Q

Common Questions

Q. Why should anybody buy a vacuum tube amplifier?

A. The primary reason to invest in vacuum tube amplification is superior sound quality. Serious listeners know ownership of vacuum tube equipment has nothing to do with 'nostalgia' or 'what's in style.' But just because a component is designed using tubes, does not make it by definition a superior product. Much tube equipment sounds rather 'soft' and 'bland' or simply does not justify its cost, in our opinion.

Q. Why are tube amplifiers relatively expensive?

A. First, large, complex power transformers supplying multiple low and high voltages at fairly high currents are required for the power consumption requirements of the tubes. The transformer must also have a low electrical radiation field and low current leakage for low mechanical noise. Transformers with low radiation and current leakage are fairly difficult to build.

Second, the output transformers which provide electrical impedance and power matching between the output tube(s) and the speaker is a complex device requiring hand winding and assembly if flat, extended frequency response and maximum power transfer is to be achieved. This transformer is a small work of art in its execution.

Third, the chassis must be rigid and strong to support 25+ pounds of transformers and to provide minimal mechanical vibration transfer from the power transformer to the tubes. Preferably it should be made of aluminum for low electrical and magnetic noise transfer, lighter weight and optimal finishing characteristics, but thick for rigidity. We use one-eighth inch aluminum for the top plate for minimum mechanical vibration effects.

Making a product from thick, solid aluminum and finishing it beautifully is an expensive undertaking, but provides the best overall results.

Fourth, our construction technique is such that any part of the amplifier or preamplifier may be removed and replaced in the event of failure or damage. That means our amplifiers will be repairable, often in the field, decades from now. This requires hand assembly, a necessarily slower, but higher quality technique.

Our amplifiers are actually less expensive than the equivalent-quality solid-state units and the Lolita Amplifier is more compact than nearly all of them!

Q. How often must the tubes be replaced?

A. They have a minimum sonic life of about 2500 hours, depending on type and implementation. The end of the tube's useful sonic life is determined when there is a loss of dynamics or rhythmic 'drive' and an overall 'softness' of the sound. This happens very gradually and a quick change of tubes will restore the original sound. In an 'average' installation, it will be found advantageous to change tubes about every two to three years.

By the way, nearly all the components in our amplifiers are significantly over-specified. Wright Audio amplifiers operate more conservatively for longer tube life. Our amplifier owners can feel free to operate our amplifiers all day every day.

Since 1989, we have supplied suitable, screened replacement tubes for all of our tube components at reasonable cost, and our Warranty covers them for 90 days from the date of purchase.

Q. What was your design philosophy for your integrated amplifiers?

A. The goal simply was to discover what was the best-sounding amplifier that could be built on one reasonably-sized chassis, that is, an amplification system not requiring a separate preamplifier and power amplifier or amplifiers. All the possible tube types, tube brands and combinations were tried using only tubes currently in production. And of course push-pull circuits were fully explored. Listeners preferred the final models we offer now. This has been the culmination of about 5 years of research and several hundred variations in addition to the 12 years of previous experience. The size and weight of the current Royale™ Amplifier series is the maximum we would allow.

Q. What about amplifiers using 2A3 or 300B type triode tubes?

A. A few prototypes were built with these tubes and other manufacturers' amplifiers were auditioned which used them. The other manufacturers' models were separate preamplifier / power amplifier systems which eliminates them by definition from our design goal. But the listeners usually preferred the Lolita and Royale amplifiers anyway, which are clearer and much more dynamic sounding as long as our recommended brands of tubes are used.

It is also more difficult to keep noise to an inaudible level on an integrated single-chassis amplifier with the 2A3 and 300B and we don't consider the 2A3 as having enough power in single-ended operation unless an all-horn speaker is used.

In addition, a stereo, integrated, push-pull design, for greater output power with these tubes on a single chassis would result in an amplifier which far exceeds our size and weight limits.

For the integrated amplifier class, just the right balance of quality sound in a reasonable size has been achieved with the amplifiers we offer.

Q. You list some of your amplifiers as having 7 to 9 watts per channel output. Isn't that too low?

A. Well for decades, we've been Madison Avenued into believing that 60+ watts per channel is necessary. And that is generally true with the inefficient speakers which are common. The fact is that 16 watts total, both channels, used with speakers rated at 92+ db at one watt / one meter is usually enough. In a bi- or tri-amplified system with a separate external active crossover, much more volume can usually be obtained.

The Wright Audio integrated amplifiers are the result of many years of research and listening. As many others will agree, single-ended true triode or triode-connected pentode tubes operated in pure Class A service offers better sound quality within their power rating. If the first watt just sounds mediocre, why would you want 59 more watts just like it?

Unfortunately, the nature of these tubes used singly is such that they will not provide high power output. This only means simply that higher efficiency speakers should be used.

High efficiency in a speaker is good. It means the manufacturer is using larger, more powerful magnet assemblies which provides more 'alive' and clear sound no matter what amplifier is used. It also means the manufacturer is using tight driver tolerances, strong construction and probably fairly simple crossover networks to extract the maximum efficiency from a design.

The Wright Audio Royale SE Series 2 Integrated Amplifier, in order to compensate for the relatively low power output, is designed specifically to be placed into bi-or preferably, tri-amplified system service which has overwhelming advantages in sound quality, tonal balance control and output level. This design path allows a 'building-block' approach to an ultimate audio system.

Q. Does the lower power output of single-ended amplifiers mean I need a horn-loaded system?

A. No. In fact a speaker system with higher than a 92 db 1 watt / 1 meter sensitivity rating is probably sufficient.

You can run into other problems if the speaker system is too sensitive and you're sitting too close to the speakers, like residual noise and extreme sensitivity to volume control changes near the fully counter-clockwise position. Along with other reasons, this is why it is so important to match amplification systems with speaker systems. And it is also why we will be offering exceptional, suitably matched speakers to be used with our amplifiers, making the selection simple.