Add the magic of Valves to any HiFi - with The Yaqin SD-CD3 tube processor
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- A look at a Tube Processor - which promises to add some of that rich silky smooth oldie world tube goodness to any plain old solid-state Hi-Fi. You can buy it on Amazon(US) amzn.to/1ZSUMSG
or Amazon (UK) amzn.to/23tkHVJ
If you want to know more about the device I didn't buy - here's a link
ifi-audio.com/p...
-----AFFLIATED LINKS/ADVERTISING NOTICE------
All links are Affiliated where possible.
When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites (including, but not limited to Amazon US/UK/DE/ES/FR/NL/IT/CAN)
I've actually heard that if you polish your valves with snake oil it enhances the sound. :D
The problem with valves is their resonance. I've heard that if you smother them in clotted cream it makes the sound smoother.
@@petermorris9592 I've heard that if you're going to be a snarky dweeb with nothing better to do with your life than insult other peoples' tastes and preferences that you should at least know the the difference between "smother" and "another."
@@davep8221 here we have highlighted 2 of the common problems with textual communication. 1) predictive text / spell checker. 2) there's no facial expressions, tone of voice, nor timing. As such, you've mis-read my intention. In no way did I intend to "insult" anyone. My comment was meant as light-hearted, tounge in cheek humour.
Thankyou for your opinion, but I must point out that neither of your 2 criticisms of me are valid, however, they do apply to your own comment.
@@petermorris9592 You admittedly communicate poorly and yet blame everything and everyone but yourself and attack me for assuming what you said was what you meant. You sound like Kellyanne Conway. Should I believe that your words are accurate and that your tech didn't betray you? Are there any subtleties, expressions or other indicators of meaning you should have used? You know, like you didn't last time? Or will they only be brought up when convenient?
This is such a predictable blame shifting response, rude and dishonest. I'll embrace the rude part. The Pyrite Corollary and all.
Do you kick your dog when you trip over it after *you* turn off the light? The internet bottom dweller's mindset. *I'm* not responsible for anything -- unless people like it. You're saying people aren't able to communicate in writing alone without facial, vocal or timing cues? I know a lot of authors, readers and literature majors who would beg to differ. I do think that it is hard to communicate when you're lazy, ignorant IOR wish to be conveniently misunderstood. You've clearly encountered such miscommunication before and yet you don't do anything to help prevent such "misunderstandings." Your comment is analogous to a driver saying "No, I didn't rear end you. Here we see common problems with driving a car. You have to look where you are going and keep your car, especially the brakes, maintained. I know that and yet I do neither. It's your fault for not knowing my brakes were worn out and that I wasn't looking. Why don't you check your brakes and have a cup of coffee." You project your inadequacies so completely that you say I'm guilty of doing what I criticized you for. Misspelling and insulting someone for their tastes and preferences? Well, the last is only half wrong; I did insult you for preferring to insult people. But, to be fair, it was based 100% entirely on what you said. How dare people go by the written word. Shock! Dismay! Let's see if we can clear all of this up: I actually typed in, "awesome joke, dude, yer so funny, clever, dry, observant, witty and always make sure you use your outstanding eloquence to ensure no one is left out and everyone gets to bask in your brilliance." But, you know, spell check. *wink* LOL JK ROFLMAO.
Disclaimer, this document is covered by universal rejection of
responsibility, the internet bottom dweller's credo: All problems are your
fault and not mine. hAhA, JK!!11!!!1
plop.
@@davep8221 it was a JOKE!!!! I did not insult anyone. YOU misread.
I take responsibility for not reading what I had written and hence not noticing the typo.
It has been widely studied and concluded that only around 10% of communication is the words. 20% is tone of voice and timing. 70% is body language and facial expression. I'll also admit to not writing clearly enough, so as to be more sure the comment would be less likely to be misread. You are refusing to admit / take resposivility for incorrectly assuming my intention.
"Internet bottom dwellers" tend to hijack posts where people are having friendly discussions, call people nasty things and turn the conversation into an argument. Does that scenario seem familiar.
Dav, I meant no disrespect by my original post. I have no intention to be nasty to anyone I've never met. I wish you no ill. I was hoping after my first response to you that you'd get off your high horse and admit your error and then perhaps we could have had a friendly discussion about valves. But no. You doubled down and called me more names and accused me of kicking my dog and not maintaining my car. And I'M an internet bottom dweller?
I beg you: please calm down and understand that my intentions were and are of good, positive, friendly intent.
All the best.
The reason you appreciate the sound through the tube processor or tube buffer as they are known is that you are adding even order harmonics, which to the human ear are very pleasing. I have a Yaqin MC10 full tube power amp, have had it for years. Love it. I recently built a few ELEkit class A amps and they sound even better. There is nothing like the sound of vacuum tubes. My studio amp is a Luxman LV103, and it basically has what you have there built in. That amp I have owned since new in 1984, original tubes in it, and it sounds fantastic. Will never replace that one.
