spongebob wrote:


I am considering going to a tube amp, after 25 years of solid state
amps. (Specifically, it is a conrad-johnson, but my question is general.)
I have read comments through the years about the problems tube amps
have ("always in the shop", etc.). Is this a reality? I live in a town
with no tube amp dealers, and would need to send it back to the manufacturer
if it fails. Are my knees quaking for no good reason?

By the way, I don't consider the need to bias the tubes a problem. I would
be grateful for any feedback.
--Leslie









Tube amplifiers have both their proponents and detractors. Comments about lack
of reliability and/or high repair needs from the latter group are, AFAIK, not
supported by any empirical evidence indicating those claims are valid.

I can only speak from personal experience, of course. Starting with the first
amplifier I ever owned, an integrated H.H. Scott amplifier that I built, up to
the present time, I've owned various tubed products, including a DAC with a
tubed output stage. None of these products has presented any unusual service
needs. Tube replacement is necessary at some point of extended usage, but that
is simply a maintenance issue. For the record, I'm currently using a Conrad
Johnson preamplifier and amplifier, both tubed, and have had no problems with
either one of them.



Bruce J. Richman