GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site - Disregard Digital with Vacuum Tube output

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Topic: Disregard Digital with Vacuum Tube output

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Posted by Romy the Cat on 12-08-2007

I not juts actively hate this configuration but also actively abhor the rational that made people go for this direction.

The Morons use horrible power amplifiers and sonically impotent speakers and suffer from harsh and cruel Sound. Instead of trashing the crappy amplifiers, cable and speaker they introduce very “colorful” sounding preams with tubes, in suspense to mask out the sonic immunity of own playback, believing that the dirt that tube preamp will inject into the system will make deficiency of other elements of playback not so annoying.

The most “sophisticated” of them “cure” the problem of 16-bit digital format or more frequency the problems crappy digital implementations, by using Vacuum Tube output stages in DA converters. The Morons-consumers like the idea as they feel that the Digital Devil passing by a vacuum tube will experience some kind of redemption and revitalization.

That is very foolish notion and until one can demonstrate an absolutely transparent line-level buffer/device with Vacuum Tubes the Vacuum Tubes must not be used in line level outputs. In audio Vacuum Tubes meant for power amplifiers, preferably for out stages, that where they do job. In the output stages of digital devises the Vacuum Tubes serve explicitly marketing function – shooting against the stupid industry’s pre-developed believes and pre-buttered faulty expectations.

So, express a large reservation to any CD player or DAC with Vacuum Tubes output stage.
The Cat

Posted by Wojtek on 12-08-2007
application far more sensitive than simple line linestage and in addition to that ,that pre is percived to be colored and syrupy tick. Are you trying to cover up that harsh and cruel sound you're talking about Could you kindly explain why people should treat formats differently? Regards, W

Posted by Antonio J. on 12-09-2007

I think they're different things. I have a tubed phono preamp which I've slightly tweaked until it delivers the results I needed. If I had found a SS unit doing the same things for me, I had got it. It's not a matter of tubes being better or worse than SS. It's a matter of digital playback systems using tubes in the output, usually (I say "usually" because I haven't heard everything in the market) use the tubes to add color to the sound and to try to cover the digital nastiness. This kills other very important things in the music.
I understand Romy's comment as a warning, maybe there's some tubed CD player sounding right, but provided it's using a fashionable modern upsampling DAC, it will probably sound wrong. It will have some warmth and some other colorations which at first listen could seem more "natural" or whatever than a SS unit using similar chips, but it won't be something that really delivers an interesting result. The place to get right digital is not the output, is where the reading is made and the conversion is done. Maybe a correct digital reading and conversion can benefit of a tubed output, but I bet not in a higher degree than a SS one if both are conveniently "inexistent" soundwise.

Regards

Posted by Romy the Cat on 12-09-2007

Wojtek wrote:
application far more sensitive than simple line linestage and in addition to that ,that pre is percived to be colored and syrupy tick. Are you trying to cover up that harsh and cruel sound you're talking about Could you kindly explain why people should treat formats differently?

Wojtek,

You should less to pay attention to what I personally use but more pay attention to rational of own practice and the insights of my comment above. Sure the follower in 834PT is very un-transparent element of that RIAA equalizer, so what? Do you own homework thinking and try answering the question you raise yourself. It might lead you to understand what I meant to say.

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