Our Thoughts on Tubes in Audio
Below you will find a link to a reasonably fair and balanced look at the battle between transistors and tubes from Brian Dunning’s skeptoid website, worthwhile reading for those of us who favor a skeptical approach to life (and especially this hobby).
Thirty plus years ago, when I started my little record business, I knew that most records marketed to audiophiles offered junk sound (half-speed masters, Japanese pressings) or junk music (direct to discs by artists nobody ever heard of).
As our playback has improved, fewer and fewer of these “specialty” pressings have survived the test of time, a subject we write about endlessly on our site and here on this blog.
For the longest time our motto has been “Records for Audiophiles, Not Audiophile Records,” and we see no reason to change it. If anything, the modern manufacturers of Heavy Vinyl pressings are making records that get worse sounding by the day. Many of the most egregious offenders can be found here.
More commentaries about Heavy Vinyl can be found here. We are not fans of the stuff, not because it’s our competition, but because it just doesn’t sound very good.
Here is the article.
I confess I sped through it quickly, barely skimming it, because I have heard plenty on the subject of tubes versus transistors, most of it, in my opinion, misguided if I’m being honest.
This is my fifth decade in audio and I know where I stand on the subject. I offer it to those who might be interested in a less conventional view.