Keep the sarcasm up, always makes the videos more fun.
+TheEPROM9 It seems that some like it - and others think I'm genuinely getting upset about things. I'm glad you're on the same page.
It is all about having fun at the end of the day. I loved the teardown to.
+TheEPROM9 Haha chOOBs! :)
+TheEPROM9 That's NOT sarcasm, more like the truth. Some might say the British sense of homer, not often understood by the rest of the planet.
Michael Beeny
Sarcasm is a great tool for speaking the truth.
gotta love the fact techmoan spends half the video preempting the comments, love it
Loved the part when you described the internals, straight to the point.
Ahhh, that gorgeous Pioneer reel-to-reel tape machine. Wonderful piece!
I'm watching this on YouValve. ☺
me to just missed valve train home .
'Black rubber valving!' ;-)
This summer I'm going valving down the river....lol
Right on, Matt... I'm watching it on YouChube ;-)
"you get 4 of those blue ones, 2 of those black ones, and you get 2 more of the blue ones" ... hahahaha I just loved that comment :D Lovely irony and sarcasm :D
The tour of the inside was impressive and totally convincing!
another great youvalve video.
Best troll comment I've read all week.
Sollux Captor Wonderful!
It may not sound $200 better, but it sure looks cool sitting there next to your other cool vintage gear, and sometimes looks are worth something. For what it's worth I have a tube guitar amplifier which sounds amazing, but when you take the cage off it so you can see the tubes plasma glow in a dark room it looks awesome, too.
+Helium Road You're right - my setup has been assembled using a combination of looks, rarity and sound quality.
Unless you're using proper cryogenically treated power and speaker leads with gold-plated conductors that have been hand-tuned by naked virgins to establish the correct morphic resonance then you're wasting your time with a valve amp like this. Also note that you should have aligned the valves so that the plates run east/west because this will eliminate the non-linearity introduced by the intersection of the earth's magnetic field. (LOL -- do I sound like a top-notch audiophool yet?)
+xjet yes, that's pretty convincing.
Off to align my valves.
+xjet What I'm missing is the placing of the valve rig in another room to avoid microphony. Now where were those naked virgins?
+xjet lol well said.
+xjet - hey, back to the bench! We need more reviews from you, and you're here enjoying yourself instead of working hard :)
Love it. You've been watching Dave Jones too much! :)
I LOVE your intricate descriptions of all the internal gizmos. All the colors! Makes me laugh every time. Thanks for the video!
" 'Forget that,'' I said, or words to that effect."
Love that Brit humor.
You worry about those youtube comments way to much.
+Tomasz W No worry here - just having some fun.
+Techmoan you put fingerprints of the chube, you'll break the chuuube.
+マシューセガファン94 now I'm smearing it with peanut butter.
+Techmoan haha im joking anyway, I love your content mate, keep up the amazing work... and dry humor!
+Tomasz W No he doesn't, this is great.
You're fast becoming one of my favorite comedians with your awareness and antibodies to BS.
Valves are known to be slightly microphonic, that is, the suspended elements inside pick up external vibrations and introduce them into the signal. The "spaciness" you describe might be slight reverberation caused by this characteristic. Add that to the list of "valve virtues" that also include softer clipping, softer push-pull transitions, less damping of speaker resonance (which can either be pleasant or extremely unpleasant depending on the speaker design) and even more 50Hz or 60Hz hum. None of this stuff (other than softer push-pull transitions) contributes to traditionally defined "fidelity", but it does endear people to the the sounds of vintage equipment.
Wow, that's good! I'm an electron engineer or something, and indeed have wondered if it was actually the transformers etc, but YOU NAILED IT.
I prefer the North Korean HiFi. It's literally just a cabinet in your living room with a full orchestra chained to their seats.
+Daniel Murray (NomaLens) True analog. Did you know that Korean orchestral slaves moan as they die slowly in even harmonics that are pleasing to the ear and improve the tonal richness of the music. Free musicians just don't sound the same.
+Daniel Murray (NomaLens) Mine are miniaturized. I don't waste space and they eat less.
LMFAO!!! This comment damn near made me spit my drink out! Well Played!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
Too bad they only maintain one of those at a time and the sound quality can be all over the place...
Dont make ,,fun " from MISERY of the POOR PEOPLE ! you lousy asshole !!!!
My brother in law attended an audio conference in the late 70's where a Dr. Diamond was promoting the notion that digital sound adversely affected the listener. People were wearing buttons that said "Digital Makes Me Weak".
He conducted a "test" where participants extended there arms and listened to analog followed by digital music. By the time the digital music started, they couldn't hold up there arms any longer :)
Speakers are analog. A cone moving air between 20Hz and 20,000Hz is analog. However, there is something to be said for the 'warming" effects from tubes - has to do with "good distortion" I believe. Tubes are still popular in guitar amps and studio microphones for that reason.
