason to prefer transformers to boost converters?
--Between driver, power, and rectifier tubes, which are have the most impact on the sound, assuming a "non tubey" design goal?
--If tubes don't have a sound, what's the point of hybrid tube amps?
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