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blargh4 t1_j9l3pte wrote

Tube amps have far higher harmonic/intermodulation distortion, which tends to rise steadily with output level (whereas solid state amps are typically very clean until they clip); and they usually have more frequency response distortion. And a little bit of distortion has been known to sound pleasant.

People often make claims about how tubes have more even-order harmonic distortion (which is supposedly more euphonic to the ear) than transistors, but that seems to be BS, tube amps are all over the place here. In the end I'm not sure how useful verbal descriptions of sound will be without actually listening to them.

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GarlicBiscuits OP t1_j9l4erz wrote

At some point, I'll have to see if I can find any headphone shops around that allow me to test various pairs and amps together. It definitely sounds like a safer bet to have some in-person exposure for comparison than just jumping in blind and hoping I've stumbled into diamonds.

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thehornedone t1_j9l7js4 wrote

If you have a DAW program on your computer like garage band or logic, try loading in a song you're familiar with and then put an exciter VST on the track, and dial in like 1-5% tube emulation

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GarlicBiscuits OP t1_j9l8g0v wrote

I usually play any music I have from Foobar, so I can look for options and/or plugins that do what you mentioned. I didn't even know that existed until now!

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thehornedone t1_j9l914x wrote

There’s some very advanced vsts out there for music production in terms of introducing tube emulation, tape, triode, whatever. I’d say 99% of modern mixes that are produced in the digital realm use these. If you’re using a colorful tube amp, you’re just introducing even more distortion to the mix before it makes it to your ears.

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