Hi Alec and Peter,

Your comments, Alec, prompt me to add a comment or two. My first exposure to valves (tubes as we Americans called them) was in 1951 when I entered the Electronic Fundamentals school in the U.S. Air Force. I have watched electronic technology evolve from huge valves, transformers, coils, resistors, capacitors and miles of shielded and unshielded wire to the micro-miniature components on circuit cards, busses for transferring signals, and millions of transistors in a microprocessor. You are right, Alec, in saying the principles haven't changed - that the field of electronics has merely adapted to new technologies as they developed. As a former technician, I found that it was simpler to troubleshoot a solid state device and be able to replace a circuit card than to hunt a faulty coil somewhere in a maze of circuitry full of discreet components. Also, discreet components like transformers and coils generated magnetic fields which had to be neutralized using various shielding techniques. Troubleshooting such circuitry could be a nightmare.

There has been a lot of talk over the years comparing valve amplifiers with solid state amps. Valve amps are said to produce richer, fuller, warmer sounds. Perhaps that has to do with harmonics generated by valves and their associated circuitry. I do believe it is possible for digital technology to replicate that "valve" sound and one day soon we may see solid state amps that do just that. I much prefer our present state-of-the-art technology and all it offers to us in the form of our Technics keyboards.

Like you, Peter, I have fond memories of "old" equipment, for example my mobile ham radio and sending messages in Morse code with my telegraph key etc. But I wouldn't trade "the good ol' days" for my KN6000.

Finally, I am pleased we can use this forum for "talk" like this in addition to the exchange of technical information and music/styles etc. For me, it provides an opportunity to just chat once in a while with people I enjoy talking to and who share my interests, and I need that in my life.

Take Care, Chuck