+Bob Woolcock that's a fun tale, I like the cut of his jib.
the true path is wax cylinders,all people I talked to who bought new or 78s have lived longer lives.
And I'm sure had they started with the digital one they'd have dropped their arms when the analogue I've started because people can only hold their arms up for so long.
Technobabble follows: - Thanks for the inside shots.
The blue things are 'capacitors' and allow the audio (sound) to get through them while blocking any Direct Current, so two of the four are on the input. The other two are probably there for technical reasons (cathode bypass - to increase gain) and the two near the front are for the output (so you dont feed 300Volts into your power amp!
The two black things are only power supply filters (high value capacitors) (they keep the 50/60 cycle mains hum out of the system) The little black thing next to them is the rectifier (converts the a/c from the transformer into dc to power the unit - and that explains why all the black things are next to each other)
The 6SN7 is a dual triode (effectivley two simple valves in one) and the unit seems to really be a simple pre-amplifier. What good it does, I really don't know. Probably nothing objectively. Its all in the listeners' minds and preferences.
It would make more sense to me to put power pentodes in the output (between amplifier and speakers), with an output transformer if you want the true valve sound.
what I do is break into the audio engineers home and listen to the track on his system it's really the only way.
I used to use a high power light to go with my dad’s super 8 movie camera. If you got a finger print on it, the bulb and burn it out in minutes. Maybe thats how the valve (aka tube) wife’s tale started.
Hello from the US. Love your videos!
That's also true of the tiny halogen bulbs they put in older car headlights and those "touche" lamps they were pushing about 25 years ago, which have subsequently been banned in various places for starting fires. I imagine that if a valve ever got hot enough for fingerprints to matter, it wouldn't last long anyway.
mat. you live in the uk, a place with a tradition of making high quality tube amps. get yourself a nice tube amp of a local make. maybe even a used one and you might enjoy it more than your current setup. and they look great.
+matosian42342 Marshall, Vox, Orange yes you are very correct. We do amps better than most
I've got a Musical Fidelity X10-D tube buffer to run my CD player output through before it goes into my amp, and I think it sounds fabulous! I've even used it to smooth out the the signal from an MP3 player before amplification, and it works great for that too. I'd really like to use several of them to run all of the channels of a digital surround-sound system through before they are amplified - well, maybe someday...
Similar is with me...also own X10-D.
Now when I have two various audio systems, with solid state and valve amps, I use buffer with s.s. amp. to make some sort of hybrid amp ... like Pre and Power amp. combo.
Musical Fidelity buffer with valve amp. before, was too much of good thing
P.S.
I have changed the orginal Philips valves for Telefunken ones NOS 85 s...Heard the imidiates improvement in sound.
HAHAHAHA... I like the Greek letters there in the front. They translate to "straw" (as in "straw hat")!!! If it was ever imported to Greece like that it will get quite a few laughs!!! :-)
But don't forget to wipe any "greece" off of the tubes!
Hahaha Ι was so confused at first, where the hell did they pull the name from?? Could only read it as Psathin®!
I really like how every video about this tube/valve stuff seems to get more sarcastic than the last one. keep it up :)
That bit about "colouring the sound" is hilarious! Love your content, keep it up good sir.
Videos like this are why I LOVE your channel! As someone that works on tube...sorry valve guitar amps I can confirm 100 percent that fingerprints on valves makes zero difference. Keep fighting the good fight!!
Imagine if fingerprints caused them to break like some people claim, those wouldn't last long I'm afraid.
I reckon audiophools will believe any box with a set of glowing valves on top is magically improving their sound even if they were all not connected (other than the heaters) and the input was wired straight to the output. Sound improvement proportional to the number of 0's on the end of the sale price. I'm not suggesting that's the case here, but it gives me a great idea.....
GRAHAMAUS i would second that opinion as the people that buy these things often refer to 'that warm tube like glow' almost if it had some ye olde worlde magick like allure. In reality it is just a cheap led creating a fake traditional valve like emmiter glow. As i understood it you have to have valves on both the pre and power stages powered at much higher voltage levels than this that operate so hot that they will burn skin of your fingers to the touch like an heated pyrex test tube. I suspect this is fake snake oil at best as true audiophile valve amps cost £2,000 upwards due to the fact that they are hand built from custom selected new old stock components on metal chassis There will be a difference in sound with this but it will be so subtle as to be lost in the music when not concentrating to hard to hear it.
I had old school little valve amps in the '80's. One was like only 7 watts per ch and that particular tube amp was the best amp I ever heard. The rest weren't so good, but that particular one was and I'm devastated that I sold it.
The puppet b-lining it out of there when the facts start coming is priceless.
How about getting a few friends, and doing some "blind tests" to see if they can hear the difference and which they prefer. The common wisdom is that it is the "valve" output stages, combined with their output transformer that some people prefer. In this case, I suspect this is a simple cathode follower, with unity gain that should provide very little difference one way or the other,
Fred Zlotnick Great idea really.
