Term of the Moment
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Redirected from: tube preamp
Definition: tube amplifier
An audio amplifier that uses vacuum tubes instead of transistors. Most aficionados of high-quality audio believe that vacuum tubes provide a more musical and more pleasing sound than transistor-based amplifiers. These are subjective opinions that often depend on the hearing ability of the listener. Many people cannot hear much difference between medium-quality and high-quality sound systems. Nevertheless, the most expensive amplifiers are tube based, and high-end preamplifiers may also use only tubes (see preamp). See hybrid amplifier, audiophile, stereophile, high-resolution audio and vacuum tube.
LAMM ML3 Tube Amplifier
For the Do-It-Yourselfer
Considered one of the finest manufacturers of audio equipment on the market, LAMM has been making amplifiers for more than two decades. Using gold-plated speaker terminals, a pair of ML3 amps cost $139,000 in 2014. (Image courtesy of LAMM Industries, Inc.)
This do-it-yourself Gowegroup tube amplifier kit sold for $249, a tad more down to earth than the model above. (Image courtesy of Amazon.com.)