A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the amplitude or power of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by solid state amplifiers in the 1960s and 1970s.Valve amplifiers can be used for applications such as guitar amplifiers, satellite transponders such as DirecTV and GPS, high quality stereo amplifiers, military applications (such as radar) and very high power radio and UHF television transmitters.
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Tube amplifiers in the context of McIntosh Laboratory
McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end audio equipment that is headquartered in Binghamton, New York. It is a subsidiary of McIntosh Group, which in November 2024 was acquired by Bose Corporation, an American audio company.
The company was co-founded in 1949 by Frank H. McIntosh and Gordon Gow. McIntosh designs and produces audio amplifiers, stereo tuners, loudspeakers, turntables, music streamers, processors, and various other audio products. Although solid state components are a large segment of the McIntosh line, audio enthusiasts most revere the warm sound of the company's tube amplifiers. Some of their tube amplifiers rank among the finest ever created for home audio and theater use. Their Unity Coupled Circuit, patented at the brand's inception, is still used today in products like their MC275 amplifier, whose vacuum tubes—used in many of the company's products—help to impart a lifelike warmth and soul to the sound. "McIntosh transformers are hand-wound in house as they've always been" according to McIntosh president, Charlie Randall. Many of the employees working at the Binghamton plant have been with the company for decades and number approximately 170+ as of June, 2022.
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