Re: [ARSCLIST] Can 78s sound better than LPs?

[phillip holmes <insuranceman@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Steven,
I don't know if anyone answered this, because there was a mile of emails 
with the same subject, but 2A3 (300B, 45, 211, 845, etc. etc. etc..) are 
all being made in Russia, China and the former Yugoslavia.  All are 
competent, but are a pail imitation of RCA, Sylvania and Western 
Electric (and any other American, British or Western European tube 
manufacturer from the heyday of tubes).  They lack most the knowledge of 
the details that made those old tubes last so long and produce low 
distortion.  Also, their equipment is very old and usually out of 
adjustment making grid spacing erratic (wrong mu, amplification factor 
and miller capacitances compared to the ideal tube in the manual).  
There is some domestic manufacture of vacuum tubes (other than CRT, 
microwaves and the like) related to broadcasting.  Eimac I think, or 
Richardson Electronics?  These are, as far as I know, all of the 
ceramic/metal types.  Also, I agree with your assessment on why tubes 
sound good.  They're very user friendly (unless you get your finger on 
the B+).  They compress instead of hard clipping and they usually have 
more headroom than transistors.  The whole chain of microphone through 
mastering, when done in tube, has fewer opportunities for gross 
distortion that you CAN have with transistors and digital, when used 
incompetently.
Phillip

steven c wrote:
> If you overdrive a solid-state amp, you get "square(ish) waves"...which
> have a "squanky," irritating sound. I have a forty-buck solid state amp
> I use occasionally as a practice amp...so my comments are based on
> experience more than theory!
>
> As far as re-creating a triode amp, that could be a problem! 12AX7's
> are still available for initial stages...but most of the "power tubes"
> currently available are beam-power pentodes of the 6*6 (6V6, 6L6, usw.)
> sort...or TV-set horizontal-output tubes, also generally pentodes!
>
> Dunno where one might find 2A3's...
>
> Steven C. Barr
>
>
>
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