The best is yet to come
My heartfelt thanks to those who came over to visit Room 445 of the Dusit Thani Hotel yesterday (Nov. 10) where AudioFile and The Philippine STAR are showcasing the best in local audio gadgets design in this year’s staging of the November HiFi Show. You still have the whole day (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) today to enjoy our exhibit and the others on display. Entrance is free.
Most of you must have been in awe at the sight of the brand-new vacuum-tube powered audio systems which apparently are in most displays. Tubes and vinyl records are the two most dominant items in this year’s show and probably in future staging. This just goes to show that the analog renaissance is not just a flash in the pan, and music appreciation has “devolved” to the better taste of our grandparents.
In fact, VTL Audio top honcho Luke Manley foresees not only a resurgence but a new golden age for tubed electronics. “The best is yet to come,” he confidently declares. VTL analog gadgets, which are carried locally by Audio Visual Driver International Philippines, Inc., are displayed in Function Room 1 of Dusit Thani.
Most audiophiles prefer the sweeter sound of tube over the edgy sound of solid-state electronics. Most of them swear that a sound system powered by tubes has an enveloping warmth unparalleled even by the most sophisticatedly designed solid-state electronics.
Their observation is firmly and technically grounded. In fact, electron tubes not only continue to have practical applications, but accomplish electronic tasks better than any solid-state device yet designed. There are specific cases where the performance and dependability of tube technology is far grander.
In the field of high-power, high-speed circuit switching, some tubes can rework far larger amounts of current quicker than any semiconductor ever made. Semiconductor’s physics has thermal and sequential limits, thus constricting its switching ability.
Luke simplifies it further: “At VTL, we feel that tubes are the best technology for audio for the following primary reasons: Tubes use simple circuits, overload gracefully, are more linear, and therefore require less overall negative feedback.”
He points out that passing the signal through fewer components yields a purer, more immediate sound. “Simple circuits with fewer components,” Luke explains, “have been found to sound cleaner than complex circuits with many components in the signal path. This is because there are fewer components to change, or distort, the sound (add to or degrade the signal). Tubes are more tolerant of circuit drift and parts deviations, and thus can be used in the simplest circuits.”
He adds that music has great dynamic swings, and in tube amplifiers the onset of clip/overload as maximum power is reached is gradual, with a low even-order harmonic.
Even-order harmonic distortion is somewhat benign, and less offensive to the ear than the harsh, odd-order harmonic distortion characteristic displayed by solid-state circuits, even though the distortion figures for tubes are somewhat higher.
VTL was founded upon a solid tradition in fine engineering design, and enriched by a deep love for music. Its designs originally came out of the recording studio, based upon traditional tube concepts from the 1940s and the 1950s, considered to be music’s Golden Age.
The growth of music and audio communities gave way to new electronic technologies and better parts. This development gave tube components the capacity for higher and cleaner power, and a delightful ease of use never possible with the renowned old designs.
Asserts Luke: “Tubes, in fact, are more viable today than ever before.”
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For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com. or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.
