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  »  New  The ultimate buffer – light in the end of a tunnel..  A few minor corrections...  Audio Discussions  Forum     36  385808  04-28-2005
  »  New  Tube outputted CDP's and DAC's..  SS output vs. tube...  Didital Things  Forum     3  36147  11-18-2010
12-08-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,049
Joined on 05-28-2004

Post #: 1
Post ID: 6086
Reply to: 6086
Disregard Digital with Vacuum Tube output

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


"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
12-08-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Wojtek
Pinckney (MI), United States
Posts 178
Joined on 09-01-2005

Post #: 2
Post ID: 6087
Reply to: 6086
And yet you are using tube phono preamp
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 Wink Could you kindly explain why people should treat formats differently?
Regards, W
12-09-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Antonio J.
Madrid, Spain
Posts 272
Joined on 08-16-2004

Post #: 3
Post ID: 6089
Reply to: 6087
The question wasn't addressed to me but...
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
12-09-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,049
Joined on 05-28-2004

Post #: 4
Post ID: 6090
Reply to: 6087
Microphone’s and cartridge preamps/correctors vs. DACs

 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.


"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Page 1 of 1 (4 items) Select Pages: 
   Target    Threads for related reading   Most recent post in related threads   Forum  Replies   Views   Started 
  »  New  The ultimate buffer – light in the end of a tunnel..  A few minor corrections...  Audio Discussions  Forum     36  385808  04-28-2005
  »  New  Tube outputted CDP's and DAC's..  SS output vs. tube...  Didital Things  Forum     3  36147  11-18-2010
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