Tweakers' Asylum: Re: My personal experiences.... by john curl Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

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Posted by john curl on September 21, 1999 at 09:16:13

In Reply to: Re: My personal experiences.... posted by Thorsten on September 21, 1999 at 03:56:49:

I like tubes, but I rarely design circuits with them. This is because tubes are limited in the ways that they can be used. For example, it is difficult to make a tube that can pass 20A. This is relatively easy with FET's or bipolar transistors. Both FET's and bipolar transistors have complementary devices that work at opposite voltages, which gives a number of combinations that can't be made with tubes. This also allows direct coupling from input to output, so that caps and transformers are removed from the audio path. The problem with FET's and bipolar transistors is that they are NOT as linear as a vacuum tube. However, we can get darn close by using sophisticated topologies, such as complementary differential inputs, complementary push pull drive, etc. We do not remove the distortion in the device itself, but we give the device a more ideal situation where it can do it's thing most effectively. The problem with feedback is more important with solid state, because it is so much easier to apply large quantities of negative feedback to direct coupled amplifiers. Feedback tends to hide steady state distortions, but tends to promote other types of distortion that is not measured by conventional test equipment. That's why specs are so meaningless, in general. I doubt that we will ever completely replace tubes with solid state, but we can come darn close in most ways, and be even better in others, where tubes are problematic.

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