Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Solid State or Tubes?

Newbie question, Tube or Solid state? Which one is better for excellent sound? In the beginning of Audio Tubes were the only thing, now we have solid state. For stereo sound which one will work better?

CH, although tube amplification can be designed to produce transparent sound that's equally excellent to solid state designs and is indistinguishable(i.e. it doesn't have a flawed "tube sound"), in many cases tube equipment is inferior with respect to distortion and flatness of frequency response. This is in addition to being much more expensive, so the sensible cost-effective buy is solid state rather than obsolescent tube technology.

To take a slight deviation from John (who is factually correct), some people enjoy the sound of uncorrected (non-transparent?) tubes. The distortion is even ordered, which can be pleasing to the ear. I have not heard tubes very much, so I can't say which is better for me. But some people definitely do prefer tubes. Doesn't mean they're right, doesn't mean they're wrong.

Me, I don't want to spend the money for old tech, especially tech that doesn't support multichannel.

Well, since others have braved this volatile subject, I'll stick my head out. The difficulty with your question is the "Which one is better for excellent sound?" part. The problem is that "better" is subjective not objective. Had you asked which one is more accurate, the answer would have been easy.

But, as Ken pointed out, many prefer the "less accurate" choice. Since that preference is subjective, those who do ought not be berated for that preference. Unfortunately, we are unable to tell you which you would consider to be "better."

Unlike Ken, I have heard tubes, but it's been about 40 or 50 years, and everything back then was tubes . Shoot, I can't remember what I had for breakfast let alone what tubes sounded like half a century ago. (OOPS! Just remembered I haven't had breakfast yet ). But, like Ken, I'm a "multichannel" guy now, so my preference is obvious and my choice easy.

Do I have to remind you it's the most important meal of the day ?

I was thinking about your comment about not investing in old tech.

When you think about it, much of todays devices/products are based on old tech....and simply altered by the passing decades.

...just rambling....

Gotta love the way that OJ and cow juice mix in the ol' belly, eh?

VERY and I mean VERY diplomatic answers guys.



Jack
Did you remember to take your vitamins after breakfast?

Jack, you might enjoy Snoqualmie Falls Lodge Oatmeal inspired by the breakfast from its historic namesake.

My three-legged stool for cholesterol maintenance includes oatmeal, bourbon and exercise.

The exercise portion is not tube-friendly, but the bourbon and oatmeal don't seem to care one way or the other.

Sounds familiar. My attack plan is oatmeal, exercise, wine, and cutting out and/or minimizing the worst offending foods.

Thanks for the tips guys. Until about 5 years ago, I was in great shape (arthritis aside), exercising at my local health club at least 9 hours per week, swimming, nautilus, and riding a stationary bike.

But being a captive in my home, I've fallen into bad habits, which have embellished my frame with 30 pounds I don't need (I wonder if it's the chocolate chip diet I'm on and if the 2 scoops of ice cream before bed have anything to do with it? ).

I'm happy to say, I've just banished all sweets from my home. Now, if I can just get in the habit of riding that stationary bike I have in my basement.