Thanks for this informative video I have a VAC PA 100 100 that l bought back in 1995 and still using today I always wondered why it was single ended only
Great Q&A. I built monos and indeed the input double triode (6n2p) is wired to use only half the tube. But there are 6 more tubes after that and doubling all of that would take a lot of real estate and be pricy to re-tube every couple of years. I laid out the system to require RCA cables that are about a foot.
Except that most tube amps with single ended inputs have another tube for a phase inverter, typically just before the output section (on each channel). So if you had a true differential input, you wouldn't need that tube and you could now use both sides of a (hopefully gain balanced) 12AX7 or similar for your balanced input. Actually saving the 2nd PI tube. Only problem there is that you wouldn't be able to handle the option of a single ended input. Which severely limits who could buy the amp. So it's better from a marketing standpoint to have a single ended input to accommodate the most users, and convert to differential (push/pull) after the initial gain stages. As you say, transistors being cheap and simple enough to apply, it's easier to design something that will handle either input.
Howdy. A lightning of inspiration struck me. Using a balanced input would eliminate the need for a phase splitter. Phase splitters are the most difficult circuits to design to produce exact mirror signals for the end pentodes / beam tetrodes. My graphical equalizer delivers balanced outputs. Now I must update my projects agenda and attempt building a splitterless tube PA to investigate. Regards.
I found (and still find) that balanced XLR offers an exactness and clarity that unbalanced can not match. But, if you seek a mellower than real life sound? Something more homogenized in effect? Balanced may not be what you seek.
Hi Paul sir this Pavan from Indian 🇮🇳 ur the God of electronic, because nobody n no one company will share like this knowledge 😉. N " I do subscribe " sir 😅🤭.
Hi Paul! My McIntosh MC275 Gordon Gow Commemorative reissue (No. 1) from 1993 is a true balanced amp from input thru to the output transformer. The first tube , V1, under the shield, is the phase splitter when using the RCA unbalanced mode and the tube is simply bypassed when using the balanced XLR input. You’re right that the amp needs more tubes, though, as the MC275 uses 11 tubes for its 75 WPC whereas most KT88 stereo amps usually have only 7 tubes, like a Conrad Johnson Premiere 11A. Unfortunately, the MC275 is no longer balanced when the outputs are paralleled or strapped together, not bridged, for 150 watts mono.
Balanced Audio Technology VK-7SE is a fully balanced vacuum tube amp design and so does the Convergent Audio Technology JL and SL series of tube amps. Good for driving difficult-ish loudspeakers.
For my computer desk I use 2 of those little 3.5w per channel el84 stereo tube amps from TubeDepot with the channels in push pull from the balanced out of a Schiit DAC.
A 12AX7 is indeed a dual tube, as are most if not all of the 9 pin miniatures. I am dubious about the advantage of balanced circuitry unless you are running 50' cables. Since I have never heard, and am sure I never will, otherwise identical electronics in balanced and single ended mode, I cannot say for sure.
It can be good to pass on received information, but if you have not listened carefully and often at length your opinion is just that, no more. Mr. LeBeau, you obviously recognize this and that is wisdom. Good for you.
I was skeptical until I tried it. But, at the same time the gains also depend on the environment. There's also equipment that says balanced and is not truly balanced. You will hear Paul specify "true balanced" almost every time he mentions balanced.
Well, if you're talking the really big American beer producers you're right, but the fact is there are now many brands of American beer that provide strong beers. Just - stop buying your beer from the likes of Budweiser, Miller, and Coors. The old truism about American beers is outdated at best. 😉
@@MacedonianHero When I'm in the States, I tend to try the beer from local microbreweries. It's hit and miss but sometimes I do find one I really like. And tons to choose from too :)
@@MacedonianHero I would put forth a logical and reasoned response here, but since logic and reason are obviously beyond your capability (clearly you'd rather base your beliefs on prejudice and old sayings than actual facts) I won't waste my time.
