BAT solid state or tube?

Rello, the VK-250 does get fairly hot, but not like the older PASS amps.. the VK-75Se does not get hot like others mention here. if you find your 75SE really too hot to handle you never have put your head above a AtmaSphere OTL.
now that is a lot of heat.

Comparison. 250BP versus VK-75SE.
if you want the last word in control, and other parameters care much less, you should go for the 250BP.
if you are willing to let go of the very last word on authority you will find a very musical partner in the 75SE.
does that mean i find the 75SE better ?
yes i do.
save the most humongous speaker systems out there which come to life only by megawatts, i think any realworld speaker will be driven with great authority by the 75SE.

still need more power ? buy a second 75SE example.

Rello i can heartidly recommend the 75SE.
you will not be disappointed.
take care in choosing very good AC cords, and cables.
i use NBS Omega Zero on all BAT.
signal cables are pure Silver Kondo KSL.
the difference and gain with the right cables is not subtle.

OH mind you i found the 'burn-in' time with my BAT's ( i have all BAT gear)longer than expected.
it needs months of hard playing to really shine.

regards tuboo

Thanks for your insight and advice.

After 2 days of listening I observe the VK-75se has more "space" around each instrument; a bigger, way more open stage; better dynamics. Treble is brighter, but not etched. Everything has more substance - like turning the saturation up on a digital photo, but not as much as I expected it to be. It definitely has less of the "tube sound" than I expected.

VK-75se has unbelievable bass. I've unhooked the subwoofer and don't intend to put it back in the system. Bass is very substantial in Trittico/Pomp&Pipes, EnVogue, 1812 Overture (cannons), Steely Dan. Gotta go back and listen to VK-500 to confirm this as it just doesn't make sense.

VK-75se plays very loud. With 4 ohm Piega P-10s hooked to the 4/6 ohm taps, I get 100+ dB with the volume knob at 55 (vk-5i, vk-d5se).

On the other hand, it is physically even larger than the VK-500 (deeper), and weighs just about as much. The pictures don't convey its true size (2' deep plus cables). I can't describe this well, but I think the bass is punchy, but a bit "rounded" (is that mutually exclusive?). I notice on some R&R the pace seems to drag, e.g. Heart "Magic Man," but not so much in the classical/jazz stuff.

Wife recommendation is to keep it, as she likes it better too.