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In Reply to: RE: Tube amp clipping is akin to compression...... posted by hennfarm on September 16, 2016 at 23:21:47
Well, you are right, that is inaccurate. 3-5% THD is usually considered around the power limit for an SE amp (and what S-file will call "clipping") but obviously 3% THD doesn't look anything like a square wave. However, the SE amp that is at 5% THD is indeed going to be at far higher levels with just a bit more power, generally. There is still a knee in the curve.
Follow Ups:
Even if you could output a true square wave whilst trying to deliver a sine, you'd not even get to 50% distortion.
There is all sorts of things that deliver distortion around max power. Grid current discharging coupling caps, or for stages capable of delivering power, the radical change in load when the grid goes positive.
cheers,
Douglas
Friend, I would not hurt thee for the world...but thou art standing where I am about to shoot.
He's a guy making a really powerful amp, what do you think he will say?
If you ask him what speakers are the best, what do you think he'll say, horns? He makes stats, he says stats are best. Duh.
As for how much power, I have really liked 20 watts into my 100db/watt speaker. I've liked 170 watts better. So, what do I NEED? Well, I have the money to easily pay for the big one, so I own it.
If I could not afford the big one, I could happily live with the 20 watter.
So, it's not about need, necessarily, it's about desire and what you are willing to pay to satisfy your desire.
One thing to remember, it's a LOT more expensive to find a great high powered amp. There are few great amps, so even fewer high powered great amps.
There's no 170W amp that sounds as good as the best 20W amps.
Duh.
That's what the guy who does not have the big tiodes with single transmitter tubes will always say.
You don't know what's better, or what it will sound like, until you hear it.
If you owned a bunch of small AND big ones you would not have the agenda you do. I have many of small and big ones. I have no agenda. The big ones, if they are really good, will show you what your small ones don't do.
So much of audio is "if I don't own it then it can't be as good as what I do own".
Agenda? Please elaborate, oh mind reader.
I've owned at least 50 SET amps. Probably more. At least 15 of the 211/845/805 variety.
What's your 170W SET?
Why do you think you need that much power? What kind of volumes do you listen at, in what size room, and how's your hearing these days?
I did not say I or anyone NEEDS large power, but I am saying that with a really good sounding SET amplifier that is also more powerful than the typical SET there can be advantages. Big room, but I sit from 4 to 11 feet from the speakers depending on my mood. Typically 82 db peaks, once in a great while I'll boost it to 100 for a minute, but the advantages in dynamics and bass control, as well as in unstrained and unrestrained sound of the mids, is evident at 82db.
Single tube GM100 and single tube QB5 are the configurations I'm talking about for the high powered amps. Other SET amps on hand use 845 (several amps), 45, 300b, 211, 2a3 .......way too many amps, really.
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