Are Tube Amps a waste of money?

I can only answer some questions.

I believe they make tube amps with good reliability....
Tube amps usually cost more per watt
Home electronics have used tube amps for a long time, and I have not heard of them being dangerous (assuming competent engineering)

There are some die hard tube amp lovers

Not sure why tube amps would sound weird. A good amp should,behave like any good amp,...low distortion, high fidelity

One thing good about tube amps, according to some experts...they are more forgiving during clipping

Never owned one. Always wanted to build a dynamo clone

You have clearly never heard a tube amp have you? I am a guitar player, and it would take a 150w solid state amp to get anywhere near as loud as my 50w all tube amp. Tube amps just have much more output per watt than a solid state amp.

I love tube amps, but they are more economical to own as headphone amps. This way, you can experiment with different tubes to get the sound you like.

They aren't exactly cheap amps for 2.0 systems with speakers.

What you claim defies the laws of physics. A watt is a unit of power. One watt cannot be any more powerful than another watt, just as one second cannot be any longer than another second.

AJ

I don't claim to understand the physics or engineering behind tube amps vs Solid State. I can only tell you what any other guitar player will tell you. It takes 2-3 times the amount of power to make a solid state amp as loud as a tube amp.

Maybe the distortion from tube amps better translates into more output or maybe a "typical" 150w solid state guitar amp has inflated specs compared to a "typical" 50w tube amp. Not at all sure just trying to offer an explanation as to why you may have observed this because I agree with Wiwavelength in that a watt is a watt.

Possibly because you can overdrIve a tube amp more and still enjoy the sound. I can't think of any other reason if the amps are honestly rated. There are laws of electricity that must be obeyed.

50 watts per channel is pretty good for a "simple" stereo tube amp. That amp is probably running a pair of KT88 output tubes per channel. Electro-Harmonix makes reasonably good KT88s for about $50 per pair, so you don't have to spend much when tube replacements are needed.

And no, you shouldn't need to replace tubes every 6 months. Most power tubes (KT88, 6550, 6L6, EL84, 7591, etc) will last for 2000 - 3000 hours of use. More for the old-stock tubes made prior to 1992 (or thereabouts); maybe a bit less for the new stuff (but the new stuff is much cheaper). The smaller signal tubes (12AU7, 12AX7, 6SN7, 6DJ8, etc) will usually last for 5000 - 10000 hours of use. Again, more for the older-production tubes and a bit less for new production.

So hot to be worrisome? No. Not with a "simple" tube amp using one or two power tubes per channel. You might heat up the room a bit during summer if the amp is in a small room (e.g. small bedroom), but that's all.

Now, if you're running one of the monster tube amps with 6 or more power tubes per channel (and usually > 100 watts per channel), then those will run a lot hotter of course. Those will also set you back at least several thousand dollars -- for a used one.

Guitar amps often run the tubes much harder than a hi-fi amp would. So the tubes probably do need to be replaced more frequently in those amps.

And no, I don't use any of the monster amps with > 4 power tubes per channel. I have a few amps, but the two most used are a JWN amp that is built into a vintage Baldwin organ amp chassis -- with two EL34 tubes per channel, and about 40 watts/channel. And a pair of Dynaco Mark III monoblock amps, each with a pair of 6550/KT88 tubes per channel for about 50 watts/channel.

Tube power amps will not have a subwoofer output. The same is true of solid state power amps. Tube integrated amps or tube preamps, however, may have a subwoofer output. But it'll be rare, and confined to only new(er) models [no vintage equipment].

Most modern tube amps have what is called a soft start that slowly powers up the tubes. This helps for a longer life. My solid state amps run hotter than most tube amps. I have a pair of Threshold T-50's and a Forte 4A which run in Class A mode 100% of the time. You can keep your dinner warm on them. And if you really want hot, spend some time w/a pair of Pass Aleph solid state amps. You need to dress cool and keep the window open to survive a session w/those amps.

When power is turned on the electricity activates a cold filament in the tube and a surge of current will occur. As a result resistance will be low. So the sudden surge will weaken and shorten the life of the filament in the tube. A soft start will bring up the voltage slowly thus putting less strain on tube & prolonging the life. Time on soft starts can vary I had a Prima Luna and the soft start was about a minute. My current Audio Research SP-16 is about 30 seconds. Just about every major audio company that makes tube audio gear has this feature. As far as old vs. new. If it's in proper working order no difference. The only problem you may have w/old gear is finding the right parts and a qualified tech to service the amp. Cost also could be higher.

Tubes are "consumables", they are to be replaced periodically and are not as robust as the rest of the amp. Poor analogy, but tubes are like film in a camera.

No worries.

I don't know about worst but over the years I've owned tube gear from Odyssey, Rogue and Prima Luna and found all three to have well built excellent sounding products. The Jolida comments surprise me as I've heard them and seen them and they seemed quite good.

I have only one tube amp and it is a Little Dot MK-IV, which is a headphone amp. Since I don't have a dedicated 2.0 system right now, this is the only tube setup I have. I've had a few in the past when I owned separates and I love the ability to change out tubes to change the tone of the amp. I have all kinds of tubes like EF92, CV131, WE403A/B, GE5654, M8100, CV4010, EF95, 6JI. All have their special characteristics.

Tube amps are amazing. If your aren't concerned about crazy wattage values, these sound really nice, ESP if you have older coaxial speakers.

I would like to see Consonance, GLOW or Nohr enter the hifi tube amp arena. They have done very well in the mini am dept without killing your wallet.