The Tube Distinctions AOS classic series valve amp - the verdict

[Iain Sinclair]

Well put Marco. The process of her beginning to listen more actively to music in the home began with the unmodified Puresound A30 which she described in her own words as being "involving" in its portrayal of music. I guess the involvement factor is the key to getting people to actually sit down to listen rather than just have the music "on" while attending to other things like housework or reading a magazine.

Tasha is a music lover but until recently the recorded music in the home experience was never like attending a concert, probably still isn't (she goes to two or three a year including V Festival) but I think we are close enough now for her to just do the sitting, listening and enjoying.

Fair play. I was shocked because my wife has for as long as I've known her, sat and listened to music, even played on a cruddy Dansette portable record player. She's not fussed about hifi, possibly because she has a very good 'ear' for music so doesn't need a high resolution system to enable to enjoy recorded music.

[Marco]

Yep we're all different, Iain.

It's good that your wife likes to sit with you and listen to music. Personally, I don't think couples spend enough time together these days, and in some cases in today's busy world, almost live separate lives. Consider yourself lucky because most women I know wouldn't have the time or patience to do what your wife does.

One can only speak from experience, but I've found that in general most women like (perhaps need?) to multi-task, as Steve mentioned, doing housework or reading, etc, whilst listening to music - few have the luxury of spare time in between working, housework, looking after kids, etc to sit and listen to music for extended periods, however it might be 'on' whilst they're busy about their daily business. I'm not saying they're all like that, but I think quite a few are.

Men are different - we're lazy b*stards (in comparison)!

As far as my wife is concerned she's the type who always needs to be doing something and 'on the go'. There's no way, despite how much she enjoyed the music or how good it sounded, she could just sit there listen - perhaps half an hour or an hour, tops, then she'd be bored and offski

It's the same when we're on holiday. I can spend hours just reading a book chilling out in the sun enjoying a few beers or a bottle of wine somewhere, whereas she's off sight seeing, visiting museums, looking at shops, or whatever. However there are also plenty of times when we do things together. It's important to strike the right balance - we all need a bit of space and 'me' time.

Bloody hell, how did I go off on this tangent?

Marco.

[Togil]

a valve must be classed as a circuit in its own right,with its own capacitance and reactance values,to name a few of its characteristic traits, hence the reason they all sound different, but there are recognised types that definitely sound more "right" than most others, these are invariably old stock versions, coming from an era when valves were pretty much all there was, so, it would seem logical to some that they were made more "right" than most modern equivalents!
anthony...

Anthony,

do you already have any ideas how to improve the new Quad II Eighty monoblocks ?

[anthonyTD]

Anthony,

do you already have any ideas how to improve the new Quad II Eighty monoblocks ?

yes, start again!
but seriously, i was never a fan of the original quad 2 circuit, its probably [in my opinion] responsible to a large degree for the miss conception of what valve amplifiers are suposed to sound like, ie, soft, warm, with limited frequency response and power, etc, but as stated, thats my opinion, and i understand and respect that there are a lot of people around the globe who use them, and apreciate their sonic qualities, i am just not one of them...
anthony...

[Mike]

I'm not so sure the 'new' ones have much in common with the 'old' ones.

[tfarney]

yes, start again!
but seriously, i was never a fan of the original quad 2 circuit, its probably [in my opinion] responsible to a large degree for the miss conception of what valve amplifiers are suposed to sound like, ie, soft, warm, with limited frequency response and power, etc, but as stated, thats my opinion, and i understand and respect that there are a lot of people around the globe who use them, and apreciate their sonic qualities, i am just not one of them...
anthony...

So when a valve amp doesn't sound warm, soft and, as we say here to the left of the pond, "tubey," what are the characteristics that set it apart from a good solid state amp?

And while we're on the subject, what are some of the common (as in readily available, still in production) valves that can make really good hifi? I've seen a couple of small SET/SEP amps advertised lately that use EL84s and 6v6s, which appeal because there are so many popular guitar amps that use those, so it seems that on-going production is a safe bet. But I have no idea how they perform in a hifi context.

Tim

[Peter Stockwell]

Personally, I don't think couples spend enough time together these days, and in some cases in today's busy world, almost live separate lives.

This must be a thread for the padded cell (ooops! Wrong Forum )

Seriously, Mrs L, that's the missus, does like music and does listen, but not as singlemidedly as me. She certainly has the ears to tell when the rig is "On" or "Off". Once the SL1210 was turning she heard that it was better than the Garrard.

We're lucky to enjoy many activities together, such as concerts, golf, music, sport etc.

[anthonyTD]

So when a valve amp doesn't sound warm, soft and, as we say here to the left of the pond, "tubey," what are the characteristics that set it apart from a good solid state amp?

And while we're on the subject, what are some of the common (as in readily available, still in production) valves that can make really good hifi? I've seen a couple of small SET/SEP amps advertised lately that use EL84s and 6v6s, which appeal because there are so many popular guitar amps that use those, so it seems that on-going production is a safe bet. But I have no idea how they perform in a hifi context.

Tim

hi tim,
some of the current production valves are very good, especially the original svetlana's, in fact russian valves on the whole are quite good, with the exception of some of the ones branded up as something their not, [you know who you are] JJ valves are also very good, but my point was, in my opinion, none seem to have the magic that some of the most popular brands of the by gone era have.
anthony...

[Togil]

This must be a thread for the padded cell (ooops! Wrong Forum )

Seriously, Mrs L, that's the missus, does like music and does listen, but not as singlemidedly as me. She certainly has the ears to tell when the rig is "On" or "Off". Once the SL1210 was turning she heard that it was better than the Garrard.

We're lucky to enjoy many activities together, such as concerts, golf, music, sport etc.

Well back in the 60s my mother was the first one in the family to complain about all this "rumbling" so out went the Braun turntable ( don't laugh, they made some excellent HiFi ! ) and in came the Thorens...

[NRG]

So when a valve amp doesn't sound warm, soft and, as we say here to the left of the pond, "tubey," what are the characteristics that set it apart from a good solid state amp?

Tim

Tim, I would categorize a good modern valve amp as having a very liquid open midrange with great detail and insight. It will also have a good top end without any edge or grain to the treble or to the overall presentation (as long as 3rd harmonic distortion is kept low).

It should not sound warm but clean, open and smooth, the bass should be tighter than older designs (lower bloat) due to better TX winding techniques and materials. Bass won't approach SS impact levels though.