Currently designing/building a DIY headphone amp - balanced differential cascode feeding drivers and totem push-pull OTL output for each channel. A total of 16 tubes. More tubes = higher cost. I also have a design in the works - direct digital using tubes only. The tube op-amps being fully differential results in a large number of RF tubes. More tubes often mean more issues todo with distortion due to non-balancing but at the same time allows you to deliver good bandwidth. Lastly more tubes = power requirements on the PSU which results in higher current and complexity thus more cost.
I have a single ended stereo phonostage that uses 2 12ax7's. If the 12ax7 has 2 channels, why would Pro Ject use 2 of them on this Tube Box S2? Better isolation, perhaps?
One half of the 12AX7 feeds the other half per channel. Only the really cheap stuff use a single tube for stereo, this configuration usually have poor separation.
Paul in this video explain why it's difficult to have a tube amp with BALANCED TOPOLOGY Having a balanced input/output in a single ended topology is easy, just add balanced connector and some adapter/transformer. That's what most tube amp with balanced output/input do (they are still single ended tho :) ). But being true balance (having balanced topology) is difficult, just like he said, amount of tube will grow exponentially everytime you add components which are not fully differential.
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We learned what balanced inputs, outputs, and circuits mean. But, what is impedance-balanced output? I saw that on a lot of USB interfaces and DACs.
This is a nonsense idea that had stood for too long. The fact is that 2nd and 3rd order distortion is largely inaudible. Consider tapes, they have *LOTS* of 3rd order distortion and some of the greatest regarded recordings of all time, it is right there on the master tapes. This and the myth of amplifier damping factor, they look like they will never go away. _C'est la vie._
Does that fact predominate as the preference of SET amplifier tube over non balanced SET solid state amplification as well as balanced valve like BAT Inustries and balanced solid state like Boulder Amplifiers.
You might want to think about 12au7 as a lower noise alternative to the 12ax7. 12ax7 is way better for guitar amp applications but might be a little "fizzy" for a tube based stereo.
Paul, there is another way - a transformer! Most legacy pro tube audio gear used input and output transformers feeding single circuitry inside the box. Even some solid state pro gear still uses transformers to provide balanced I/O. Now as you no doubt know, good audio transformers are expensive. Like over $100. That exceeds the cost of any tube. For solid state gear, today's OPAMP solutions provide excellent transformer less balanced I/O at an even lower cost. Interface chips like the AD SSM2141 and SSM2142 as well at the Burr Brown equivalents are very good. But in the good old days, we used transformers. But that art is mostly gone except for the few left like Jensen. Hence the high cost of good audio transformers.
If you’re looking for a superb tube preamp with true balanced in- and outputs look at Einstein „The Tube“ or the successor „The Preamp“ and be done for life …talking HighEnd here. But this ain’t no mellow, slouchy sounding preamp but an extremely dynamic and resolving one. Really great 👍🏼
Another issue I have seen is tube power amps almost never use a tube bridge rectifier , only full-wave . Solid state bridge rectification is so much cheaper and cooler running .
For a single-ended input stereo amp. you'd have 1 tube for the 1st preamp stages, another for the 2nd preamp stages, and one for the phase-inverters. For a balanced-input stereo amp, You'd have 2 extra tubes for the 1st and 2nd preamp stages, but you'd *eliminate* the phase inverters! That would be a net increase of only one tube!
Most valve amps with XLR inputs are not actually balanced. On the inside you will find that only one of the + pins is connected. They add a resistor to reduce the higher balanced signal voltage to match the RCA. In practice this means that you get the convenience of being able to use a balanced cable however you don't get any of the advantages balanced offers.
I am not sure why if you have a balanced input do you need to have an amplifier that is balanced all the way. The advantages of balanced is to have noise cancelled out in the interconnects. Once you are inside an amplifier this can be mitigated very well with a single ended circuit. You could even have a balanced input transformer based attenuator and have the secondary coil unbalanced out.
