On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 23:54:54 -0000
"Keith G" wrote:

You don't sell insurance for a living by any chance, do you?

:-)

No, I write code ;-) fx: hides tail

1) Explain why a SS amp could not drive the voltages in the same way as a
valve one

Forgetting that little magic word, are we??

fx: bats eyelids 'please?'

OK, enough ****ing about.

Ian, it's no big deal - you either *get* valves or you don't.

If you dont get any you wont have any to build your amp with...

Not everybody does, so don't bash yer brains out.

Please, enough of that - Im not stupid and dont need to be talked down to.

I *OWN* some valve gear. sadly its been damaged (cosmetically only) and I dont use it anymore, but I did like its sound. I certianly wouldnt have applied terms such as 'linear' or 'accurate' to it though. More 'warm' and 'coloured'.

Most valve amps (like most transistor amps) were mass market, and had a good number of nonlinearities and other problems (not least of which bursting into flames, on both 'sides'). The good ones were more linear and had less distortion.

I'd bet that the *best* valve and transistor amps are sonically indistinguishable, perhaps so much so as to be hard to tell apart on equipment.

It's not easy to describe the
'difference' without resorting to subjective phrases like 'space', air',
'texture', 'vitality', 'musicality' or whatever.

Thats because phrases like 'musicality' belong nowhere near terms like 'accurate reproduction'.

If you like the valve sound, you might as well be honest and admit you like a good gob of distortion, because the 'valve sound' was characterised by the common valve amps, and not the (more) linear ones.

The same happens in transistor amps too - people still like that 'valve like sound' and even extremely expensive transistor amps seem to deliberately cultivate high 2nd harmonic distortion levels.

These phrases immediately draw a (usually hostile) reaction from the unbelievers

No, they just make anyone interested in an accurate account of the 'valve sound' cringe and look elsewhere.

You'd get far more converts if you just told people 'this gear makes the sound good' instead of 'this gear reproduces it better'.

and the strange phenomenon of valves and SS becoming antagonistic and mutually exclusive
starts to appear.

Weird huh?

Also the 'science' involved is a) mostly way over my head

Its simple stuff. anyone with a GCSE in math or insect biology (or better, O-level) can do it.

and b) not clearly agreed on by any significany majority of the theorists.

Sorry, but thats out-right wrong. besides improvement in technology based on things that theoretical that theoretical is WELL beyond your ability to hear it. (or just plain snakeoil...)

All I can say is if
you haven't spent any time with a valve amp yourself, get a good listen and
see if it does anything for you.

I have. I like them. but I'll be keeping my SS amp - its just as good as a good valve amp, and a lot cheaper to maintain and run.

Knowing this don't happen on every street corner, I often say people I
*know* on this group are welcome to come and hear mine (and take the ****,
if that's what they want) if it's doable. (I'm in Cambridgeshire right on
the A1, where are you? - Cornwall, I expect, given your predilection for
dragons!)

Cheshire, actually. I have a friend in St. Neots though... (no, Im not carting my Radford Monitor ones down there - way too heavy to get on the train...


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