What types of vacuum tubes affect audio quality? I take it that power tubes do not? What about rectifiers etc?

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As you see from the "above" answers - it will depend on whom you ask ;-)

In theory, none should. In practice, all will, to a greater or lesser degree. Yes, even the rectifiers. Otherwise, why use rectifier tubes at all if a silicon diode can do the same job? Whether you will hear the difference, and whether you would hear the difference in a double-blind test, are two other, different, matters.

In my opinion, all these things will have some influence:
- source material (type of source, recording/mixing quality, ...)
- speakers
- listening room
- output transformer
- preamp tubes
- power tubes
- coupling capacitors, if applicable
- supply tubes
- supply capacitors
- power transformer

I somewhat tried to sort them by importance, assuming a decent design. Of course, with a bad design or unsuitable parts, you could use any of these parts to create a badly performing reproduction. And things aren't made easier by the different components influencing each other.

I left out speaker cables, signal cables and power cables on purpose - I don't believe they have any influene on the reproduction (except for RCA being the second worst type of connector you cold possibly use...), assuming they comply to some minimal requirements (like not having a broken connection somewhere inside the sleeve)....Show more

Some guitarists say the sound of a valve amplifier with a rectifier valve is "warmer" than the sound with a diode rectifier. I don't use valve amps so I can't speak from experience. If you are a guitarist, trust your ears to tell you if there is a difference. Amplifier valves do have a different response than transistors though, and many rock guitarists will only play valve amps....Show more

ELECTRONIC TUBE HAS ITS DEAD ZONE THAT EVER BEING IMPROVED, LIKE NOISE, AC HAMMING AND SHORT OF LIFE. THAT WAS WHY IT WAS FADED OUT FROM MARKET AFTER THE REPLACEMENT INVENTION OF SEMI CONDUCTOR. SO FAR, ELECTRONIC TUBE DOES NOT THE MAJOR PARTS AFFECT AUDIO REPRODUCTION QUALITY, IT IS THE CIRCUIT TO DETERMINE HOW GOOD THE AUDIO QUALITY CAN BE OBTAINED.
RECTIFIER HAS NOTHING TO DO IN AUDIO AMPLIFICATION, YOU ARE TOTALLY LOST ON AF AMPLIFIER CONCEPT....Show more

Many....Show more

All tubes in the entire Amp Affect the Audio Quality, even the Power supply tubes.
The power tubes affect the power supply quality and noise in the supply of the signal stages....Show more