@@dednside5229 So you have like over $10,000 tied up in a system and then say a $100 fake valve preamp thing improves your system?
Well that's interesting. I had some old school valve amps and one was like the best amp I ever heard (it was better than my other 3). If I tested a good say ROTEL tranny amp with my best tube amp, the tube amp would probably win, but if I tested it against the other tube amps I had, the ROTEL would probably win. And (apparently) they blindfold tested a $200 tranny amp against a good tube amp and the blindfold test picked the cheap tranny as the "tube amp". And I never thought about my valve experience my theory with the ROTEL (that I heard way back) until I saw the video about the blindfold test. lol
But if there is a difference I would describe the tube sound as "shinged" and a tranny amp as "zizzy" (both just a by little bit). Maybe valve amps do sound different but a bad tube amp may not sound as good as a good tranny amp. And even different tube amp brands sound different and the same with trannies. It's a shade of grey thing with so many variables.
I have developed a way to make speakers sound like tube amps, by making the speakers sound "shinged". By the use of a tiny piece of foil on a tiny stick. I glue them directly to drivers and also make "piggy back" coaxial drivers. In both cases it makes the foil vibrate completely separately to the rest of the driver (I coined it "acoustic separation"). And the foil makes that "shinged" sound. If you are curious, just go to my channel and there are speaker videos on top of the list. That's another approach to making tranny amps sound like tube amps. Maybe a combo of your device and my speakers would be interesting.
@@dednside5229 I heard that class B only makes the + half of the sine wave and then has to rectify it and then join it onto the bottom so you have a complete sine wave (seems to me that could be referred to as "push-pull" but I don't know). And class A is just a complete sine wave from the start and so is more accurate cos there is no matching error at all (obviously). But that small error on class B is normally only a problem at low volume levels, and so there are class A/B amps where it switch over to class B at (like) over one watt. But pure class A is best cos it's so accurate and good for high-end (and maybe there are different types of class A). And is SET SET a different thing than class A? And is push-pull a different thing than class B? I don't know anything about it (well hardly anything).
Remember the old made in GB Musical Fidelity "missing link" X-10d?
It used JAN Phillips valves.
Mine passed the WAF listening test from the CD player. She had a definite preference for the buffer. Can't argue: Anthony Michaelson called the effect "The ineffable magic of valves
I still use one for TV / YT to stereo. And I have a spare one!
We now use the X-10v3/X-PSUv3 in both CD replay systems ;-)
Your videos are so addictive . Love old audio tech. You can get great audio kit new and old, love your vids!!
I use a vacuum tube pre-amp for my condenser microphone. Makes my voice sound warmer and WAY better. Tube amps are GREAT.
EgoShredder Haha mine is made by ART too. Its professional processor series. No idea what the model is though,
These are shite. They choose some valves that will run out of spec at low voltage, and find any excuse to pass audio through them to call it a valve amp. There’s nothing wrong with the new production Russian valves in proper equipment.
Great video 👍🏻 love it when you mock 'them comment' makers 😂
as one that has built (from scratch) both tube and transistor amps.. there is one characteristic.. Second Harmonic Distortion.. found in a LOT of tube amps.... It is a pleasing distortion, and one of the reasons that lots of folk seem to like the tube sound.
I know a very simple way to improve your system sound - just grab a bottle of ale. Or two.
and magic mushrooms work a fucking treat!!!!!!
@@keithdavies150 cringe
@@keithdavies150 especially when combined with anything by the Spacemen 3 or Cypress Hill.
Everyone knows it's red wine with classical, gin with jazz and if you are going to listen to country western you might as well cram knitting neetles through your ear drums.
Heroin
I'm watching this on Youvalve a couple weeks after going on vacation at the lake where I went valving for a few days, but I forgot to bring the pool valves. I'm going biking in a few days with a friend, and luckily I've already replaced an inner valve in the tire.
Love your videos Techmoan. Just say things how you normally would and let everyone else just figure out what you're saying. I'm American, and it makes no difference to me what and how you say things. If I Don't understand a phrase you use, I look it up. Everyone else should do the same. I love the strange stuff you review. I have learned a ton from you, and I really enjoy your humor.
You would have to gain match it too. People have been fooled by a 1db change in volume claiming that it sounds warmer.
5:42
An excellent demo or test track for any format
please, never stop those angry pretentious muppet segment. they're gold
Wrapping a towel around a frame and covering a room with these improves reverb from the walls. Clear and distant vs sounding like your in a room.
Actually, the light at the front is flashing, it just doesn't look like flashing to a human eye.
