What Amps are Best for Sound Production vs Reproduction?
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- Опубликовано: 26 дек 2021
- I often hear audiophiles proclaim superiority of tube amps since most musicians still use them for guitar gigs over solid-state amplifiers. This is a fallacy and I explain the difference between sound production vs sound reproduction in this video short.
For more detailed explanation, watch our full video on Solid State vs Tube Amplifiers: • Tube vs Solid State Am...
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Totally agree but there’s also a difference between reproduction and preference. Some people like the added color a tube amp adds even though it may not be the most accurate replication of the recording.
yeah, but that isn't true HiFi-delity
@@h4xor1701 not true at all, you are splitting hairs, McIntosh amps are hi fidelity despite being tubes they have some amps they build that are hybrids of both tubes and solid state. They have internal crossovers the solid state handle lower frequencies but the higher frequencies are handled by the tubes. While there might be a slight coloration using these amps they certainly are hi fidelity. That’s like saying only speakers that are 100% flat are hi-fidelity despite that most speaker companies do have a curve they intentionally create for “their sound”. While gene is correct in his statement that “it’s false only tube amps give you the highest fidelity” it’s completely incorrect to assume tube amps cannot give you “hi fidelity.”
@@Paranimal86 tube = lofi
@@Tacet137 I would love to do a blind tests for you with solid state Vs some of these McIntosh amps… it’s funny I’ve had people tell me they can tell the difference in power cables, yet they couldn’t here these faint pops and clicks caused by an Apple TV error with Dolby Atmos that I could hear. Hifi is often about what you believe you can hear and not what you can actually hear. There’s points where you reach enough fidelity that while on paper something may be technically better than the other, it isn’t truly audible. Tubes add some color but I wouldn’t call them lofi by any means, especially the hybrid solid state amps.
You get a tube amp because that is what guitarist use? Not heard that one before. I own and like both typologies. Personally speaking my investment in Tube amplification is because I like their synergy with my speakers and room. What my choice boils down to, is to what I derive the most enjoyment out of. Lately, my pair of tube Mono-blocks fits my preferences more than anything else I tried.
My advice to anyone getting into Tube, SS, or class D. If you get the chance, take it home and audition the thing for at least 30 days, first. Then base your decision on what you liked the most. I have found that no one typology is a silver bullet that is the end all be all of amplification. All of these technologies, can wring out the greatest protentional of your listening room or sound absolutely awful. I found it wise to check and see if your choice is indeed, the right electronics for your speakers and room. As stated, the pairing of amp and speaker is a critical piece. The only way ascertain which technology suits your room/tastes best, is to listen to what is out there.
That's hilarious. As a guitar player myself, guitar amps are meant to distort to crazy amounts and the frequency responses of the amps, speakers, cabinets, guitar pickups, pedals are far from flat. Each stage that a guitar signal goes through imparts it's own massive sound signature to the guitarist's overall tone. It's all about what sounds good, not being "neutral", "flat" or "transparent" as most hifi amps are marketed and should be made
Great feedback (no,pun intended). Thanks
Exactly, it’s all about what sound good. What’s wrong with applying that to music reproduction? When you have worked for long enough in enough studios, you know they all sound different and that it’s ultimately not about what you hear in the studio, but how it will translate to all the different systems, ears and circumstances out there. So what is with this obsession with getting playback “right”? It’s a fallacy too. Besides, the 10 solid state amps that I’ve owned/long term auditioned all sounded different.
The reason I have a tube amp is because I like the fact that the music playback sounds more natural not sterile. All amps whether solid state or tubes add some coloration to the original recording. Tube amps in my opinion make the music more pleasing to listen to. I could care less if it replicates the original recording per se. I listen to music with my ears and they tell what sounds best to me.
Exactly !!! You hit the nail on the head !
as a guitarist I was super confused why hifi used tubes. It just seemed unsafe and unnecessary
Love you guys!
I think people generally prefer tube amps when their loudspeakers accentuate highs making it sound unnatural when using a flat amplifier
We can talk specs all day and what things are “supposed” to be, but in the end a fine David Manley tube amp is the tip top of the pyramid and the ears and brain determines what is best, not science or specifications.
I have a solid state and a tube amp. They are both excellent and trade blows. Guitar sounds great on my solid state. But it's better on the tube amp, hands down.
