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In Reply to: Re: I wanna tube! Please advise posted by hifitom on October 31, 2001 at 21:30:38:
With your electronics background I highly suggest building your own amplifier.You will probably find that it is laughably simple. Some single-ended triode kits have about 25 parts, and they're all really big and easy to work with.
You could build a decent kit in a weekend.
Remember you will almost certainly need new speakers to go with your amp. DIY speakers are also quite easy to build.
Follow Ups:
Ok! The interesting part of this is the ability to completely change the overall sound of a system....by just changing tubes. That is pretty cool I think. Is this a matter of using the same 'type' of tube but made by a different manufacturer or actually using different 'types' of tubes altogether? The latter seems kinda strange in that it would be the equivalent of throwing in a JFET where a MOSFET was normally used....you can't just do that ;) things have to be changed to accomodate the new type of part.Another thing...if I'm simply wanting to get the 'sound' of the tubes, should I maybe consider a preamp instead? Wouldn't the tube sound simply be passed through the SS amp? If so, would it be the case that a preamp would be less expensive overall seeing that it is a lower power device? ala Bottlehead Foreplay for $149! btw, that is a really nice looking piece of equipment!
...doncha just love newbies :)
I really appreciate the repsonses guys!
I am pretty much SS ingnorant, but with tubes the manufacturers sometimes use different metals and configurations in the internal structures of the same tube type. There can be a big difference in the tone of a Amperex tube compared to an RCA in the same family. And then there are the differences in the years that a particular company might have produced the same basic tube. Not sure if there are these kinds of differences in the SS world. There are all kinds of variants for some of the generic identifications, military/computer/low noise. This accounts for the seemingly crazy numbering scheme for tubes. Then there are some that have similar electrical characteristics and can drop in with very minor changes, and sometimes none, in the circuit. I'm guessing there is a parallel in SS stuff.Check out Joe's Tube Lore in the FAQ section of the Asylum-http://www.audioAsylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html
Gotta run and actually do some work but here's a look at what you might be able to do, given your level of experience, if opt for the Foreplay kit.
Ok...that makes more sense. Yes, in the world of SS, there are analogies. First thing that comes to mind are opamps. There are MANY pin compatible opamps made by different manufacturers of varying quality and characteristics. While each one of them may simply be dropped into a circuit, the individual performance and characteristics of those opamps will vary and thus change the sound characteristics of the circuit.I'm still interested in hearing what anyone has to say regarding the use of a tube preamp and a SS power amp for the purpose of having a 'lower' cost tube 'sounding' output.
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