The difference between a valve amplifier and a transistor amplifier is that the valve amp typically has a push-pull output that generates primariy even harmonic distortion while a solid state amplifier has a 'totem pole' output that generates primarily odd harmonic distortion. Even harmonics sound warmer, odd tend to grate. There are other subtle differences -- vavles soft clip, transient distortion and so on -- but ultimately it comes down to what you like listening to. I don't know what a couple of low mu triodes woud do for your sound but if you really want to play thenyou can use a DSP to simulate just about anything (guitar amlifier manfacturers do this). Personall, I'm ambivalent -- I lie the sou d of my Quad 2 with vintage KEF speakers but a NAD plus modern speakers is a lot more convenient to use.
(Incidentally, I put schematics through a SPICE modeller to figure out how well they work. We can do this for the valve thngimy if you want.)
really appreciate your videos! and really enjoy your accent! thank you!
"You've got 4 blue ones and 2 black ones...." Priceless! Keep the videos coming - awesome job.
you (or some other youtuber) should do a network analysis get a freq. response curve than we know if there is actually a difference in the output signal.
+Blowitup1991 There is more to sound than just frequency response though.
spookanide magic!
Joke all you want, dynamic response over frequency maybe?
+spookanide You would see any dynamic change in a frequency response analysis, all dynamic response means is that the response can change depending on the variable or force applied, which is exactly what frequency response is.
+Blowitup1991 there is a difference, it's not even up to debate, you can read up on it, but in short tubes distort the sound in a pleasing way. It's something to do with sum nth order harmonics or something but there is truth to the whole "tube sound thing"
Good thing you polished that shiny metal top! Peter Belt would have said that fingerprints on that one would seriously impair the sound.
That muppet will just never let up on ya, Techmoan.
+LazyScoutJace yes I don't know what his problem is....he seems to know just the right buttons to press to wind me up.
Techmoan What equipment are you using in your stereo system? It looks good!
For anyone curious as to what this piece of equipment does, it's just a unity gain buffer. Basically it will take a high impedance input signal and spit out the same signal with a lower impedance. No circuit is perfect so of course you get a little bit of eq applied to the signal because the circuit does have some amount of capacitance and resistance. Without reverse engineering the circuit I can't be sure, but more than likely the tubes are adding a percent or two of distortion. If this effect is good or bad is obviously subjective.
"Inside you get 4 blue ones and 2 black ones". LOL
Captain speaking
I just picked up a used Grant Fidelity B-283. I'm running it after my Tube DAC and it's pretty damn impressive. I have a Sansui au-7900 which can switch to separate pre and power amp. It needs the left channel repaired but will try running it through the two. I'm currently just using it with the stock Chinese tubes and quite certain tube rolling will have a significant effect. Just as a side note, I've auditioned the Sansui through a variety of speakers right up to $5k B&W's and it does not disappoint. I know the sound of hi end tube and SS systems, despite "purist" opinions, the tube buffer is a good thing and does give you some of the benefits of a tube amp. I think people who poopoo them are just defending their pride and how much they've spent on a tube amplifier.
Nothing like a bit of warm harmonic distortion to improve sound.
I remember working on a house back in 1986 it had an old tube radio in it I was always first on site in those days when music was good switched it on watched the tubes light up then the music came out so loud you could here it clearly over a jack hammer
But the important question remains, can it be used as a webcam?
Manny Calavera: No, but microwaves ovens can?
I own two of these and really love them. I run one with my bedroom setup, a Marantz 2238B, and one with my living room setup, a Marantz 2275. Using ADS, Mission, Vandersteen speakers It's clear to hear that they do improve the sound. Is it just a placebo effect? No. No it won't turn your system into a Mcintosh, but it definitely adds a warmth that I'll gladly take. Plus it looks great and is really well built. For the low price it's an absolute winner.
I'll bet you drive a Delorean DMC-12!
“Add the richness of tubes!” seems like a great advert from out of Terry Gilliam’s _Brazil!_
You should never introduce any element into the audio signal path that might in some way color or alter the sound away from the original studio recording.
You should never add salt to your food, you wouldn't want it to taste the slightest bit different from the way someone who isn't eating it intended.
regular fucking comedian here. woooo originality.
You should never introduce any salt into the UA-cam comment chain that might in some way color or alter the tone away from the original poster's comment.
what about a 1000 dollar eq? cause it cleaned my system up poor audiophile here
“…any element into the audio signal path that might in some way color or alter the sound away from the original studio recording…”
Like speakers!
(Even as I typed this, the video’s narrator made the same point. Dang!)
You have to coolest tech videos! I could listen to you all day, talking about anything.
Please test a DSP (Digital Sound prozessor) to calibrate your audio setup. So you can calibrate nearly any speakers specific for you room. i think this can even make a cheap speaker setup sound good.
Sorry for my bad english, im from germany
And thank you for your very informativ videos
+PCFreak9931 no reason to apologize about your english. it's a whole lot better than a lot of native english speakers I've seen online...
+PCFreak9931 Yeah, there are quite a few bits of software and hardware these days for correcting the audio for a room. I haven't tried any but it would be interesting to see if any of them work well.
Searching for "Digital room correction" may be a good place to start.
