Tube vs. Solid State distortion

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

The classic topic, tubes vs. solid state. /lol/

Tube Amp Distortion.

Tube amplifier amplifying a 1khz sine wave.

http://hem.passagen.se/ebcpecz/Tube/PreAmp/images/1khz_sinus.jpg

Clean signal just like a solid state amp.

Tube amplifier over driven into high distortion.

Look at the shape of the sine wave, it's mangled.

http://www.siteswithstyle.com/VoltSecond/Paramour_iron/Paramour_Iron_Stock_LFT_pg4.html

Solid state amplifier clipping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Clipping_1KHz_10V_DIV_clip_A_5ohms-1-.jpg

The more you over drive the sold state amp the more it starts to look like a square wave.

Here's another where the tube amp is operating cleanly and as you over drive the tube amp,

the sine wave becomes mangled and eventually looks like a square wave if you over drive it enough.

http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/ShTubeWaveforms.htm

Click to read more...

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

so whats this all supposed to mean to us?

from what i can tell, tube amps can get square waves jsut like solid state, just a different kind of clipping?

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

so whats this all supposed to mean to us?

Food to exercise the brain... to make people say ... ummmm .........

...... to ignite a flame war //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

/jk

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

It means nothing.... Some people like to play mother bird....

Tubes DO sound different than solid state, it's not better or worse just different.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Ohhh man, thanks a lot....

This picture's going to give me NIGHTMARES

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Tubes DO sound different than solid state, it's not better or worse just different.

The proper saying is.

Tube amplifiers can sound different or the same as a solid state amplifiers

depending on it's used. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Tubes clip less elegantly than a SS amp....but clipping is crap either way lol.

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

Tubes clip less elegantly than a SS amp....but clipping is crap either way lol.

I would rather have a rounder distortion wave than a square distortion wave. Nothing like throwing DC at your system....

Your System Normally //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/peace.gif.2db28b618ed8d1964ebbe2f5021d2c39.gif

Your System ON DC //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/awesome.gif.4430a219d9aaaa6cadc75e9290979dfb.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blow_up.gif.f2a780e8b12ae09e264cb01720b8dca2.gif

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

DC sounds like angels to me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

It's worse than 'looking at the IDMax' in your sig lol....

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Tubes clip less elegantly than a SS amp....but clipping is crap either way lol.

That is the comedy. A low powered tube amp can be over driven easy into

excess distortion. A high powered SS amp will still be operating in the linear

region offering no excess distortion. Even though the tube is clipping more

elegantly, the SS amp offers no clipping. Which is better? /lol

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

I would rather have a rounder distortion wave than a square distortion wave. Nothing like throwing DC at your system....
Your System Normally //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/peace.gif.2db28b618ed8d1964ebbe2f5021d2c39.gif

Your System ON DC //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/awesome.gif.4430a219d9aaaa6cadc75e9290979dfb.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blow_up.gif.f2a780e8b12ae09e264cb01720b8dca2.gif

I understand the DC analogy but technically it's not DC. DC = direct current

or constantly flowing. Clipped signal can't be DC, but I've often referred to it

as pulsed DC, but that's misleading too.

On the other hand, lets say you live in the world of Dungeons and Dragons

and you are a Liche Lord and you cast a spell called 'Time Stop', that clipped

signal may be DC for the duration of the spell or does current stop flowing?

If current still flows under a time stop condition, then an AC sine

wave could be measured as DC because you captured the voltage at that

particular time and it's held there. /harr harr

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

I understand the DC analogy but technically it's not DC. DC = direct currentor constantly flowing. Clipped signal can't be DC, but I've often referred to it

as pulsed DC, but that's misleading too.

On the other hand, lets say you live in the world of Dungeons and Dragons

and you are a Liche Lord and you cast a spell called 'Time Stop', that clipped

signal may be DC for the duration of the spell or does current stop flowing?

If current still flows under a time stop condition, then an AC sine

wave could be measured as DC because you captured the voltage at that

particular time and it's held there. /harr harr

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/word.gif.64b12e39f936af3b4fff38a1c0bd0244.gif
It's not DC since the signal is still oscillating.

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

But, it is still flat and constant for a considerable amount of time, which makes it DC. I still call it throwing DC. You can call it whatever you want, but it's still DC. And DC+speakers = bad news...