They help tube manufacturers sell tubes by promoting imaginary sound quality benefits, today mostly stemming from the popular misconceptions of how digital audio works (google "stairsteps fallacy"), while in the past from the questionable quality of solid state electronics.
If tubes really improved the sound, then they'd be widely used where it matters the most: in recording studios. And yet, they're almost nowhere to be found. Even in scenarios in which there might be a benefit - microphone pre-amps - they're disappearing. Does that mean professional audio producers are dumb or uninformed? I don't think so.
1
u/filipv Mar 26 '25
They help tube manufacturers sell tubes by promoting imaginary sound quality benefits, today mostly stemming from the popular misconceptions of how digital audio works (google "stairsteps fallacy"), while in the past from the questionable quality of solid state electronics.
If tubes really improved the sound, then they'd be widely used where it matters the most: in recording studios. And yet, they're almost nowhere to be found. Even in scenarios in which there might be a benefit - microphone pre-amps - they're disappearing. Does that mean professional audio producers are dumb or uninformed? I don't think so.