A Bit of valve history...

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steve s
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#1 A Bit of valve history...

Post by steve s »

Having finished the kitchen alterations last weekend, and now planning how the new hifi room will look ...I'm having a breather this week.. came across this titbit..
i'm sure you all knew the detail.. but its nice to read this quote..

This interesting piece written by Lynn Olson may provide some of the explanation. A Tiny History of High Fidelity.

"In 1926, '71A direct-heated power triode was introduced, followed by the '50 in 1928, the '45 and PX4 in 1929, the PX25 in 1930, the 2A3 in 1932, the 300A in 1936, and the 300B in 1938. The power race started in earnest with the 6L6 and KT66 pentode in 1936, followed by the ubiquitous EL34 in 1951, the EL84 in 1953, the 6550 and KT88 in 1954, and last in the series, the 7591 in 1959 and the 8417 in 1963. (The 6L6 has been in continuous production since 1936, a record unmatched by any other electronic device - we all owe the electric-guitar players a big thank you for keeping the tube factories open.)

Seventy years later, vacuum tubes, and especially triodes, continue to be the lowest distortion amplifying elements ever made. No germanium or silicon transistor, JFET, or MOSFET has ever approached the distortion performance of the direct-heated triodes, with indirect-heated triodes following closely behind. In addition to low distortion in the absolute sense, the distortion spectra of triodes is favorable, with a rapid fall-off of the upper harmonics. (This is less true for beam tetrodes, pentodes, or solid-state devices, which are intrinsically less linear and have higher-order distortion curves.)"
sarah-s
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#2

Post by sarah-s »

what an exciting life you lead steve....
though i must say, that's some top-notch info you've found there...
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shane
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#3

Post by shane »

Ouch! :D
richardcooper2k
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#4

Post by richardcooper2k »

:lol:
Thoughts are just little stories that our brains tell us !
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ed
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#5

Post by ed »

snigger
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Paul Barker
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Post by Paul Barker »

If strange postings appear under your name Steve we'll know you forgot to log out when you went to make a cup of tea!
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steve s
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#7

Post by steve s »

yes.. daughters... she needs banning Nick,,,please...
getting more like her dad every day... sad
The tube manual is quite like a telephone book. The number of it perfect. It is useful to make it possible to speak with a girl. But we can't see her beautiful face from the telephone number
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Paul Barker
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Post by Paul Barker »

I would consider it a welcome and healthy thing for a family to want to see what we get up to on here. If only mine showed the slightest bit of interest?

My family enjoying the Lakes

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sarah-s
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#9

Post by sarah-s »

Before you know it I'll be making speakers and collecting valves...
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pre65
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#10

Post by pre65 »

sarah-s wrote:Before you know it I'll be making speakers and collecting valves...
Chip off the old block ? :lol: :lol:
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Nick
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#11

Post by Nick »

Ah, but are you the one that plays guitar?
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shane
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#12

Post by shane »

sarah-s wrote:Before you know it I'll be making speakers and collecting valves...
I trust the speakers would have a suitable HAF factor...
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Mike H
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#13 Re: A Bit of valve history...

Post by Mike H »

steve s wrote:Seventy years later, vacuum tubes, and especially triodes, continue to be the lowest distortion amplifying elements ever made. No germanium or silicon transistor, JFET, or MOSFET has ever approached the distortion performance of the direct-heated triodes, with indirect-heated triodes following closely behind.
Well duh, :D triodes have inherent negative feedback, bipolars FETs & pentodes are variable current sources with identical type 'curves'.

http://livinginthepast-audioweb.co.uk/p ... ockman.pdf

Discuss....
 
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steve s
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#14

Post by steve s »

shane wrote:
sarah-s wrote:Before you know it I'll be making speakers and collecting valves...
I trust the speakers would have a suitable HAF factor...
he needs a husband first Shane... at 15... a way off i hope...
The tube manual is quite like a telephone book. The number of it perfect. It is useful to make it possible to speak with a girl. But we can't see her beautiful face from the telephone number
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