Tube Sound - Sound Reproduction

Sound Reproduction

Audiophiles may agree or disagree on the relative merits of tube vs solid state amplification. Some say they prefer the sound produced from tube amplifiers on the grounds that it is more natural and satisfying than the sound from transistor amplifiers. Otherwise this preference or difference is far too generalised or even vague without taking amplifier designs into consideration, and there are many. Certainly these audible differences are due to distortion types: harmonic, distribution, level and many other factors.

Those who subscribe to measurement and scientifically-based approaches to high fidelity note that in general, solid state designs can be manufactured without output transformers and are therefore immune to speaker-dependent impedance mismatches and other transformer effects which alter the system spectral response. On the other hand, ruler flat frequency response does not necessarily mean a good sounding amplifier. It should be noted that the loudspeaker itself (regardless of price) will likely produce more distortions (non-linearity and uneven frequency response) than any other part of the system. Typically, in sound reproduction systems, accurate reproduction of the sound of the original recording is the goal; distortion and uneven spectral response within the audible frequency band is something designers deliberately seek not to introduce.