Hybrid tube amps have balanced inputs! i.e, tubes on the preamp stage and solid state on the output stage! My Audreal XA6950 hybrid amp has balanced input which I do utilize !!
The basic Jensen line input transformer is, what, $50? So $100 for input transformers? I would think this could be allowable in a multi-thousand dollar tube amplifier.
@@MichelLinschoten Do you really think Paul wouldn’t know about ARC? It’s a generalized statement meant for the title only and he confirms this right at the beginning of the video.
The Decware Super Zen Triode can be upgraded to balance inputs for extra cost. With that being said, if you have a short run XLR cables are unnecessary and good RCA cables will perform just as well. XLR just increases the price of the product and makes you think you are getting something better but in reality probably won't benefit you.
It uses a Jensen input transformer to convert balanced input to single-ended for the amplification , so it's not true fully balanced throughout , but the XLR cables are used properly
I have a Super Zen with the balanced option. Paul’s explanation helps me understand the premium for that option. That being said if I get Paul’s explanation right, a balanced version would have more tubes and the Zen has same amount of tubes whether its the balanced or unbalanced version. 🤷♂️
@@sasquatch1554 I should’ve been more precise, I’ve had it on order for two months and it will only arrive in September so I can’t tell you yet how it sounds. I will be running it with my Tekton Double Impact SE at 99db efficiency. Hope it complements well.
It defeats the purpose of many tube amplifiers to have different tubes for the positive and negative part of the signal. The aim is purity. And purity means just one amplification element to handle the whole of the signal. Purity comes with its drawbacks. Fortunately, SET tubes match very well with some excellent high-efficiency loudspeakers, in a way that each part enable the other to perform their best.
Balanced is pro level, and transformers were used almost exclusively. Trouble is, they are broadcast quality, and expensive (check out a Peerless / Altec 4722).
My plexi definitely does not have a balanced input AND it’s mono (; it’s my favorite tube amp ever! Even though it’s definitely NOT hifi and not supposed to be. I am an absolute nut about tube guitar amps, understanding them much more than any other audio electronics.
Maybe you should check out a reconditioned Leslie rotating speaker with the original tube amp, Grant, especially ones modified to accept guitar, keyboard and / or a CD player input.
@@laurentzduba1298 those old Leslie amps are magnificent (especially when modified like you say), held within the rotating speaker assembly or not! Old Leslie speakers are one of my favorite “effects”, and the amplifiers within are something special.
@@josschreur6992 Not in the normal usage of the word in mathematics - any increase or decrease can be "exponential" - it may be that I should have said "log10" or "ln."
There is too much variation in the output between two of the exact same tubes to be used in a differential sum. You'll have only 30% or less of the input signal.
To say tube amps do not have balanced circuitry does not reflect on all tube manufacturers. Majority of higher end tube manufacturers offer both RCA and balanced connections.
lets not forget that if you listen to music for 6-8 hours a day like me you'll have to replace the tubes very often,like every few years which makes it much more expensive.
A DSP can make better more fine-tuned tube distortion with no degrading performance over time or warm-up issues than an actual tube, but tube aficionados don’t want to hear that🤔 Alright, tubes do look cooler indeed and for analog sources, a DSP isn’t great.
DSP tube modeling has been attempted to death in guitar amps. It would seem to satisfy roughly the lower 30% of users. Most who want tube sound get tubes. The advantage of DSP is that you can get close-ish to many different scenarios with the press of a button.
@@InsideOfMyOwnMind Emulating tubes can be done with high accuracy provided using sufficiently advanced algorithms, sample rate and sample resolution. With a powerful DSP the sky is the limit in terms of tuning towards best sounding compromise in rounding transients with musical (even harmonics) distortion, making the sound smooth emulating triode/pentode tube distortion behaviors or even warming-up and wear-out behaviors. A DSP algorithm is not limited to the component design of a tube but can be optimized to what is actual best sound compromise.
