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Interesting tube vs transistor article (1 Viewer)

Yogi

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You mean you'd buy that solid state amp and equalize out that midrange anomaly:laugh:

So why do you think the Theta has such a high output impedance? Is it a weak power supply? It surely doesn't use output trannies so whats going on? Makes me wonder.

You still didn't answer my question weather it will sound like a tube amp? Surely if thats the only thing that makes a tube amp sound like one then the Theta should sound like a tube amp, right? Otherwise there is something else going on in a tube amp that makes it sound like the way it does.

As an aside tell me Chu, when you buy an amp what criteria do you use to base your purchase decision?

1) Price
2) Power (on paper)
3) Specs (on paper)

Or do you listen to the amp in your system and then decide?
 

Chu Gai

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I think Theta's comparatively high output impedance (high as far as I'm concerned) is simply due to the way they designed their unit and the segment of the marketplace they wanted to appeal to. Because in part of their wanting to go the I think it'll have some degree of 'tubiness'. Neither of the two scenarios that you presented Yogi were terrible and certainly don't compare to something like many of the SET amps.

It's been a while since I've went amp shopping. Criteria that are important to me might not be important to you and my way of arriving at a decision doesn't have to be the same as yours.

In no particular order things that matter to me are.

Price
Warranty
Availability of service
Perceived quality
Power - overly sufficient for my listening habits and then more.
Measurements & not specs. Specs are pretty much useless whether they're given by SS or tube companies. I like to know the behavior of the amp into a load.
Willingness of the company itself to provide additional information. A side note here. I once inquired from a Swiss company (f*ck 'em) about the output impedance of a particular amp they were selling. The email said they don't provide such information since the customer would not know how to interpret this. I wrote back that I was pretty sure I could, but if they'd like they could simply tell me how it should be interpreted and to please give me a copy of the output impedance vs frequency and at various power levels if that made it any easier. The reply was they don't publish or provide such information. Not the kind of people I want to be dealing with. Snotty bastards! Go take your amp and play some cannon shots on the Alps after it's snowed for awhile :frowning:
Country of origin - there are countries I simply won't buy from and that includes their beer. I vote with my wallet.
Feature set...types of connectors, things like that.
Stability into low impedance loads.
Noise.
Operating temperature.
Give it the final test drive at home to make sure I haven't missed anything or that this particular unit isn't a lemon.

I'll use specs to work out a short list but I won't base my decision soley on that. If you get overenthusiastic over one particular aspect then this is like blind love. You wind up getting blinded to all its faults and shortcomings.
 

Yogi

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
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That is funny Jason. Where did you get that icon? I think it applies to a lot of posts here.
 

Jason Brent

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
268
Yeah, I just had to have it when I saw it. I actually swiped it from a member of a gun owners forum I participate in.

Here's another one I swiped that I like too.

 

Chu Gai

Senior HTF Member
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Jun 29, 2001
Messages
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There is no horse, so tired and worn out, that it cannot be taken out for another round of beating :D
 

FeisalK

Screenwriter
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May 1, 2003
Messages
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sorry to jump in unannounced, but has anyone heard what TAS and the like has to say about digital amps like the TacT Millennium (reviewed here), and the Panasonic XR45 Chu mentioned in one of his other posts -a 'krell killer' I believe it's nicknamed (its out of stock btw)
 

Chu Gai

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2001
Messages
7,270
No reason you can't. Stereophile, in one of their equipment reviews, examined one of them (forget the name...old age you know!) and compared the resultant FR as a function of the input impedance of the amp. The greater the disparity, IOW the higher the input impedance of the amp, the more linear and extended the overall FR. I'm not saying your shouldn't get them or tube amps for that matter. Know what your getting, know what they're doing, and make your own call. If I think of it, I'll rummage around the mag and try to pull up the relevant link.
 

PaulKoss

Agent
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Messages
41
Thanks. I'd appreciate it. I currently have a Bryston amp and I am thinking of getting a tube pre-amp to soften the sound a bit. Don't want to lose the wonrderful detail though.
 

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