Best class D amp that’s warm like a tube amp

[Supernaut]

Any SS amp with a low gain OD in front of it will do the job. 

[Merton]

42 minutes ago, la bam said:

Laney Digbeth.

 

The most convincing tube sound out there. It also plays like a tube amp, the more you dig in the more valve like it reacts. 

Stop saying this please, you’re not helping my GAS 😂

[Killerfridge]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

Laney Digbeth.

 

The most convincing tube sound out there. It also plays like a tube amp, the more you dig in the more valve like it reacts. 

I've only heard (both figuratively and literally) good sounds about the Digbeth range. Crazy low price point too for the sound

[Marty Forrer]

Genz Benz Streamliner 600 or 900. Fabulous.

[msb]

I use a tube preamp that does the trick , and bypass the preamp and tone stack in my Forte. The Forte alone is clean , transparent, modern hifi , and with the tube pre becomes warm , thick , old school tube.

[Guest]

On 17/12/2023 at 20:23, la bam said:

Laney Digbeth.

 

The most convincing tube sound out there. It also plays like a tube amp, the more you dig in the more valve like it reacts. 

Do you own the Digbeth 500H? Ever since getting my Digbeth Preamp I’ve become obsessed with it and the way the “tube” drive sounds and feels so genuine. I keep looking at the 500H and the 410 and telling myself I must resist any purchase.

[la bam]

1 hour ago, Lord Summerisle said:

Do you own the Digbeth 500H? Ever since getting my Digbeth Preamp I’ve become obsessed with it and the way the “tube” drive sounds and feels so genuine. I keep looking at the 500H and the 410 and telling myself I must resist any purchase.

 

Yes, I own the 500h head and the 410 DBV vertical cab. 

 

Love them! 

[Chienmortbb]

On 16/12/2023 at 08:30, Merton said:

Ok I’ll bite - yes 🤓

The power amp does but the Valve preamp is most certainly not Class D, it is probably Class A.

[MrDinsdale]

Really liked the GK Fusion S, one of the prettiest amp I’ve used too. Valve preamp section, still sounds like a GK but a little more natural warmth. 

[Russ]

On 20/12/2023 at 13:04, MrDinsdale said:

Really liked the GK Fusion S, one of the prettiest amp I’ve used too. Valve preamp section, still sounds like a GK but a little more natural warmth. 

I had a Fusion S 1200 for a while. Fantastic sounding thing, but really confusing controls. Every knob has two functions that you have to press the knob in to access. 

[Mykesbass]

If you ever see a Carvin up for grabs, I've found (and had others agree) that they come really close to a natural valve sound. They had major reliability issues, but any that are still working (as mine is some 12 years on), then they will have passed that test! The other great thing is that they will be way cheaper than Genz or any of the other bigger names 

[NickA]

My old trace gp12smx had a blended valve input.. I used to crank up the valve sound as I thought it made me sound " more Jaco ".   Then someone pointed out that Jaco's Acoustic amps were solid state ( he was just turning up the built in fuzz- box .... and later running two amps with a delay line and chorus, but that's another whole thread!)).

 

I guess it depends what aspect of a tube sound you want; the compression, the clipping, the octave doubling..... 

 

There's a talk bass thread on valve amps Vs "tube emulators" which mentions what seems a good compromise in a little valve pre amp:

https://shift-line.com/olympic you can use it as a DI box or plug it into a super clean class D amp and sound like you have a big valve amp.

 

But doesnt the sound depend on the type of valve used?  There are some HiFi valve amps that are quite clean / linear and stuff like marshall guitar amps that would sound awful as hifi but amazing with a Les Paul played through them.  So how that olympic gizmo sounds must depend on the valve inside it??

 

[Lozz196]

Having used one the other night I’d add in the Peavey MiniMax, has a very warm rounded sound in the mix.

[Norris]

On 16/12/2023 at 09:11, NHM said:

A Rumble with the vintage button in gets you a long way there.

Shhhh! Everyone - stop keep recommending Rumbles! Otherwise everyone else will sound as great as I do

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

20 hours ago, NickA said:

But doesnt the sound depend on the type of valve used?  There are some HiFi valve amps that are quite clean

 

The valve doesn't matter all that much. There are valve amps that are quite clean, Fender for instance, when they're not pushed into clipping. It's only when pushed into clipping that the difference between valve and SS becomes apparent. Instrument amps by and large sound bad when used for hi-fi, but that's mainly the fault of the highly colored response of the speakers and the preamp pre-shape.

[NickA]

1 hour ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Instrument amps by and large sound bad when used for hi-fi,

By and large, yes indeed.  But it depends on the amp... My 1980 carlsboro cobra was unlistenable to except for playing a bass through, the Trace that replaced it, almost Hifi if carefully tweaked, my pjb kit sounds a lot like my hifi ..  Hardly "coloured" at all.  Not to everyone's taste for sure.

 

Sure I read somewhere that Marshall made their amps more aggressive sounding by using cheap Russian valves.  But the consensus does indeed seem to be that it makes no odds ( and they're almost all Russian anyway 🙂 ).

 

I guess a lot can be done in a class d amp by tweaking the software that drives the pwm ... Surprised none of them have a "valve" button!

 

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Marshall and just about everyone else used Russian tubes for years, and it wasn't because they were cheap. Long after the West went to all solid state in their military electronics as well as everything else the Russians still used tubes. Between the lowered demand and the higher manufacturing costs in the West, due to environmental concerns, most Western sources closed down. The Russian tubes were actually high quality, from having to meet military specs. The main source of tubes today is China, for the usual reasons. The end of Russian tubes is likely in sight, thanks to Putin's folly in Ukraine.

[Chienmortbb]

On 27/12/2023 at 13:11, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

The valve doesn't matter all that much. There are valve amps that are quite clean, Fender for instance, when they're not pushed into clipping. It's only when pushed into clipping that the difference between valve and SS becomes apparent. Instrument amps by and large sound bad when used for hi-fi, but that's mainly the fault of the highly colored response of the speakers and the preamp pre-shape.

So true, a Fender Twin fed with a Telecaster bridge pickup is very clean and not at all musical. In fact, it is downright nasty but not in a good way (this is my opinion and is true, no argument will be accepted). 

 

Bill is also right that traditionally, speakers were given a warm or coloured sound (incorrectly called “voiced” by some) to give a certain sound. This can have more effect on your sound than the amp. 
 

Valve amps can get their sound/voice from several areas, the pre amp, the power amp and if using a valve rectifier, the power supply. It is a complex arrangement sonically, and not all vintage valve amps got it right. *

 

At the South West Bass Bash in October we did an amp shoot-out and most people thought the all valve Ashdown and the vintage Trace heads sounded best, BUT the test was not blind so all our prejudices were in play.

 

*I am not sure who said that there is no point in having a mind if you can't change it. After watching this, I changed my mind. 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Chienmortbb