@@johnholmes912 Valves are much inferior in "linearity" as they have huge tolerances between individual parts, thermal conditions and through aging. A DSP is as linear as you program it to be. If you run the math in 32 bits, resolution is a non-issue.
@@hugobloemers4425 No, the point I was hoping to make is that complementary circuits are much more difficult to build with tubes. With transistors we have complementary PNP and NPN devices, and with FETs we have N-channel and P-channel. All tubes are analogous to N-channel devices, so building the type of circuits necessary for balanced inputs or outputs using only tubes is hard, and, as Paul mentioned, requires a lot of (relatively large and expensive) tubes.
If a product sound better balanced than single ended, then it is bad design, balanced need 2 of everything, making everything double expensive, why not use the money for better parts, also home audio, not much need for balanced, and I own balanced and single ended equipment.
Any fermented beverage over about 16% is fortified with alcohol. Yeast will poison itself with any alcohol content over 16%. And it takes a SPECIAL yeast to tolerate any % near 16%.
....your videos are way too short,....as if you are in a hurry to go somewhere.....10minutes would be good. Listening to some people is so irritating,...but you are definitely not...SO TAKE IT EASY!
Thanks for your comments. I actually work to keep them short as in my experience most people seem in a hurry and want to have a short and sweet answer. But thank you for your wonderful comments.
Thanks for this informative video
I have a VAC PA 100 100 that l bought back in 1995 and still using today
I always wondered why it was single ended only
Great Q&A. I built monos and indeed the input double triode (6n2p) is wired to use only half the tube. But there are 6 more tubes after that and doubling all of that would take a lot of real estate and be pricy to re-tube every couple of years. I laid out the system to require RCA cables that are about a foot.
Off topic: “Sunlight” is the update I always wanted… Thank you!!
Excellent explanation. I have a question : Can FM transmission be of audiophile quality ?
Primaluna makes tube amps with balanced inputs. I’ve seen McIntosh tube amps with balanced inputs and these are just 2 among many.
Except that most tube amps with single ended inputs have another tube for a phase inverter, typically just before the output section (on each channel). So if you had a true differential input, you wouldn't need that tube and you could now use both sides of a (hopefully gain balanced) 12AX7 or similar for your balanced input. Actually saving the 2nd PI tube. Only problem there is that you wouldn't be able to handle the option of a single ended input. Which severely limits who could buy the amp. So it's better from a marketing standpoint to have a single ended input to accommodate the most users, and convert to differential (push/pull) after the initial gain stages. As you say, transistors being cheap and simple enough to apply, it's easier to design something that will handle either input.
Howdy.
A lightning of inspiration struck me. Using a balanced input would eliminate the need for a phase splitter. Phase splitters are the most difficult circuits to design to produce exact mirror signals for the end pentodes / beam tetrodes.
My graphical equalizer delivers balanced outputs. Now I must update my projects agenda and attempt building a splitterless tube PA to investigate.
Regards.
Hi Paul it's Shane from Australia I'm a big fan mate love your work and "l Do Subscribe" 😁👍🎧
I found (and still find) that balanced XLR offers an exactness and clarity that unbalanced can not match. But, if you seek a mellower than real life sound? Something more homogenized in effect? Balanced may not be what you seek.
Hi Paul sir this Pavan from Indian 🇮🇳 ur the God of electronic, because nobody n no one company will share like this knowledge 😉. N " I do subscribe " sir 😅🤭.
Hi Paul! My McIntosh MC275 Gordon Gow Commemorative reissue (No. 1) from 1993 is a true balanced amp from input thru to the output transformer. The first tube , V1, under the shield, is the phase splitter when using the RCA unbalanced mode and the tube is simply bypassed when using the balanced XLR input. You’re right that the amp needs more tubes, though, as the MC275 uses 11 tubes for its 75 WPC whereas most KT88 stereo amps usually have only 7 tubes, like a Conrad Johnson Premiere 11A. Unfortunately, the MC275 is no longer balanced when the outputs are paralleled or strapped together, not bridged, for 150 watts mono.
