Tube vs transistor: Which is better?

Tube vs transistor: Which is better?

Gatot Susetyo, Contributor, Jakarta

What do you expect from a high-end stereo music system? Of
course high quality sound, just as when you listen to a live
musical performance, where the sound of bass, treble and vocal
are so clean and transparent.

That kind of high quality sound can be produced by either a
vacuum tube or transistor amplifier. Both can give listeners an
authentic illusion of reality, but the question is which is
better?.

According to audiophile stereo lovers, a vacuum tube can
produce cleaner and more transparent sound than a transistor.
With a tube, the details of the sound such as bass, treble and
vocal are so transparent, whereas transistors often produce a lot
of buzzing.

"Tube amplifiers produce more low-octave bass while transistor
amp mostly emphasizes on sibilants and cymbals especially when
played at a low level," says Chandra Wijaya, an audiophile who
lives in Surabaya.

"Transistor sound seems to be 'restricted' as if it is put
under a blanket, whereas the sound from the tube amp seems to
jump out of the speaker at you," says Steven Adi, an audiophile
in Jakarta. Adi said that the transistor amp had highs and lows
but there was no "punch" to the sound.

There are a lot of vacuum tube brands in the market at present
although many vacuum tube producers in Europe, China and Russia
have stopped production.

NOS (New Old Stock) is a big force in the tube market at
present as many older, unused tubes taken from warehouses of the
closed down factories such as WE300B and WE91ASE brands are still
available in the market. Their quality is as good as those
produced by Mullards, Siemens and Philips.

Of course, both technologies have their own uniqueness. Many
stereo lovers in Indonesia still prefer transistors to tubes.
Tubes may produce a better sound, but unfortunately they consume
a lot of energy. Tubes also requires better maintenance.

Defining the difference of both technologies is, however, a
complex problem. And don't forget that a tube or transistor is an
element in an audio system, and the best sounding system is one
where each of the components in the entire system are well-
matched to work together synergistically in a well-balanced
system.

In particular, we believe that the matching of the amplifiers
with the loudspeakers is the most critical link to a musically
satisfying system.

And finally, the perception of the quality of sound depends on
the discernment of our ears.