Will tubes ever go away?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Murphy13, Oct 19, 2016.

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  1. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    It's too bad that most TV tubes are not used audio amplifier's. Unfortunately, I don't think we will be witnessing a rebirth of CRT TV's in the near future. So from that standpoint, it kinda sucks to be sitting on a goldmine of sorts, but without any market for your product.

    At least the 6SN7's are excellent preamp tubes. I my preamp uses two of them. I bought a bunch of Soviet NOS military spec tubes. They do sound good and last a while and are plentiful inexpensive (at present).
     
  2. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    I have heard several Class-D amps, including the Devialet, and they really did not sound any better than your typical solid state amp--a bit lifeless, lacking in harmonic density and just plain not as engaging as a good tube amp. But, that is the case with other forms of solid state amps to me, so low-powered tube amps remain my preference for now. Two things I've noticed at audio shows are particularly striking: 1) the prevalence of tube gear and how good setups using tubes tend to sound; and 2) the prevalence of vinyl as a source in the better sounding setups (I say this even though I personally listen mostly to a music server). The old technologies are more than hanging on when it comes to sound quality.
     
  3. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    long as there is music, and music to be made, tubes will also have a home. with all this technology we have now to 'improve' things,
    funny how things come back to the basics of what people know and love.
     
  4. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Wasatch likes this.
  5. Wasatch

    Wasatch Music Lover!

    I believe it.:laugh: As long as there is some electricity and I survive....:righton::wiggle: I'll still be listening to some music, well all of us with tubes.:pineapple::goodie:
     
  6. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO

    The guitar guys are not buying the types of tubes the audiophiles are gravitating to, e.g, filamentary triodes.

    Also the guitar guys WANT distortion whereas audiophiles ostensibly don't. So we may be, and in fact I think we are, seeing more and more tubes that are okay for guitar use but not very good for pure audio use.

    The leading edge trend now is "artisanal tube manufacture". Some very good stuff on YouTube and some good websites on the ins and outs of how it's done. This points out that if you want 1920s tubes, and the SET guys do, they are not as challenging to make as people would think. Dozens of small tube plants were all over the US and Europe before the war.

    They are, however, time consuming to make without huge and automated machinery. So may be quite expensive.
     
  7. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO
    Guys like Keith Richards are not interested, but for the younger guys, the profiling units like the Kemper are getting scary good.
    Kemper is 90% there IMO, whereas 90s units like the Cyber Twin and Johnson were maybe 30% there. And it's not going to stop.
     
  8. P2CH

    P2CH Well-Known Member

    I hear ya. I know my plazma will never need a high voltage tube either. There's a lot of old radio tubes in the boxes though. I needed one once for my Sparton radio and I found one, and I mean one. Now though, there are places that are selling NOS tubes for those old relics.
     
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  9. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Hopefully, you will be able to find some more buried treasures within your collection!
     
  10. P2CH

    P2CH Well-Known Member

    That is if I eventually go through them. As a kid, these tubes were in my dad's work area so I've been through them a hundred times when ever we needed a tube that wasn't in his arsenal. In the old days, we would remove the tubes from sets that were getting pitched out.
     
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  11. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I just ordered a used Kemper Profiler PowerHead and should have it next week. If it's as good as people say it is...I may be done with tubes in my guitar rig.
     
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  12. Tedster

    Tedster Forum Resident

    Most people think tubes are hard to find, or rare, or expensive. Some are, most are common and in good supply and only a few bucks. The important thing is that folks don't operate tube equipment they've just drug out of the attic or plug it in to "see if it works"; it is actually rare for vintage gear to be repaired by replacing a tube or finding a bad one but they are often ruined by defective bypass capacitors or power supply, screen resistors etc. Even weak tubes will usually work fine for a long time.
     
  13. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO
    No, besides volume and the demands of the customer base. The present user base will buy junk so they will make it.
    However, if the demand were for good tubes and the customer base had the technical acumen to know the difference, the price would of course be higher.

    The other thing is the volume involved, not only at present but in the future. No one is going to invest serious money in new tube production physical plant if the general consensus is that this tube thing is a fad that could peter out at any time. Tube audio has become less of an interest since the height of the tube revival in the 90s. Part of that is die-off, and the die-off is going to get worse.
     
  14. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Valve amps will be with us for some time yet. Healthy niche and enthusiasts interest plus enough companies turning out enough gear to tick over. Icon Audio in the UK are one such example.
     
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