VALVES OR TRANSISTORS

[jazzsinger]

you really know how to increase your popularity Mark,lol.maybe its about time we had rohs for food because i'd rather eat valves than some of the additives/toxic substances out there.it will be a pity to lose valve amps because they just sound better and are more tolerant although in saying that if manufacturers didn't use borderline rated transistors then hype power output i'm sure transistors could be just as tolerant.the thing i like about valves is when buying second hand equipment it is less likely to have been invaded by a screwdriver wizard who is scared of the high voltages inside unlike low voltage transistorized equipment that tends to draw amateurs inside.

[UGLY_BOB]

... Going to come down on the side of transistors, but only because of convenience. :-k

But really it all comes down to personal preference, situation, and price. There are valve amps I'd love but can't afford, there's mossfet trannys that 'valve fans' ought to try, and there's cheap rubbish that both camps must have met in the past. It's a discussion that will run and run. [-X 8-[ [-(

[ScotchEgg]

... Going to come down on the side of transistors, but only because of convenience. :-k

But really it all comes down to personal preference, situation, and price. There are valve amps I'd love but can't afford, there's mossfet trannys that 'valve fans' ought to try, and there's cheap rubbish that both camps must have met in the past. It's a discussion that will run and run. [-X 8-[ [-(

Ive been trying to decide how to post, but i'll just agree with bob
I voted transistor also. In a specific situation I might not have but in general Id go with transistor.

[wa10]

that would depend on how much power i needed how much power i had to drive the amp and what mode i intend to transmit on,

for high power base station/broadcasting 500w- 1000,000w any mode i would take a single ceramic transmitting triode or tetrode over anything, nothing beats the silky smooth sound of a triode to my ears, second choice would be a ceramic tetrode, 3rd choice glass transmitting tubes like the 3-500zg 4-1000 used within their rated power,

for moderate power mobile use 100w-1000w transistors are convenient and what i use now,
if the amp is built and biased correctly for class AB they sound decent on ssb, add an output filter and dont overdrive them you will get a clean fairly linear output,
biased class C they are more efficient for fm use but not really suitable for ssb even though plenty of the smaller class C amps have a ssb delay switch and plenty of people use them,
the ssb delay is no indication that they are suitable for ssb or am,
the amp saying class AB1 on the front or linear amplifier is also no indication that it is actually AB biased,

sweep tubes ( el519 6kd6 ect ) as used in zetagi bremi cte rm ect can sound decent on ssb but they dont like abuse on fm, treat them with respect and they will work fine for years of ssb use, not my amp of choice for fm,

i agree with dummyload and jazz singer,

overdriving the amp will produce high imd and increased harmonic levels, some of the power seen on the wattmeter is not really there, some meters will oversample the harmonics at a higher than true level and add that to the original on frequency reading, you are seeing happywatts, it makes you smile when you show it to your buddies but its not real,
a good quality transistor amp not driven into compression sounds pretty good,

i hope this is not too long winded Wink

[UGLY_BOB]

i hope this is not too long winded Wink

... it did ramble a bit
I read it to the Ugly Kids at bedtime - worked a treat ! Thanx !

(only kidding, good stuff really. )

[Guest]

i hope this is not too long winded Wink

I dont mind, it makes good reading & perfect sense,you seem very clued up in the tech dept

[Nathan]

you are seeing happywatts

One of the best quotes I have seen all year

[jazzsinger]

happy watts to please the know naughts !! quality quote wa10,when it comes to power/audio quality, sometimes less can definately be more.

[Mark-in-Essex]

Hard one this .......i use valves at base and trannys mobile...no preference here sorry

[cavalier]

Hard one this .......i use valves at base and trannys mobile...no preference here sorry

Get off the fence you wass.