Why Do Tube Amplifiers Sound Better Than Solid State Amplifiers?

Question

I partisipated with a group who were blindfolded and allowed to listen to several comparisons of music recordings played on state-ot-the-art DVD digital audio equipment and again with vinyl records played through tube amplifiers.

In every case the vinyl records played with tube amplifiers were voted by the majority of partisipants to be more pleasing to listen to than the new solid state systems were.

This phenomin is also evidenced by the skyrocketing prices on old tube amplifiers, and the marketing of new tube amplifiers.

I want to know why this is so?

Answer 1

Older style recording equipment including vinyl disks and amplifiers with valves (tubes) and also MOSFET (high-powered, hot-running transistors used in more expensive amplifiers 30+ years ago) are considered by audio enthusiasts to have a 'warmth' or 'depth' or 'realism' of sound not found on later digital solid state equipment.

Technically it's a myth because distortion levels are much lower today, but 'retro' nostalgia and slick marketing are powerful forces.

Answer 2

I would really like to see the printed documentation from the alleged "test" you participated in.

The myth that tubes and vinyl sound "better" will probably never die.

See the "Ten Biggest Lies in Audio" (lie number 2):

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issue...

Answer 3

the reason is tube amplification, particularly the pentode 6L6 and similar output power tubes are rife with even order harmonics. These even frequency multiples are exactly one octave in pitch, so this distortion has a pleasing melodic attribute.

the question is, should the distortions of the amplifier be considered an essential part of the performance (like the intentional audio clipping of the guitar fuzz box). or, should the amplifier be neutral and simply present an unaltered and distortion free reproduction. i vote for the latter proposition, but the focus group seemed to prefer warm fuzzy sound.

i expect that the genre selection of music performances was crucial to getting the reported result. Not all music sounds improved when warm and fuzzy.