Those that returned to SS after owning tubes/valves, why the return?

The ONLY reason nobody does this is that it takes away the choice of what amp you can use, which is part of the fun of the hobby. I don't think you were being elitist in the least! There are really some very good reasons for actively bi or tri-amping. The problem is that getting it right requires careful measurements and active filter selection. The typical 4th order filters applied in off-the-shelf active crossovers don't typically sum flat with correct phase coherence through the crossover region. Typically, you have to either vary the electrical slope to get the drivers to match up and / or add delay to the high frequency driver. It's not a trivial thing to get right, so it is not really for the average end-user.
One of the best-imaging speaker systems I've heard (in a price range I could afford) were the Paradigm active monitors from the 90's. Really a nice sounding set of speakers, but I wasn't surprised in the least when they discontinued them. Nobody except for recording studios goes that way.

 

The most common in hand amps that are candidate on red plating are the 50's-60's-70's-some 80's and 90's that are not worked on correctly or the right way. It doesn't matter if its a high dollar amp because they need good servicing especially after 25 years when capacitors starts drying up. Others are some early and todays low-budget chinese amps... so and so forth. But if you buy something reputable like a primaluna or somewhere in that caliber, you'll be in good hands and no need for a fire extinguisher. Youll learn to have a peace of mind.

 

Where do you live in Arizona? I live in Gold Canyon and have all tube equipment. My Canary Audio Grand Reference 300B has 16 Western Electric tubes in them. I don't mind the heat but do not like Biasing them.

 

Before I decided to buy my end game amp Luxman l509x I demoeded several tube amp but to my ears the best ss amp and the best tube amp sound more alike then their cheaper brothers and sisters.
Besides that I have a tendency to tweak my system. Adjust pickup and play around with speaker placement which make me listen to the system more then the music.
I don't won't to be that tweaking guy so in the end I turned away from tubes.

 

Having followed your amp purchases, I must hear more

 

Amen to that.

M~

 

I did have a tube red plate in my 1965 Fisher amp, but it wasn't for the reason your post states. The amp was recapped by me and was working well with what I assumed were the original output tubes. They were Allied brand tubes and I had been using them for a few months when I decided to try some new Sovtek tubes. After a couple weeks one of those new tubes red plated, and scared the crap out of. Went back to the old tubes and all was well. I then bought a quad set of vintage RCA tubes for the output which worked well. Just one data point.

 

Yep also that can be. These must be one of the early sovteks your talking about. Ive seen one red plated on my to go traynor guitar amp in the early 2000. I was gonna tell @jonwoody to watch out on those generations of "Electron" tubes. Some tends to red-plate for no reasons.
Back in 2006 I picked up close to 50 of these in different output tube numbers. A few of them tends to rad plate by itself.
But I think they improved now and changed name to shuguang (I hope I didn't mess that up) and gotten better.
Some of the old "International" tubes made in china ..

 

I use to live and work in Vegas and travelled back and forth to AZ. I use to own a medium size collections of vinyl in its fallout in 2001. The desert is vinyl's #1 enemy talking about rocks stock in the grooves...

 

It was on an Audio Space Galaxy 34. One of the more highly regarded Chinese brands. So I don't think it was because I was using a cheap Chinese amp (and the price certainly isn't cheap).

I believe it's because a tube wasn't seated correctly. I read that can cause red plating. I turned the amp off, let it sit for a bit, made sure all the tubes were inserted fully, and turned it back on. No issues after that.

I've read a lot of comments online from tube amp owners saying that you should never leave a tube amp on unattended. Especially of course if you leave the house for a time. So I don't know. Seems there is always a bit of a risk with tubes. And if all it takes is one tube to be a little loose then to me that can easily happen. Don't get me wrong - obviously most people use these things and their homes don't burn down. But if that possibility exists, however remote, that is one to keep in the back of one's mind.

I might go back to a tube amp one day, but I'm leaning towards sticking with tubes in my phonostage and preamp, and using a good SS power amp. I was a dummy to sell the ARC SP16L that I had. Sounded excellent. Gave me a taste for what separates could sound like, and had tubey qualities (very holographic). I didn't want the extra box at the time though. Very likely that I will go back to the SP16 some day but I plan to use my Unison hybrid integrated for a few years and I'll see how I feel about a move to separates after that.

 

Those are 10 year old amps with an early designs. I was gonna buy the audio space 300b but I changed my mind. To begin with and was inserted with the tubes I mentioned in my previous posting. So that's a NoN
I don't know, I never had of feel anything like that on my PL, Fluxion and old dynaco. (the dynaco was totally updated)..

 

Heat and fear.

 

Well, the good news is that since you're visit we now have dwellings with proper roofs, electricity and running water.

Seriously, I didn't understand your comment (the bolded one) - I have a lot of vinyl and can't recall any rocks stuck in my grooves. Were you staying in a tent or something? But maybe I missed your point...

