Help learn diff.between SS and Tube

let me try to respond to the queries my post has generated. first, i have nothing against tube electronics or those that prefer them. i have owned tube pres and/or amps from cj and arc. i've also listened extensively to other tube amps, pre's and frontends in iterations of my own systems and those of my friends in the audio community. these products have included, by way of example, those from nagra, vtl, cary, manley, atmasphere, audio note, airtight, aesthetix, jadis and bat, among others. i have not found any tube amps with reputations for reliability and quality control that will drive without breakup the last three sets of speakers i have owned to the levels i prefer. all of these speakers were made by avalon acoustics : eclipse's, ascent's and currently eidolons. i also auditioned the aethetix phono with my ascents and was dissapointed with the results. (i do plan to try it again with the eidolons, which are somewhat more efficient than the ascents.) recently, i have listened to the newest avalon speakers, symbols, driven by a 35w/side airtight; they sounded marvelous. anyway, the amp i've used for several years, with numerous upgrades, is a jeff rowland, now designated as an 8ti. i do greatly prefer this range of jrdg amps to the newest one. the model 8 is wonderfully musical and completely non-fatiguing. some critical listeners, tho probably not many of you guys, describe it as "tube-like, with balls." with the eidolons and my accuphase dc 330 pre/dac, the jrdg throws a hugely deep and wide soundstage, with lots of air and definition. it helps provide, in sum, what i regard as a holographic image. the other 2 brands of amps i've tried that have this same quality are made by accuphase and boulder. in particular, i like a pair of accuphase a-50's bridged and the boulder 2060. both of these choices are much more dear than the most recent jrdg 8, the 8tihc. they do, however, provide a spectacular soundstage against a deep black, silent background. and, yes, the presentation is palpable to the goosebump stage and beyond, even more so than with my jrdg. i know some of you don't beleive what i'm saying but, hey, that's ok. i just hope you have a chance to listen to at least some of what i've described. FWIW, i hope to "complete" my system next year by adding a separate phono pre; that is likely to be tubed, either an aesthetix or nagra. cheers to all!

I have had SS for 20 years and have gone to tubes in the last 1+.Yes i gave up some of the bottom ens with the Tube but i got so much more music.I feel much more relaxed and can sit and listen for much longer periods of time.I find SS has the Digital sound and tubes are more like Viynl.I have listened to my tube gear more in the last year thani did to my SS set in the last 5.The Anthem is a solid State amp with a tube preamp built in.In the same price range all tube gear I have heard is a better choice Than the Anthem.

Well I take that back cornfedboy. There is no way I can afford a 50k amp from Boulder. I'm sure the accuphase is in the same ballpark. In any event I don't really require that type of power with the Merlins. By all accounts they are better suited for tubes because of their damping though the Millenium series can be wired to go either way. Thanks for your input. It seems you haven't left too many stones unturned in your journey.

I have owned many solid state amps and have heard most of the others named here. I have yet to find a SS amp that can match the sound of "live" music as well as a tube amp. If you can be satisfied with solid state, go for it. But if you are striving for "real" sound my suggestion is tubes.

Hi Perfectimage. You have a point about speaker matching. I had been running VAC PA 160's with my Martin Logan CLS's and switched to a Mesa Baron. Neither can be described as mushy. The VAC's had better detail, but the Baron has big balls and great flexibility. Since upgrading to E34L tubes the Baron is closer to the VAC's in terms of detail. As you probably know, CLS's are no picnic to drive due to current/voltage demands and very wide impedance swings. My speakers never seemed to open up with a variety of ss amps -- dryer and somewhat analytical compared to the tube amps I tried. Higher powered tube amps drive them with ease and also have a natural, open musical character to them. The Baron was not the most powerful (or most expensive) amp that I auditioned -- I'm not never running it in full pentode still have power to spare. Hell, it's not even breathing hard and I had higher powered ss amps fall apart trying to deal with my speakers' impedance swings. The Wolcotts and Power 3's have the same kind of non-mushy, authoritive presence. I think it comes down to the individual character of each amp and the rest of your system. All that I've mentioned (VAC's excluded) are what I would call big-balls tube amps. Yeah, a 15w single ended OTL will have a different sound. But there are tube products out there that can be balls to the wall when you need it. It's funny... I hear certain ss amps described as being tube-like and certain tube amps as being solid-state like in bass control. Go figure. For my tastes and my speakers, tubes are getting me closer to the music. Happy Holidays.