Hello Gene , love your show it's very educational ! If I can , I have a question about a Sherbourn 7/110 power amp. I purchased recently @ a good price , now I can't find any information on it. I may or may not have made a mistake 500 reputable seller . Is this a good brand ? Thank You
Crown amps FTW on the neutral category no coloring to sound when using crown
Most music I listen to has poor sound production so I need to add some distortion to make it more lifelike!😄
Ill do thumbs up if you say cable make differences
A little coloration might make things sound the way you like, more magical or even make up for all the source material out there that sounds plain nasty. Who is anyone to say that that’s wrong?
Good point 👉
bs! nothing wrong with a bit of distortion you want distortion in your amp.
what sort of tube amps have you listened to?
If you're ok with distortion, then go buy a cheap Walmart Home Theater-in-a-Box and bathe in it's 10% THD.
@@andrewskaterrr yeah that's going overboard 1% maybe lol
@@hoobsgroove they actually advertise the wattage at 10% THD. If you look at the fine print * you'll see. I have lol.
This makes me think your loudspeakers are too high end heavy
That's what I thought.
I think of Chinese manufacturing as being cheap. I’m sure they are capable but shoes, suits, eyeglasses and clothing in general are not close to name a few when compared with the established leaders. I plan on keeping shoes or suits(one Italian black or blue suit is all need) for decades so pay double or triple and it’s worth it. If you don’t care that’s your prerogative. Electronics not so much I suppose.
It make SO much sense... but at the same time, something tells me it's not as cut and dry as a 37 sec statement. I'm left with a ton of questions. Do ALL tube amps introduce distortion? If so, why are there so many extremely expensive tube amps on the market, and why do so many audiophiles swear by them? I don't have any experience with these amps because I've never been able to afford them. But, I'd think something has got to be going on with high-end tube amps that people like or they wouldn't be selling them to the upper class of audio enthusiasts. I feel like this topic deserves some deeper discussion and perhaps some side by side comparisons of the best tube amps vs the best solid state. I'm not trying to argue or flat out disagree, but I'm still feeling a bit confused and wanting more information.
Watch the longer video in the description of this video.
HA! Sorry. I neglected to read your video description, where you clearly state there is a more detailed explanation.
It's actually very simple. First this video is pretty much nonsense in many ways. But he's not completely wrong. It's just that no one says that, and the distortion from tube amps is induced on purpose by the guitarists. And can also be done on SS if one wants to anyway. So this is basically an irrelevant statement.
That being said. Yes all tube amps do have distortion, as do all SS amps. And every speaker you're likely to ever hear in your lifetime. And while the goal is to reduce the distortion for SS gear especially. It's not nearly as important with tube gear. Because tube gear usually gives us the type of distortion that our brains and our ears love.
It's usually referred to as 2nd harmonic distortion. Or even order distortion. Which is a little confusing. Basically a bad SS has distortion in the upper frequencies which can be very fatiguing to us. Where as tubes usually have the distortion lower down in the range. Around 2khz to 3khz, or so. Which is actually enjoyable to us.
The really expensive, and/or the ones with the modern sound. Don't have nearly as much distortion as the old warm sounding ones do though. And you can see this in the specifications of the amps. So they'll sound a lot clearer. More like a SS amp does. Which seems like it would kind of defeat the purpose really. But many still want them. And they do usually retain the amazing soundstage abilities that tubes are known for.
Totally unagree. The hard fact is that an opinion and believe that tube amps are inferior is the hardest fallacy ever. SS which is not Class A is in fact the most artificial and least real and have no color but are grey in comparison.
SS is the format spring chickens use 🤔
Quality SE Tube amps add no color just hear NAT amps. In fact SS add grayness but some people only listen to some simple measuremens and not with the ears.
😂😂😂
By that logic we should all be running our speakers through the same kind distortion effects often used by artists playing electric guitars ;)
True but I actually had a 5.1 surround setup back in the day, using all (well besides 2 15 inch subs) large bass/guitar cabinets hooked directly to some beefy tweeters with no crossover, and it was hard to beat as far as listening to raw rock and roll goes. Put it in the all channel stereo out mode, crank that baby and it would almost be like you were hearing it live. I wish I still had it sometimes but it took up way too much space for basically a one trick pony system.