 

Regular AZ and NV dust collections in the air. Its hard to keep up with cleaning. As you know, I wasn't really a vinyl guy to begin with and was just incited to buy them during the fall out times. But those vinyls are gone now except for a very few that I kept.
But no problems with my tapes surviving that condition.

 

Any tube amp can "red plate".... dirty pins/ sockets are one of the most common cause. Why would you want to leave a tube amp on when unattended? Besides being dangerous (regardless of the vintage of you amp) expensive tubes have a life span and they get used up whether idling or playing music.

 

Often you wouldn't want to leave it on. But what if you need to step away for a half hour or an hour? With a tube amp I'd want to shut it off. With SS, I wouldn't worry and would leave it on.

Or say you want to listen for an hour, then you have something to do for a couple of hours, and then you want to come back and listen again? If I had a tube amp, I just wouldn't listen that first hour. I wouldn't want to turn it on, then turn it off, then turn it on again. I'd just wait until later on when I could have a longer session and listen then.

Maybe folks here are turning on and off their tube amps all the time but for some reason I'm not inclined to do that. So I find myself not listening as much with a tube amp. With SS, I can turn it on on Thursday, leave it on all weekend, and listen when I have the time - either short sessions or longer sessions. The system is ready whenever I want.

 

I love tubes for when low power musicality is the order of the day.
And transistors for when unlimited slightly drier musicality is in order and the setup needs lots of grunt.
My tube system is "alive sounding" and slightly gooey and loosey and I love it!
My super high power rigs are also "alive" if a bit tighter and more precise----perhaps more "monitor like."
Both results put a big grin on my face

 

I went with a hybrid preamp, (Vincent Audio SA-32) and paired it up with Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000R mono's and a MoFi Ultraphono and I'm quite satisfied with the results. I guess that's all that matters.....

 

I've had tube amps, preamps, and even a selectable tube stage on a cd player. I could never really hear the difference (although I love the look, smell, and nostalgia of tubes in a system).

Now I'm all about simplicity. I have a nice mid-fi system. I like the looks and the sound of it. After years of trying, I finally admit that I don't have the ears of audiophile. Sure, some things sound better than others, but ultimately, I found that a "better" system did not equal more enjoyment of the music.

 

This discussion is all about preference not a "vs." Some people goes with solid state and some people goes with tubes. Every time you enter something, be ready for the consequences. Being with tubes for a long time, not just I own several tubes as a backup, but I own testers and monitor my tubes in the area of 4 to 6 months. I'm not scared because I know all my tubes are on the level and correctly maintained. I will never just plug in even a new tube and call it the day for it doesn't work that way. If your amp red-plated because your socket is corroded, there is definitely something wrong and its not just the amp. The bottom line is be ready for it. I don't recommend you to do the same as I do in general and I wouldn't treat it the same way as a solid state either. If youre happy with either amps, that's all there is...

 

There is a member here and (I wont give his name neither the amps name for formal discretion). He bought a Brand New or probably Stock B amp with complete factory warranty and which was normally trial ran by the first owner for like 30 days max. This is a $5,000.00 integrated tube amp. He was asking a few guys, how come it feels like the preamp tube which is a 12ax7 is making a slight noise and easily pops out. Is that normal... I know this amp very well for I bought a brand new amp from this maker and the tube socket are really tight. A high dollar ceramic tube base.
What does that tells you? Whoever used it before the new owner didn't remove or install these tubes the right way (Gremlinized) and just passed it on back to the dealer without saying anything. Hopefully that guy didn't even leave a bad remark about the amp.... What the..???

 

I think one of the biggest things for me is the ability to walk up and turn on the amp and listen right away. Everything I own with tubes takes awhile to sound great. I also tend to leave my SS gear on 24/7 unless I will be away for awhile. I go back and forth as the moment strikes me.

 

Not really arguing with any of that, but this is a thread to get experiences from those who went to tubes and then elected to go back to SS. You will naturally get stories from people who didn't love the entire tube amp experience.

I wouldn't say that I was "scared". A little concerned? Yeah, sure. Of course! But I listened to the amp a lot after I had the tube red plate. And listened to a Cayin tube amp a lot after that. When I bought tubes I'd have the Tube Store test them for me to ensure there weren't any issues that could have been caught. And I'm open to going back to tubes one day in the future. I agree in that if I commit to tubes again for the long haul I would get a tester. But I doubt that guarantees against all failures.

I just found tubes kind of got in the way of me listening to music more. And to have to be concerned with possible failures more than with SS, not to mention the expense in replacing tubes, I for one am going to need a tube amp to sound significantly better than SS for me to put up with all that. And with most speakers out there, and possibly with most moderate to higher powered p/p tube amps, the improvement over a good SS amp is slight. But if you get the right speakers and the right tube amp, sure, I think there is a level of magic that SS probably cannot match.

 

I enjoyed tubes for several years but eventually became frustrated with reliability issues. Happily using a good SS amp now.

 

That made me laugh!