Mine Nat Audio gm70 mono's have xlr, don't know if it's true balanced though
Balanced Audio Technology VK-7SE is a fully balanced vacuum tube amp design and so does the Convergent Audio Technology JL and SL series of tube amps. Good for driving difficult-ish loudspeakers.
For my computer desk I use 2 of those little 3.5w per channel el84 stereo tube amps from TubeDepot with the channels in push pull from the balanced out of a Schiit DAC.
Mine uses two ECL86 tubes (2.3 watts per channel), a 6V4 rectifier, Webcor tape recorder outputs, and a pair of Sansui SP-30s. I built the amplifier.
@@joeybonin7691 A home made amp would be overkill for Kerbal Space Program and funny cat videos. lol
A 12AX7 is indeed a dual tube, as are most if not all of the 9 pin miniatures. I am dubious about the advantage of balanced circuitry unless you are running 50' cables. Since I have never heard, and am sure I never will, otherwise identical electronics in balanced and single ended mode, I cannot say for sure.
It can be good to pass on received information, but if you have not listened carefully and often at length your opinion is just that, no more. Mr. LeBeau, you obviously recognize this and that is wisdom. Good for you.
I was skeptical until I tried it. But, at the same time the gains also depend on the environment. There's also equipment that says balanced and is not truly balanced. You will hear Paul specify "true balanced" almost every time he mentions balanced.
Excellent!
Love your videos Paul. Just a heads up, next to American beer, EVERYONE else makes really strong beer. :P
Well, if you're talking the really big American beer producers you're right, but the fact is there are now many brands of American beer that provide strong beers. Just - stop buying your beer from the likes of Budweiser, Miller, and Coors. The old truism about American beers is outdated at best. 😉
@@Bannockburn111 That's who I'm referring to. I avoid American beer like the plague.
@@MacedonianHero When I'm in the States, I tend to try the beer from local microbreweries. It's hit and miss but sometimes I do find one I really like. And tons to choose from too :)
@@MacedonianHero I would put forth a logical and reasoned response here, but since logic and reason are obviously beyond your capability (clearly you'd rather base your beliefs on prejudice and old sayings than actual facts) I won't waste my time.
@@Bannockburn111 It is known all around the world: American beer = water. I've never enjoyed an American beer....tried so many and nope.
Currently designing/building a DIY headphone amp - balanced differential cascode feeding drivers and totem push-pull OTL output for each channel. A total of 16 tubes. More tubes = higher cost. I also have a design in the works - direct digital using tubes only. The tube op-amps being fully differential results in a large number of RF tubes. More tubes often mean more issues todo with distortion due to non-balancing but at the same time allows you to deliver good bandwidth. Lastly more tubes = power requirements on the PSU which results in higher current and complexity thus more cost.
I have a single ended stereo phonostage that uses 2 12ax7's.
If the 12ax7 has 2 channels, why would Pro Ject use 2 of them on this Tube Box S2? Better isolation, perhaps?
One half of the 12AX7 feeds the other half per channel. Only the really cheap stuff use a single tube for stereo, this configuration usually have poor separation.
Maybe a vid on xlr vs single ended?
Paul in this video explain why it's difficult to have a tube amp with BALANCED TOPOLOGY
Having a balanced input/output in a single ended topology is easy, just add balanced connector and some adapter/transformer. That's what most tube amp with balanced output/input do (they are still single ended tho :) ).
But being true balance (having balanced topology) is difficult, just like he said, amount of tube will grow exponentially everytime you add components which are not fully differential.
We learned what balanced inputs, outputs, and circuits mean. But, what is impedance-balanced output? I saw that on a lot of USB interfaces and DACs.
Also the user of tube amps often enjoy the high 2nd Harmonic Distortion that tube amps often create. Balanced working would tend cancel the 2nd HD.