For example the KRK Ergo is both a DAC for a computer and room correction in a single box. So just plug it in to a computer, calibrate for the room and all audio will be correct. But I think that there are also lots of solutions that will only work using plugins for DAW software (Digital audio workstation software [used for making music]) these would be far less useful for music listening.
+PCFreak9931 I'll do a bit of research thanks. It's always good to have something new to read up on.
acourate is what i use and used by the pros....its not cheap, but worth it.
yeah it's that sense of space that tubes provide that make them worth while. I have a modern Harmon Kardon solid state receiver and a set of Dynaco monoblock tube amps and the tubes win by a small but significant margin.
For some reason people seems to like valve altered sound, why? I don't know why but the only thing valves do is introducing distorsions... Maybe the sound is more charming and warm using valves and maybe our brain just doesn't like sounds that are too analytic and cold in comparison.
+MasterControl90 Well according to some studies, valve distortion is more in the lower end of that harmonic distortion which a lot of people seem to like. Don't be fooled by "warm" or "cold" buzzwords, it's too vague to accurately describe the sound of something.
+MasterControl90 I could be wrong but. I believe it is because valves produce (relatively) large amounts of second harmonic distortion and so do our ears, thus we perceive the valve sound as being more "soft and natural" , as apposed to something like a cheep vintage transistor amp, these often had poorly matched transistors in the output stage which gave rise to mostly third harmonic distortion and sounded harsh, almost scratchy.
+Bishka100 Something like that! Valves introduce lots (and by lots I mean LOTS) of even harmonics, which to our ears sound warm (often mistaken for "natural"). In the old days, the first solid state amps introduced lots of uneven harmonics, which, again, to our ears, sound harsh and "metallic". Modern transistor amps, even cheap ones, add just tiny amounts of harmonics (in the region of 0,001%), whereas modern valve amps (or processors) are in fact not modern, they still spew out distortion like there's no tomorrow. So in reality, transistor amps sound a LOT more "natural" than valve units, even though valve enthusiasts claim the opposite.
+MasterControl90 from what i have read: acoustic musical instruments produce even number harmonics, along with the main harmonic or note. Tube amps produce distortion but like instruments, they produce only the even number harmonics. Thus folks will say that they sound more "musical" . Is this an improvement? Until we can learn more about how the brain works, and learn to measure minute audio signals, the answer is "its up to you".
+MasterControl90 People's perceptions of the valve sound are coloured by their knowing that they have a valve amp. The real test is to do a blind comparison - not knowing which sound is 'vanilla' and which is the coloured by valves, which do you prefer?
Love that little jibe at the "fingerprints on tubes" thing. :p
Those chinese Uk plugs aren't even safe either. If you look on youtube you can see them setting on fire and all that. They aren't even fused.
I hope you are just kidding. For your information, UK is one of the only countries in whole world that uses that silly fuse in the cable. It's basically worthless if electrical installation in your house is done in last 25 years, or at least checked by electrician in last 10.
+Csab UK uses ring circuits and that's why we need individually fused plugs, look up 'ring circuit'.
I love the way you explain how things work. Very entertaining, and especially the electronics in side. I have seen a lot of your youtube reviews and loved them all, your clear description has been informative. I agree what's inside don't count only how it works. I like learning about new and old products I never knew existed.
How exactly does one accurately measure a "sense of well being"? After all, science would demand repeatable measurement of something tangible.. :-)
After you measure it, don't forget to multiply by 1.2 to obtain 120%!
It's self reported. Normally you'd hand over the participants a questionnaire with a bunch of statements, to which they can either "strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree or strongly disagree" it's a well stabilished way to get some objective measurements of internal, subjective processes. There are a bunch of ways that study (if it exists at all) can be unscientific, if it doesn't properly control its variables, but quasi-quantitatively measuring qualitative and subjective phenomena is actually a well stabilished and accepted practice.
Mario Santos Rodas It's a well established practice, but issues with self reporting are also well known.
On the inside the 4 blue things are top of the line blue things. That's what makes all the difference. I love how you pick on " Those People " It is those people that probably invent new stuff for us so we do have to put up with them. Thank for a real, down to earth review.
That original power lead was also dangerous and illegal.
Agreed. Not BS1363. He was lucky it arrived broken.
+William Davies I got sent one of them with a nitecore battery charger with a duff led on it
+wayne murphy I'm surprised techmoan didn't mention it.
+wayne murphy likewise....
+ajuk1 What's wrong with it?
I remember in the 1960s, if the television went on the blink, there was usually someone saying "It'll be a valve gone".
A university of arts doing scientific research? Seems legit! Quantified subjective terms.. Works for me!
Piss off
+Literally an Xbox Thank you! What an eloquent response to my post! Thumbs up for you!
Paul Dickhoff you know what you did
Yeah, it's called sarcasm.
Paul Dickhoff its just dumb to assume that because its an arts college it can't conduct scientific research. It was an unneeded, snarky comment. We need less of people like you making the internet a negative place.
