Tube Amplifiers

A tube amplifier amplifies the music signal with vacuum tubes instead of transistors. Many listeners perceive their harmonic distortion character as warm, musical and spacious — the reason the tube never disappeared. Classic output tubes such as the EL34 and KT88 each shape their own character.

Three designs lead to tube sound: the all-tube integrated amplifier (the pure experience), the tube preamplifier as the sound-defining heart in front of a power amp, and the hybrid amplifier, combining a tube preamp stage with a transistor power stage — tube sound with drive for almost any loudspeaker. When choosing speakers, check the sensitivity: the higher, the easier for the tube.