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RE: How many LAYERS of TUBES do you really need?

Need?

Want?

No one "needs" tubes anywhere. People "want" tubes after they have auditioned SS. Since everyone under 50 largely grew up on Solid State amplification and became audiophiles and then auditioned the best "measuring" SS amplification they then elected to "want" tube amplifiers so that their music would actually sound good.

The above is a generalization but at the same time, there is a big dollop of fact in that the progression is "generally" (hence generalization) that people tend to go FROM Solid State TO Tube and then to SET. Interestingly also a progression from best measurements to worst measurements.

Anyhow - tubes don;t have one kind of sound. The variance in the sound of tube amplifiers is far larger than SS amplifiers.

Even tube amps using the same tubes at the same price sound a fair bit different. I remember auditioning two 15 EL34 amps - Jolida 302B and Antique Sound Labs AQ1003DT. Both in the same room, the same level matched volume on the same speakers - it was startling how different they were. The 302 was a stereotypically mushy warm thick tube sound and the ASL was more like a Classe SS amp. The difference was rather big. I could not say that about listening to integrated amps from Bryston, Sim Audio, and Rote the dealer had. All three SS amps were kind of meh so I thought "may as well buy "meh" for the lowest price so I bought the Rotel.

With the two tube amps - it would actually take a lot of effort in deciding which way to go - the ASL had less of a sound stamped on everything which is good but then the point of buying the tube amp, arguably, was to get that tube sound. Up to the buyer and what music they listen to. I ultimately didn't care much for either - too many problems in both directions for me. I wound up with a second hand Sugden A48b. A somewhat in betweener of the two tube amps and an example of SS design where the people making them actually listened to some music before selling them.


Currently: Main system is tube
Audio Note M6 preamp
Audio Note Empress Silver Monoblocks (2a3)
Audio Note DAC 0.1x (R2R NOS)

Audio Note OTO Phono SE (EL34)Integrated
Kingko KA 101 Pro (EL34) Integrated amp & power Amp & headphone amp

Line Magnetic CD 215 (Tube CD player)
Line Magnetic 502CA DAC (Tube and SS) *Separate sides at the flip of a switch so it is all-tube or all SS - not a hybrid). (32/192khz ESS Sabre)

Wyred4 Sound mAmp Monobklocks (Class D)
Rotel RB 1050 Stereo Power amp (Class A/B)

Speakers:
Audio Note E/SPx AlNiCo
Audio Note K/SPe
Audio Note AX Two
Wharfedale E70 (Vanguard Edition)
Tannoy CR650



Edits: 03/10/21 03/10/21 03/10/21
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