This is a nonsense idea that had stood for too long. The fact is that 2nd and 3rd order distortion is largely inaudible. Consider tapes, they have *LOTS* of 3rd order distortion and some of the greatest regarded recordings of all time, it is right there on the master tapes. This and the myth of amplifier damping factor, they look like they will never go away. _C'est la vie._
Does that fact predominate as the preference of SET amplifier tube over non balanced SET solid state amplification as well as balanced valve like BAT Inustries and balanced solid state like Boulder Amplifiers.
Do Balanced Hybrid Amplifiers like PS AUDIO offer zero feedback or is this a non issue for tube input stage .
no, i think they enjoy the greater linearity of valve amps , over solid-state
@@johnholmes912 thank you John.
You might want to think about 12au7 as a lower noise alternative to the 12ax7. 12ax7 is way better for guitar amp applications but might be a little "fizzy" for a tube based stereo.
Paul, there is another way - a transformer! Most legacy pro tube audio gear used input and output transformers feeding single circuitry inside the box. Even some solid state pro gear still uses transformers to provide balanced I/O. Now as you no doubt know, good audio transformers are expensive. Like over $100. That exceeds the cost of any tube. For solid state gear, today's OPAMP solutions provide excellent transformer less balanced I/O at an even lower cost. Interface chips like the AD SSM2141 and SSM2142 as well at the Burr Brown equivalents are very good. But in the good old days, we used transformers. But that art is mostly gone except for the few left like Jensen. Hence the high cost of good audio transformers.
I've owned several BAT tube amps that only had balanced inputs.
If you’re looking for a superb tube preamp with true balanced in- and outputs look at Einstein „The Tube“ or the successor „The Preamp“ and be done for life …talking HighEnd here. But this ain’t no mellow, slouchy sounding preamp but an extremely dynamic and resolving one. Really great 👍🏼
Another issue I have seen is tube power amps almost never use a tube bridge rectifier , only full-wave . Solid state bridge rectification is so much cheaper and cooler running .
For a single-ended input stereo amp. you'd have 1 tube for the 1st preamp stages, another for the 2nd preamp stages, and one for the phase-inverters.
For a balanced-input stereo amp, You'd have 2 extra tubes for the 1st and 2nd preamp stages, but you'd *eliminate* the phase inverters! That would be a net increase of only one tube!
There are plenty of old tube mic preamps that are balanced all the way to the output.
Modern tube amps are seldom that. Most are single ended stages, even the output driver is unbalanced.
Paul kicks #ASS
Most valve amps with XLR inputs are not actually balanced. On the inside you will find that only one of the + pins is connected.
They add a resistor to reduce the higher balanced signal voltage to match the RCA. In practice this means that you get the convenience of being able to use a balanced cable however you don't get any of the advantages balanced offers.
I think my 275 mcintosh has rca and balanced if that's what this is about...
I am not sure why if you have a balanced input do you need to have an amplifier that is balanced all the way. The advantages of balanced is to have noise cancelled out in the interconnects. Once you are inside an amplifier this can be mitigated very well with a single ended circuit. You could even have a balanced input transformer based attenuator and have the secondary coil unbalanced out.
listening this through balanced Loxjie P20
My Audio Research 250SE mono-blocks have balanced inputs
but you need four mono block to make it a ture balanced system.
Hybrid tube amps have balanced inputs! i.e, tubes on the preamp stage and solid state on the output stage! My Audreal XA6950 hybrid amp has balanced input which I do utilize !!
You could use Transformer inputs an outputs but good transformers are very expensive.
I have been designing and building tube balanced circuits for forty years, without transformers. We call them differential circuits.
It's high end right, so money is no object :)
The basic Jensen line input transformer is, what, $50? So $100 for input transformers? I would think this could be allowable in a multi-thousand dollar tube amplifier.
Audio Research has been making balanced tube amplifiers for decades.
