by sKiZo Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:31 pm
Triode mode will give more or less the same results on any push/pull amp. I think of it as more or less a quickie tube swap without swapping tubes. Gives you another tonal option with a flip of the switches. The sound tends to be more laid back and mellow - good for late night listening, and especially nice for jazz and female vocals. You DO lose a bit of power in triode mode as it's not as efficient as pentode, so that may factor in if you're already working it hard. That said ...
My ST120 has triode mode, and I seldom use it anymore. Switched it in regularly when I first got the amp, but I've since voiced the room and gotten rid of the brightness that had made me want to use it in the first place. I find I can accomplish the same thing with tube selection. Currently running a 5963 in the center - that tends to be a bit dark. I compensate for that with a matched set of 1940's RCA foil getter cleartops - which tend to be bright. Together, they're close, and I fine tune that with my TubeMagic Dac using a tasty little Western Electric JW2C51.
So anyway. It's all in the ear of the beholder. If this sounds like something you want or need, go for it. Be sure to report back with the results.
PS ... worth mentioning - laid back ain't my style, and I'm in the middle of nowhere, so I don't get too worked up about turning it down for late night listening ...
