journeyman73
Active member
With all the great things going on with reactive loads and reamping at very low home volumes I am doing a lot of experimenting with various loads and power amps...i have some questions about the power amp setup in this use case (ie loading an amp head down and then feeding that line level signal to effects and reamping in stereo - all while being able to have very low overall volume at home
- In considering tube vs SS, if you are using the power amp at very low levels is it actually worse using a tube amp? Would it be duller and stiffer if you cant get the volume up some / im not talking breakup levels, obviously, because that is coming from the loaded amp but do you still need the tube power amp ‘working’ decently to get optimal dynamics and feel?
- in terms of different tube types in the power amp, is having identical tubes in the power amp and the loaded down amp too much of a good thing (ie not ‘neutral’ as it otherwise could/should be to retain the original amp tone)?
- what is tube maintenance like when using a tube power amp but at lower home volume levels? I would think the tube life is pretty good?
- like most things in the gear world, i would think there are no ‘rules’ - but curious if for this type of stuff you adhere to certain broad principles or is it purely whatever combination of stuff sounds and feels good you just roll with?
- In considering tube vs SS, if you are using the power amp at very low levels is it actually worse using a tube amp? Would it be duller and stiffer if you cant get the volume up some / im not talking breakup levels, obviously, because that is coming from the loaded amp but do you still need the tube power amp ‘working’ decently to get optimal dynamics and feel?
- in terms of different tube types in the power amp, is having identical tubes in the power amp and the loaded down amp too much of a good thing (ie not ‘neutral’ as it otherwise could/should be to retain the original amp tone)?
- what is tube maintenance like when using a tube power amp but at lower home volume levels? I would think the tube life is pretty good?
- like most things in the gear world, i would think there are no ‘rules’ - but curious if for this type of stuff you adhere to certain broad principles or is it purely whatever combination of stuff sounds and feels good you just roll with?