You beat me to it, Paul is so incredibly uninformed, it's borderline emberassing
@@MichelLinschoten I don’t think Paul said there are NO tube amps with balanced inputs - just explained why it’s harder to do.
@@MichelLinschoten Do you really think Paul wouldn’t know about ARC? It’s a generalized statement meant for the title only and he confirms this right at the beginning of the video.
Read the description. "If you haven't noticed, most tube amplifiers do not have a balanced input. Paul helps us understand why."
Keyword being MOST.
@@intothevoid9831 MOST solid state amplifiers do not have a balanced input
balanced I/O´s using transformers?
It was done all the time back when in the 40s and 50s for broadcast.
The Decware Super Zen Triode can be upgraded to balance inputs for extra cost. With that being said, if you have a short run XLR cables are unnecessary and good RCA cables will perform just as well. XLR just increases the price of the product and makes you think you are getting something better but in reality probably won't benefit you.
I was just about to mention Decware! 👍🍾✌
It uses a Jensen input transformer to convert balanced input to single-ended for the amplification , so it's not true fully balanced throughout , but the XLR cables are used properly
I have a Super Zen with the balanced option. Paul’s explanation helps me understand the premium for that option. That being said if I get Paul’s explanation right, a balanced version would have more tubes and the Zen has same amount of tubes whether its the balanced or unbalanced version. 🤷♂️
@@audiorick841 how do like that amp? What speakers do you use with it?
@@sasquatch1554 I should’ve been more precise, I’ve had it on order for two months and it will only arrive in September so I can’t tell you yet how it sounds. I will be running it with my Tekton Double Impact SE at 99db efficiency. Hope it complements well.
Paul just some tube trivia, 12ax7= 12.6 volt heater, ax has to do with internal construction, 7 useful elements.
It defeats the purpose of many tube amplifiers to have different tubes for the positive and negative part of the signal. The aim is purity. And purity means just one amplification element to handle the whole of the signal. Purity comes with its drawbacks. Fortunately, SET tubes match very well with some excellent high-efficiency loudspeakers, in a way that each part enable the other to perform their best.
Balanced is pro level, and transformers were used almost exclusively. Trouble is, they are broadcast quality, and expensive (check out a Peerless / Altec 4722).
My plexi definitely does not have a balanced input AND it’s mono (; it’s my favorite tube amp ever! Even though it’s definitely NOT hifi and not supposed to be. I am an absolute nut about tube guitar amps, understanding them much more than any other audio electronics.
but thats a guitar amp lol
@@bronsonosborne3962 yeah the question on the title is not “why tube hifi amps don’t...”
@@graxjpg BUT HES TALIKING ABOUT HIFI NOT GUITAR LOL anyways have a good day
Maybe you should check out a reconditioned Leslie rotating speaker with the original tube amp, Grant, especially ones modified to accept guitar, keyboard and / or a CD player input.
@@laurentzduba1298 those old Leslie amps are magnificent (especially when modified like you say), held within the rotating speaker assembly or not! Old Leslie speakers are one of my favorite “effects”, and the amplifiers within are something special.
Can't stop looking at that crooked outlet on the right
Mold exhibits exponential growth - not tubes in a power amplifier!
From 2 to 4 is also exponential ;)
@@josschreur6992 Not in the normal usage of the word in mathematics - any increase or decrease can be "exponential" - it may be that I should have said "log10" or "ln."
There is too much variation in the output between two of the exact same tubes to be used in a differential sum.
You'll have only 30% or less of the input signal.
It's kinda like stacking dacs and summing, but there is no ability to be "bit" perfect in analog systems.
That was my thought, gain matching would be difficult. And inconsistent.
9% is a lunch beer right?
Prima Luna has balanced inputs!
My Sonic Frontiers amps have balanced inputs...and many others.
To say tube amps do not have balanced circuitry does not reflect on all tube manufacturers. Majority of higher end tube manufacturers offer both RCA and balanced connections.
lets not forget that if you listen to music for 6-8 hours a day like me you'll have to replace the tubes very often,like every few years which makes it much more expensive.
