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Tube preamp into solid state (speaker) amp is the magic formula for me. For planar headphones and speakers, anyway.
The Drinking Fountain - Full-Size Headphone Discussion
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SolarCetacean
500+ Head-Fier
Tube amps run a gamut; it's more about how the tubes are used than any intrinsic aspect of tubes that make them sound different. You can use tubes as just buffers in an amp, or to do the voltage gain, or to do the output current follower, or use them for all of those purposes, and more. Then you have transformer-coupled tube amps or output transformerless amps, as well as more unusual designs like LTA's ZOTL amps that don't use output transformers, but also don't sound like the usual OTL tube amps either. Then you have solid state amps that can be tuned to have a tube-like sound; I recall someone measured the Sony TA-ZH1ES to have certain distortion characteristics that are similar to a 300B tube preamp, so it's sort of like having tube sound, but with the reliability of solid state.
Personally, I've gone with solid state amps for regular headphones, but tube or tube hybrid amps for electrostatics. Electrostatics tend to be a better match for tube-based output stages because estats need high voltages just like tubes, so we don't need transformers or huge resistors to drop voltage so that the amp doesn't kill the headphones as we need to do when driving a regular headphone with a tube output stage. So you can pretty much directly connect the output of a tube into an electrostatic headphone. I think that's just neat.
Personally, I've gone with solid state amps for regular headphones, but tube or tube hybrid amps for electrostatics. Electrostatics tend to be a better match for tube-based output stages because estats need high voltages just like tubes, so we don't need transformers or huge resistors to drop voltage so that the amp doesn't kill the headphones as we need to do when driving a regular headphone with a tube output stage. So you can pretty much directly connect the output of a tube into an electrostatic headphone. I think that's just neat.
I've run the gamut, but currently I prefer to have both. Previously I owned a Lampizator DAC that imparted it's tube flavor into every amp I owned, which was fun for awhile. However it was quite difficult to find a tube roll in my amp that meshed with not only the headphone I was using, but also with my DAC.
Certainly not all tube amps are created equally, even if they are of the same topology. My Airmid OTL sounds nothing like my old Glenn OTL, which sounded nothing like my old WA2 OTL.
Solid state because a little cheaper and a little less worry.
I have practically zero experience with listening to tube amps. In blind abx Ive heard tonal differences in SS amps so realize there are reasons to consider amp synergy. Still, I dont care that much to buy a tube amp. That’s money better spent on headphones where differences seem more obvious so are easier to appreciate.
The thing with tube amps that bring the magic is how much even order harmonics it imparts on the music. Even order harmonics aka distortion can be quite lovely to one's ear. However the trend in modern solid state amps is to get that THD down to 0.00008, which is fine on paper and I guess there is that segment of the hobby that prefers the cleanest, most distortion free sound. Personally I find such amps and DACs to sound sterile and soulless, and I feel that in the rush to get the THD down to an absurdly low percent, the even order distortion gets tossed out with the odd order distortion, akin to the proverbial baby and the bathwater.
The closest I have found to the classic tube sound without the hassle and added expense of NOS tubes can be found in vintage solid state speaker amps and receivers. Using the headphone jack of one of these old beasts to drive high impedance headphones is a real treat. Many of the old receivers have a THD of around 0.1 or higher, allowing in some of that vintage warmth and distortion.
The closest I have found to the classic tube sound without the hassle and added expense of NOS tubes can be found in vintage solid state speaker amps and receivers. Using the headphone jack of one of these old beasts to drive high impedance headphones is a real treat. Many of the old receivers have a THD of around 0.1 or higher, allowing in some of that vintage warmth and distortion.
Preferably both. If I had to choose one, solid state. To me, from what I've tried, the sonic difference between tubes and SS is small enough so I rater spend money elsewhere. But I do love the look of tube amps, and there's undeniably something charming about using them (waiting for them to warm up etc). If money was of no consideration, I'd buy a couple of high end tube amps for sure.
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*I* associate "classic tube sound" with woolly bass, elevated noise floor, and rolled-off treble. No, thanks.
What I want from tubes is a bit of added tonal saturation or density (for lack of better terms), and a more 3-dimensional and layered soundstage. Obviously, this is entirely personal preference, but I don't find high-fidelity systems to be soulless in general, and would likely only prefer clearly audible THD in the context of very poor recordings, which make up a small percentage of what I typically listen to these days.
Popcorn eating GIF*I* associate "classic tube sound" with woolly bass, elevated noise floor, and rolled-off treble. No, thanks.
Now the discussion is getting good.
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I don't know anyone that enjoys that sound. Heck if I detect even the slighest bit of tube induced hum in my chain, out they go.
You will get rolled off highs and bloated bass from a mismatched tube roll. Roll some RCA 6AS7G with some Mullard 6SN7 and yes, you very well might experience a very warm, gooey experience. Swap out those RCAs and roll in some real (fugazi tubes are a thing) Telefunken 6080s and suddenly the warmth of the Mullard combines with extra energy up top and forward mids of the Telefunkens to give a very balanced and lovely sound.
There are very few bad sounding tubes out there. Only bad tube combos.
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I feel like I need an entire masters class on tube technology
Back in the day, the Glenn thread was quite active and is still a treasure trove of tube information, almost 2700 pages worth.
Various tube types, like the 6as7g/6080/5998, the 6sn7, the 6j5, as well as various rectifiers all have dedicated threads here on Head-Fi. Not to mention many tube amps have their own dedicated threads, and many of those have tons of tube rolling content.
EDIT: Forgot to mention the ZMF amp thread is full of tube rollers, and some of Head fi's more prolific amp builders are also full of tube info, here and here.
The only way to learn tubes is to read.
Various tube types, like the 6as7g/6080/5998, the 6sn7, the 6j5, as well as various rectifiers all have dedicated threads here on Head-Fi. Not to mention many tube amps have their own dedicated threads, and many of those have tons of tube rolling content.
EDIT: Forgot to mention the ZMF amp thread is full of tube rollers, and some of Head fi's more prolific amp builders are also full of tube info, here and here.
The only way to learn tubes is to read.
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Fair enough, although it's undeniable that quite a number of classic tube amps exhibited the characteristics I mentioned. There's no doubt that tube rolling can have a major impact on sonics, but I'm just not interested in pursuing that rabbit hole at this stage of my audiophile journey. I've assembled a chain that thrills me every night, and my main focus now is on discovering new music, and revisiting old favorites.
Yeah for sure. Back in the olden days nobody tube rolled. You just used the tubes that came with your amp and when those died, you just bought whichever tubes of that family Radio Shack had on hand, typically garbage GE, Sylvania or RCAs, or worse yet, tossed the amp.
Often times that tube amp that grandpa had back in the 40s and 50s used the tubes that came with the unit. Even today when buying a tube amp, they are typically shipped with the cheapest and crappiest sounding tubes around.
That 300b amp that you just bought from Cayin ships with crap Chinese made 300b tubes, but if you want that amp to really take off you will want to rolli n some Western Electric 300b, which will set you back about ten grand! Or you can slum it with some Elrogs, which "only" cost about two grand for a pair.
Tube amps and tubes in general is indeed a very deep and expensive rabbit hole
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Tubes (for headphones) for me.
For e-stats, tubes are a borderline must for me.
For dynamics and planars, I'm more of a "both" camp but right now I've been leaning tubes.
Shane D
Headphoneus Supremus
For me it is all of the above. I have SS, hybrid, OTL and OTC tube amps.
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