Beginner's tips for buying your next or first tube amp.

Comments · 659

• TH

  @ThomasAndStereo · 5 years ago (edited) · pinned

  Let me know 1) What is your favorite tube and why? 2) Do you prefer push-pull or single-ended? 3) Do you like your tube amp? 4) Are you planning to try a tube amp in the future? <br>Benefits of using tubes: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f5iV80jAe0">https://youtu.be/9f5iV80jAe0</a><br>Here are some comments from Mr. Vintage that I left out from the video. Please keep in mind we are generalizing here.<br>Mr. Vintage: &nbsp;For me, the biggest difference between Single-ended and push-pull design is the image (結像力), the SE is sharp like the Zeiss lens while the push-pull is a little loose by comparison. It was 6V6 that inspired me to enter the &quot;tube world&quot;. The magic of the 6V6 tube driving a pair of Dynaco A25 could not be found on all my Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer, Kenwood...SS amplifiers. The 6L6 follows the footprint of the 6V6 but has blended in the flavor of the EL34. I find the 6L6 performs the best on the McIntosh 240 Poweramp and even today I don&apos;t think you can find another amp that surpasses the 6L6 of the Mcintosh MC240. The NOS 6V6GT tubes are still available and affordable, this is something I like to explore，I think its mid-range rivals the SE designs in Push-pull. The bass is a bit lean but it is tuneful and has a good definition.

  39

• LU

  @luisperez-fs2gz · 5 years ago

  Thomas, you are one of the great voices in the audio community. Your style and storytelling is so illuminating and unique. You should write a book- I bet it will be a best seller!

  92

• RO

  @robertwebster8615 · 5 years ago

  Number # 1 advice from a Tube owner, make sure your Air Conditioner is big enough to cool your Tube Gear! &nbsp;:)

  16

• HO

  @hoobeydoobey1267 · 3 years ago

  SET is class a. The incoming signal is not split and beat up. In push-pull, it&apos;s class A-B. Each circuit handles one half of the input signal. The two signals are then splice together. This gluing creates a distortion, crossover distortion. More circuitry is added to eliminate and smooth that crossover distortion. Some amps the amplitude of the frequency at the splice is reduced along with the other half thus their is a blend of both signals in an area where both produce the sound creating an impure signal. The class a-b will usually have more power for obvious reasons - single circuit can only produce so much. Long ago A/D/S made class a car amps. The sound was phenomenal and loud. Unfortunately, they had a habit of burning up due to being class a and without ginormous heat sinks. Had one in a car in the early 90s and which people still talk about today. As an end note, class a-b solid state has come a long way, such that crossover distortion shouldn&apos;t be an issue in any competent amp.

  5

• PH

  @phantomplastics6582 · 1 day ago

  2026 update: want a tube amp? Buy one of Thomas&apos;s!

• GR

  @gregorycostello239 · 3 years ago

  As a “newbie” to the world of Tube amps, I must say that this video is incredible. I learned so much and at least have a base to begin investigating what is right for me. I am looking forward to binging through the rest of your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information in a very clear and concise manner

  21

• VP

  @vproven · 5 years ago

  Can listen to you wax poetic on hifi gear all day. Thank you for your vlogs. Love them.

  9

• SK

  @SkyMalone-Quigley · 3 months ago

  Thomas thanks ... You are a breath of fresh air ... I grew up with 1960-70s McIntosh tubes .... &nbsp;Sadly I had to sell them to save my house ... I am now getting back into listening to tubes ... If I can dig out my old ST-70 I will need a preamp ... ugh ... I love the way you explain the sound quality of tubes, with NO right or wrong ... music is in the ears of the beholder. I cannot Thank You enough for your wisdom and have subscribed. .... I used to fix tube sets (tv, stereo, guitar ect) way back in the 70s and you have inspired me to get back into it

• DA

  @DavidBolton-gu9qs · 11 months ago (edited)

  Thomas I was in the market for my first tube amp and your video on the Cayin cs-55a convinced me to buy it. I was absolutly blown away how great it sounds. Very musical, tuby and emotional with great 3d sound stage 😊 Love it to bits so thank you very much for your excellent videos. Kt88&apos;s all the way!

  3

• VE

  @Velvet_Torpedo · 5 years ago

  I&apos;ll take ... the Leben CS-300 in the bottom right corner for the win please Alex

  4

• RA

  @rainman3269 · 5 years ago

  I use the Primaluna prologue pre amp running Mullard gz34 &amp; Mullard CV4003 12AU7 valves paired with a Plinius RA 300 solid state power amp running into Focal Sopra 2 speakers &nbsp;... Changing to NOS tubes made a huge difference , All going well so far , Thanks Thomas for an excellent audio channel that&apos;s very informative &nbsp;... 😎

  6

• UN

  @unityoc · 2 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-pvbglrso&amp;t=360">6:00</a> thank you so much for giving this rough guide to tube sound, you don&apos;t find this anywhere else online! Instead reviewers focus far to much on build quality, inputs / outputs, price etc. and leave out the most important part. Keep doing what you&apos;re doing, you&apos;re one of the most helpful hifi channels on Youtube.

  3