Really? I have 12AX7s working for me for decades. Only shock and thermal cycles will degrade any small signal tube.
@@joeybonin7691 you are right but for power amps its an expensive journey....
Try to design one and you will soon understand why.
A DSP can make better more fine-tuned tube distortion with no degrading performance over time or warm-up issues than an actual tube, but tube aficionados don’t want to hear that🤔 Alright, tubes do look cooler indeed and for analog sources, a DSP isn’t great.
DSP tube modeling has been attempted to death in guitar amps. It would seem to satisfy roughly the lower 30% of users. Most who want tube sound get tubes. The advantage of DSP is that you can get close-ish to many different scenarios with the press of a button.
valves have greater linearity...
@@InsideOfMyOwnMind Emulating tubes can be done with high accuracy provided using sufficiently advanced algorithms, sample rate and sample resolution. With a powerful DSP the sky is the limit in terms of tuning towards best sounding compromise in rounding transients with musical (even harmonics) distortion, making the sound smooth emulating triode/pentode tube distortion behaviors or even warming-up and wear-out behaviors. A DSP algorithm is not limited to the component design of a tube but can be optimized to what is actual best sound compromise.
@@johnholmes912 Valves are much inferior in "linearity" as they have huge tolerances between individual parts, thermal conditions and through aging. A DSP is as linear as you program it to be. If you run the math in 32 bits, resolution is a non-issue.
manley have bance input
Well, if it grows like mold on bread, there's only one thing to do: Try to "make penicillin" from it! ;)
There's no such thing as a "P-channel" tube!
That is so random.
@@hugobloemers4425 No, the point I was hoping to make is that complementary circuits are much more difficult to build with tubes. With transistors we have complementary PNP and NPN devices, and with FETs we have N-channel and P-channel. All tubes are analogous to N-channel devices, so building the type of circuits necessary for balanced inputs or outputs using only tubes is hard, and, as Paul mentioned, requires a lot of (relatively large and expensive) tubes.
@@mattbonaccio3522 I see your point.
Well, thats just false. Differential input and push-pull, or BTL, are two completely different things.
My subwoofer quivers everytime he ends the video with his subsonic "bye".
Unless you're running over 5 metres of cable you don't need balanced, RCA is fine
Balanced is noise cancelling for extra long runs, as in theaters. I seriously doubt many tube amp brands are providing truly balanced inputs.
Mcintosh C2600 is balanced.
Waffles..... U r 2 much !
If a product sound better balanced than single ended, then it is bad design, balanced need 2 of everything, making everything double expensive, why not use the money for better parts, also home audio, not much need for balanced, and I own balanced and single ended equipment.
The west coast of the usa makes the strongest beers. Some upto 14% and a few up to 75%.
Those 25%+ beers are awful to me. But I’m not the arbiter of taste in beer, I think IPA is awful.
@@graxjpg if you can't handle the IBUs, don't live in the PNW. I don't think I have a sub 79 IBU in my fridge.
But yes... There are ipas that do taste like dirt. They are marketed as mushroomie, herbaceous... Yet it is just toe fungus.
Any fermented beverage over about 16% is fortified with alcohol. Yeast will poison itself with any alcohol content over 16%. And it takes a SPECIAL yeast to tolerate any % near 16%.
@@graxjpg 25% beer is not not naturally fermented they are fortified with extra alcohol.
In all reality balanced in home audio is gimmicky at best ...
Lol. Tons of tube amps have balanced in.
Please don't stoop to groveling for subscribes. Not classy.
....your videos are way too short,....as if you are in a hurry to go somewhere.....10minutes would be good. Listening to some people is so irritating,...but you are definitely not...SO TAKE IT EASY!
Thanks for your comments. I actually work to keep them short as in my experience most people seem in a hurry and want to have a short and sweet answer. But thank you for your wonderful comments.