[goohsm]

is it good to use tube pre + tube power?
or is it better off with just one of them tube and the other SS?
 
whatabout tube dac + tube pre + tube power?
would it be ok? or worse

 

[obobskivich]

How would this be "bad?" People ran setups like this for decades before the advent of solid-state (well, not DACs, but you get the idea). Some of them were quite nice.

All-tubed systems are something of a curiosity these days, but it can certainly be made to work. You'll probably have to build components yourself or be prepared to pay quite a bit (and there are some things you simply can't do with tubes, like DtoA or similar). They look very cool though.

 

[wuwhere]

Its just limited by your budget.

 

[goohsm]

Quote:

All-tubed systems are something of a curiosity these days

what do you mean?
tube+SS's are preferred these days?
budgets is a non issue
i just want to know tube+ss sound better than tube+tube

 

[obobskivich]

what do you mean?
tube+SS's are preferred these days?
budgets is a non issue
i just want to know tube+ss sound better than tube+tube

What I mean is, most designs have moved beyond pure tube/valve electronics, as technology has changed over the last fifty years. So having a system that's completely tube based from top to bottom is going to stand out; you have to actively work at putting it together (it's pretty hard to avoid solid state components, is basically my point). There's also some components that absolutely are not going to be fully tubed (like a CD player).

I don't think you can reduce good sounds down to the tube/SS debate though - good equipment exists on both sides of the fence.

There is nothing inherently wrong with hybrid systems, or all valve systems, or all SS systems. And you shouldn't have any arcs and sparks with an all tube system unless something goes very very wrong (we're talking malfunctioning equipment or improper usage).