How do tubes affect the sound exactly? I'm interested in trying them out
A tube, by definition, is adding distortion to a sound. Depending on the type of tube, that distortion could be weak or strong, lean the music one way or the other, make the sound slower or faster - that's where the fun of tube rolling comes into play.
Most amps have two sections (in general) for tube rolling - power tubes (the audio "channel" tubes) and the rectifier ("voltage") tube. Which one has greater effect depends on the amp. For example, my Woo Audio WA6-SE Gen2 has a dramatic change from one rectifier to the next, while the power tubes have little effect. Other versions of the amp have the opposite effect. Others still require all of the "stars" to be in alignment to get that "perfect" sound. That brings me to my next point - there IS NO perfect sound - it's all subjective. What I like might be completely different than your friend, listening to the same amp with the same tubes. Tubes are like flavors. Either you like chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, or broccoli (who likes broccoli?).
Do some reading, you'll find good info. Then, when you're ready, take the plunge!
I wouldnât say tubes are âdefinedâ by distorting sound. They simply are another method for amplifying signal, and they have been produced for much longer and by more brands so there is more variety in their characteristics than opamps and transformers in solid state amps. Everything else you said, I agree with.
To add some more info, a tube can sound very low distortion and linear, or it can add harmonic resonance (for those who donât know, you have the fundamental note on, say, a particular piano key, but the fundamental note causes resonance in other octaves, these are the harmonics). These resonances can be problematic, or they can be pleasant and add to the organic richness (synths were revolutionized and sound much more like real instruments once harmonic resonances were added). If these resonances are added by the tubes and not part of the recording, then they technically are added signal distortion, but sometimes it sounds perceptually more natural this way
That said, many summit-fi amps use tubes of vanishingly low distortion and high quality⌠solid state isnât inherently better.
Another characteristic difference between solid state and tube amps is how they handle clipping. Solid state amps tend to hard clip overdriven signals, while tube amps have a softer, rolling bell curve characteristic when viewed on a graph (and sound less abrupt and hard).
Both of the above tend to ease up harshnesses in poorly mastered or lower res music, but usually donât get in the way of well-mastered or high res music.
Solid state amps, however, tend to have more linear current delivery and impedance at low, sub bass frequencies, so often people prefer solid state sub bass if they listen to pipe organs or synthetic instruments that can reach that low. Solid state amps also tend to have better shielding against EMI, like squeals and chirps picked up when a nearby phone receives data. Personally, I used to worry about replacing tubes as often as an incandescent lightbulb, but tubes can last for thousands of hours and Iâve yet to have a tube burn out on me (more likely I get a new one to try out before one burns out, lol)!
Exceptions and ways to mitigate flaws exist with both types of topologies, and even though I have some experience looking at amps, Iâve never made one myself
Hey Friends, Tomorrow morning at 9am PST, we are releasing the DROP + Sennheiser HD 8XX. This headphone is the result of hundreds of thousands of community posts and four years of collaboration between the teams at DROP and Sennheiser. Analyzing discussions around the HD 800S, we saw clear mandates from the community around bass extension and midrange balance. The HD 8XX incorporates two novel changes to accommodate those mandates. Where the HD 800S uses a single resonator, Sennheiser developed a dual resonator system for the HD 8XX, creating bass extension down to 10hz (+5db @ 10hz vs 800 S). Sennheiserâs team, lead by Jermo Koehnke, reached the bass solution pretty quickly, but our goals for the midrange proved demanding... bordering impossible. After significant research, Sennheiser reached a solution; altered acoustic impedance in the transducer's dampening material to smooth the FR from 2.5k to 8k. This means the transducer in the HD 8XX is unique, itâs a new ring driver. The HD8XX goes live tomorrow at 9am PST with 3000 units available, shipping in November. These 3000 units represent the full production we anticipate for 2021. Weâll make more available if the capacity increases, but this launch is the only guaranteed HD 8XX availability until 2022. Launch pricing for the HD 8XX is $1100 and youâll receive $200 worth of drop points (20,000 points) with purchase. For future units, HD 8XX pricing will increase to $1200+.
I think that's the original announcement.
No. That was Will Brightâs comment made the day before the official release and embargo. There was a fair bit of behind the scenes âactivityâ because of that post and promises made (including clarifying the cost of buying a THX 789 amp, that there wouldnât be a bundle option, but other stuff as well).
Feels like I'm in the minority in that I love the HD8xx stock tuning. Its warm, full, non-fatiguing and has really good treble performance. I notice the slightly recessed vocals on some tracks, and on others its a non-issue, but compared to them EQ'ed to sound like the HD800s, I'll take the slight vocal range recession over excessive brightness thats fatiguing any day of the week.
These things float on my head, have details for days, and don't give me any fatigue even after a few hours of listening. I love them just the way they are lol.
I put out one of the first impressions of the retail production HD 8XX⌠I tried very hard to be accommodating to other tastes and give people an unhyped expectation, but I think you can tell that I also felt the stock tuning suited me well:
I even received some flack from the community for not making the same comments as other, more famous reviewers that followed.
Exactly.
