Tubey, or not tubey?
PrimaLuna ProLogue Four Stereo Tube Power Amplifier Let’s talk about the difference between tubes at a bargain, versus the no-holds-barred approach. The magic of tubes is real, and while it’s easy to say that, the fact remains that you can hear certain qualities to the midrange and top end when tubes are involved, that you don’t necessarily hear with solid state. It’s something that can sound different on different music — quite hard to pin down with words, although you know it when you hear it. And if you DO hear these qualities from a solid state amplifier, it’s notable. Everyone wants to be the first to remark on whether an SS amp has a sense of “tubeyness.” The amplifier I use for testing here at The Music Room is widely described as such, and it comes about its tube-ish nature by way of a bit of second order and third order harmonics in the input stage. It comes close to the real thing, but it ain’t quite the same. Clearly the bright bottles are onto something, but they don’t...