What is the point?!!

[az]

A TUBE - on an AC97 audio interface?

You'd be better off with a decent sound amp and any stereo amp - be it tube or transistor. The tube version would be more expensive than the integrated "solution"...

AZ

[xortam]

Originally posted by rubank
... There´s a meaning to the phrase "high fidelity" ...

... and its probably one of the most misused terms in the audio market. My car sound system has a "hi-fi" switch which is basically a loudness switch; hi-fi ... right.

Originally posted by az
A TUBE - on an AC97 audio interface?...

That was one of the main points brought up in the AVS thread. The forum is undergoing maintenance right now so I can't reference the thread at the moment.

[rubank]

Originally posted by xortam
... and its probably one of the most misused terms in the audio market. My car sound system has a "hi-fi" switch which is basically a loudness switch; hi-fi ... right. .

Have you tried putting a tube in there?

[rubank]

BTW,
tubes can sound very good.

My favourite tube is a 3"x5ft plastic one. When I hold it to my mouth and say MOOOO it produces a very soothing sound.


rubank

[xortam]

Originally posted by rubank
... My favourite tube is a 3"x5ft plastic one. When I hold it to my mouth and ...

Man, that's a big bong!

[Greebe]

Yes this is true about tubes producing distortion, not extreme as rubank implies but it is there. Unlike transistor (read: solid state) amps, tubes produce considerable amounts of secondary harmonic distortion that is not nearly as profound in the other. Hence the warm sound they exhibit.

One thing that does help tubes sound better tho is the fact that they are true transconductance amplifiers vs. transimpedence amplifier (read: transistor) designs (think that's correct, it's been > a decade since I designed any). I do know that there are few solid state amps designed with this in mind, like Mark Levison's etc.

Difference between them is one can handle extremely low impedences (Transconductance) whereas Transimpedence designs cannot. This is most important in driving low frequencies (read: bass) as woofers normally drop way below 98% of all amps capability (as low as a few tenth's of an ohm).

BTW rubank, setup a Macintosh amp and compare it's output an equal cost solidstate design and actually listen to them side by side in a properly setup listening room (purest) with a single set of highend speakers. You will be amazed at the difference, pro and con for both.

BTW boy's and girls one factor most companies will not confess to is the distortion produced by their amp at less than 1 watt output power (<2.83vrms)... it normally skyrockets way beyond the full power distortion ratings. This is also one of the reasons there are special headphone amps.. they take this into consideration and sound sonically better than most any highend power amp revealing nuances that most have never experienced before opening a sonic wonderland to your ears. I know KvH knows this one first hand even if he may not know why

Arguments aside the human ear cannot typically detect distortion below 0.1% and transient responce, well that's a misnomer. while true anything that adds to the signal degrades it to some degree, how many actually have speakers that have a transient responce that is less than that of a tube design... very few and are extremely expensive.