I always love to hear when an older technology can be an improvement over newer things.
+Jeenkz K Ok sure, tubes can sound better than transistor-based devices, but they have more disadvantages in other areas. I.e. They have high power consumption, poor efficiency they're, expensive, and takes up alot of space.
ohh look some canadian tubes eh :D
I like the way you pronounce words! You have a wonderful voice to listen to.
Talking about pronunciation its pronounced 'yachin' - the q in Chinese is pronouned like a ch. The i is as in machine, so its closer to 'yacheen'
The qin is probably spelt 琴 which is a play on words - a qin is a (quality) musical instrument (like a violin - 小提琴）
David Stringer spelt...
I'm not sure if it's the accent or the quality of your videos but these are VERY entertaining. I only watch your videos when it comes to these type of things.
Well if Chinese tubes are questioned in quality over new old stock tubes, why not test it and do a comparison video to put the matter to rest?
In a phrase: "second harmonic distortion". I don' t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but tube amplifiers are non linear over the entire range, and (properly designed) transistor amps are quite linear. The result is the tube amp introduces a small amount of second harmonic distortion which brings a pleasing warm sound to the music. Contrast this to a transistor amp driven into clipping which produces prodigious quantities of third harmonic distortion which sounds harsh and even painful. Anyone who has heard a boom-box at max volume has experienced this. There it is... science, not magic.
electricity from coal plant makes sound warm, from wind mill makes sound cold, from nuke plant makes sound a little bit harder...solar panel power is the best
i was agreeing with you til that last sentence. the sun is too variable solar flares make it harsh
Tubes "Re-Analog-ize" the Digital Signal by slewing perfectly between the discreet gaps - any kind of tubes in the signal path are going to really warm it up. Personally I absolutely love ART's Tube MP Project Series - they are flexible, can be used in many ways (Stereo preamp (as a pair), Mic Preamp, DI Box, even Guitar Tones) and sound really great for the money. Get some Valves People! :D
There are no such thing as "discreet gaps". Sorry.
The pronunciation of when you say "valve" does not seem right to me. ;-)
+Bazahaza don't concern yourself
Lol just teasing!
+Bazahaza it's very hard to know...people would actually write something like that seriously.
I put I smiley with a wink on it now. ;-)
+Bazahaza ahhh...the universal symbol of preceding b.s. I'm with you now.
The effect of valves (or tubes :) ) perfectly described here. Excellent video in fact.
omg is that ipad pro in the beginning?
no its was an iphone 6 plus
+Adam Hegarty iphone 7++++++++++
+NikWillOrStuff lol
I simply love your reviews and your carefully placed sarcasm! Belting!
If you don't want colour in your sound, buy a pair of studio monitors. Otherwise you're just being hypocritical. And the common misconception is that valves/tubes will make your sound 'warmer'. Its true, but only when they're overdriven. The reason valves/tubes are associated with a warmer sound is because the 70's and 80's rock was recorded with inputs from microphones 'hot' or overdriven, add a signal that is too high when recording to tape and the tape also adds natural compression to the sound essentially 'gluing' everything together. This in essence gave the iconic warmth; overdriving and boosting beyond the redline.
Oh shut up ffs.
None of those things are true. They used fuzz pedals that evolved from devices originally intended to replicate the sound of an overdriven amp. Saying that the sound of 70s and 80s rock is the sound of an overdriven amp is like saying that modern electronic music is all drums because it evolved from music that made heavy use of synthesizers that were originally intended to sound like a drum kit.
I know some of the people that did the recording of all that 70s and 80s rock, and I am familiar with the strange way they did (and still do) things. They only reason they used good studio monitors was because thats what happened to be at the studio when they did recording sessions. The few people still around who do things like that often mix with Beats headphones in their home studios because they hear they are good, and they are also expensive, so they probably actually are good. And thats all the thought they put into it. They spend their time worrying about trying to get their instruments to sound the way they want them to, and they are generally ok with using studio trickery to achieve that, as long as they can get sorta close when playing live.
Also, they try to get all the instruments to sound like they are at the same volume, which explains a lot about they way rock form that era sounds.
I'm not convinced it's just low-ratio compression that does the glueing. You can hear a Pultec without driving it hard. I measured steady-state harmonics between -50 and -70dB at 100Hz, which is piddling if we're talking about compression. Yet the sound was definitely there.
Thanks for the video, i remember way back when I was studying tube theory then trouble shooting the power supplies always kept one hand in your pocket. It's amazing whats old is new, thanks again, excellent review.
You say 'dollars' weird. Can we change that to 'ham sandwich'? Just to appease the YouTobes.
you say TUBE just fine mate lol... I'm from the U.S. and I like listening to your U.K. accent . So please say TUUBE as much as you like . Keep up the good work ole boy lol
i cant believe the tube pronounciation is such a big deal
*tyoobe
in scotland going back 50 yrs ago to be called a tube,was great insult to this day cause of fights.
vEnOmXkING - I can't believe it's worth taking the time to make a post about such a little deal. WHaT i Can"T BelEIVE hOW many Pe0pLE HavE broKen KeyBOArds.
