Valve Amp driven by Computer

RomfordNavy

Would appreciate advice on whether a Valve Amp is likely to provide benefit when the source of the sound is a computer?

Thinking of mounting a couple of speakers on the wall in the lounge and connecting them via a valve amp to a computer which drived the television.  Question is whether to quality of sound from the computer is good enough to justify driving it through a valve amplifier.

km1500

Where are you plugging the amp into - the computer's earphone socket? If so, you are likely to be disappointed by the sound as the inbuild DACs are likely to be of poor quality.

You could invest in a USB DAC eg Dragonfly - that would give you better sound quality

[Deleted User]

DACS or internal/external soundcards (audio interfaces) are available to get absolutely the best sound from a computer.
But the question is, what is the source?
If you're playing straight from a DAW or Hi Res audio file, then yes it could be very beneficial.
If playing an MP3 or streaming Spotify then almost certainly not. The amp might well reveal how poor quality the file/recording actually is.

DullGreyGuy

RomfordNavy said:

Would appreciate advice on whether a Valve Amp is likely to provide benefit when the source of the sound is a computer?

Thinking of mounting a couple of speakers on the wall in the lounge and connecting them via a valve amp to a computer which drived the television.  Question is whether to quality of sound from the computer is good enough to justify driving it through a valve amplifier.

The quality of sound from a computer can be well beyond any source... CDs for example are 16bit 44.1Kb/s whereas say Tidal on their top tier is 24bit 1,411Kb/s. Clearly if you are watching TikTok videos etc then the sound quality isnt going to be there but that's a source issue not a computer one.

How you get the sound out the computer will be key though, you will want a digital out from the computer and buy an appropriate DAC 


As to will a Valve Amp provide Benefit? To me, no... but I think valve amps are massively romanticised and modern amps are much better but if you like the warm mushy sound they create then feel free to use one. 

fwor

Agreed - valve amps are archaic and over-hyped. There are a number of factors that make them poor compared to any modern amplifier - for example the valves are microphonic, they require high voltages so reliability will be inferior, the glowing filaments erode with time, they are energy inefficient and the valves are fragile.

IMO they are aimed at the audiophool community because there is still money to be made by persuading people that they are special, when in reality they just sound slightly different.

Your choice of DAC is likely to have a more beneficial effect on the nature of the sound than your choice of amplifier - the DAC that is built into the computer may not be especially good and a stand-alone DAC may be a better bet, providing you have a digital out from the computer (which can be derived from HDMI if you need to).

flaneurs_lobster

I managed to get myself clean from my audiophilia some years ago so a tangential question. 

In my day any suggestion that proper hi-fi speakers could be hung from a wall rather than be floor standing would have had you sneered at in the proper shops on Tottenham Court Road.

Has this technology now moved on? 

RobM99

I've used valves in Marshall amps for years. Never had a problem with decent valves.

[Deleted User]

flaneurs_lobster said:

I managed to get myself clean from my audiophilia some years ago so a tangential question. 

In my day any suggestion that proper hi-fi speakers could be hung from a wall rather than be floor standing would have had you sneered at in the proper shops on Tottenham Court Road.

Has this technology now moved on? 

I have a modern pair of KRK-RP7 active studio monitors that cost £300.
I've got 30 year old systems that are only marginally better but cost thousands when new.
Today you get far more bang for your buck.

Yes, technology has moved on, particularly in the amp/speaker arena.

RomfordNavy

km1500 said:

Where are you plugging the amp into - the computer's earphone socket? If so, you are likely to be disappointed by the sound as the inbuild DACs are likely to be of poor quality.

You could invest in a USB DAC eg Dragonfly - that would give you better sound quality

Was thinking of HDMI cable to TV and TV RCA connector to amplifier but happy to buy a seperate DAC if you think that will improve the sound significantly.

km1500

flaneurs_lobster said:

I managed to get myself clean from my audiophilia some years ago so a tangential question. 

In my day any suggestion that proper hi-fi speakers could be hung from a wall rather than be floor standing would have had you sneered at in the proper shops on Tottenham Court Road.

Has this technology now moved on? 

No, it is still advisable to leave some space behind the speakers to avoid boominess 

fwor

RobM99 said:

I've used valves in Marshall amps for years. Never had a problem with decent valves.

Sorry - I should have said that they are still widely used (mainly as single-instrument amps, I believe) by musicians , because of the way that they sound at higher loads - specifically they generate a different type of distortion than solid-state amps. But as far as I'm aware, most will use solid-state amps for the output to the main speakers after mixing?