I read an article years ago about why valves 'feel' better, something to do with audio components a listener is not consciously aware of, with semiconductors these components are sharper for the want of a better term, where as they roll off when fed through valves, I don't remember the technical details, but there are audio components above and below hearing range, and while you cannot hear them, they're still vibrating the eardrum and nervous system, these components are reduced when fed through valves.
Exactly, I couldn’t have summed up any better myself. These 'audiophiles' are bloody annoying, the same plonkers who spend extra money on expensive DIGITAL cables and expensive power cords, convincing themselves they can hear a difference! Everyone should just do whatever they want to do to the sound that makes them feel happiest. Lets face it, a flat equalization curve is nearly always boring and soulless sounding. Oh, Its nice to see the puppets promoted to the middle sections on the video woohoo.
+EgoShredder Thats for the reply. I never said there was! quite the opposite. I disagree on 'sparingly' users should alter it until they are content, after all we all hear things differently and enjoy different types of music. To me, every song needs a different curve, im never happy, you get one song sounding just right, to the detriment of another. I gave up. I use a mild U shaped curve.
+EgoShredder I disagree again. Its not that im saying you are wrong, Its a context thing, I am talking about casual listening by the general public, who just aren' interested in all that. I personally have used room analyzers and expensive microphones to get the sound as optimized as possible for the room/car im in, multiple eqs for each speaker time alignment etc etc. And you know what, after all that messing around i just didn't like the sound. I had wasted my time and money. I turned all the time alignment off, and just adjusted the curve to a little from flat and im 10x happier with it, im sure others would turn their noses up at it, and its not technically correct, but it doesn't matter, i like and enjoy it :-)
+NikTheFix lol Yes, I have seen the solid silver fuses people are buying then
+Steven01001 Flat may sound nice to you, but not me :-) Like i say, i feel the need to alter the EQ for every album, we both agree its a personal choice. Like techmoan said there are so many variables that unless we have identical equipment, rooms furniture and hearing sensitivity its impossible to compare.
+EgoShredder I agree that used to be the case, but modern cheaper systems sound so much better than they once used to. The gap has closed significantly.
Great review! and you're absolutely right, too many audiophiles are far too concerned with what "it should sound like". If you want it to sound like it did in the studio, then get the gear that won't color the sound. If you want it to sound deliciously warm and fuzzy (In a good way I mean) then get your Vinyls and Tubes and stuff. At the end of the day, it's about enjoying the music more.
I'll say this too, I'd normally consider myself more in the purist-objectivist camp (don't add things into the signal path screams my brain), and as counter to my philosophy as it might seem, I really really envy that beautiful set up you have, with the reel to reels, vinyls, and tape decks, I think my favourite one is the Teffifon. Keep them audio videos coming! :D
I'm 6 years late, but, same!
Hmmm.. cheap Chinese Hai-Fai.... just what I want in my signal chain.
LMAO Hai-Fai yeah I'll pass on that too
I've had stereo systems for 50 years now, both tube and solid state. I prefer the sound of good tube based equipment, it does not mean it's better it just means I like it. A couple of weeks ago I had to service my 20 year old conrad johnson pv-10 preamp so I substituted a parasound php-850 while I was fixing the pv-10. After I repaired the pv-10 I put it back in the system and still find I prefer the sound of the tube preamp to the solid state. The preamp feeds a modified Hafler dh-220 amp that feeds a pair of chane A5rx-c speakers.
Loved the bit of humor about those picky purists LOL ....Thumbs up to cancel out the Thumbs down from those wierdo's !
valves add a 3rd harmonic that is pleasant to the human ear
'Tis true. It's actually distortion but our ears love it! Hence, the popularity of valve amps.
but those are tubes not valves, valves are the water switchy things you have in the bathroom,,,
+Theodore Krap I've got tubes in my bathroom.
In the UK we tend to call them valves. Just like bonnet=hood petrol=gas aluminium=aloooominum etc etc. There's no problem here.
+hyperion8008 Called a valve because it controls current flow....like a ..VALVE does!!
Good valve (tube) gear seems to give a roundness to harmonics that is often alluded to as warmth and richness. I think what this means is a kind of smoothness that our analog ears appreciate. Less harshness equals longer listening sessions without some sort of fatigue either imagined or real. Valves have their own unique filtering (i.e. peaks and roll-offs) that work especially well music. I think this is what keeps valves alive many years past the introduction of the transistor. It is interesting that this unit's perceived sonic benefits include a deeper and wider soundstage. That combined with the rich and round sound of tubes should be particularly sweet.
the magic of valves isn't in that device
I was particularly impressed by your comprehensive description of the electronics. Clearly, bigclivedotcom needs to watch out.