Hi rpfef. I've owned the Wyred4Sound ST1000 for about three months. Most of that time it has been teamed with Usher Be718s & a REL sub. There is a single Mullard 6922 tube in the signal path (ARC SP9MkIII pre-amp). For classical music, above all other forms of music, I've found this combination brilliant.
The ST1000 has no glare, and retrieves immense amounts of detail. For older mono recordings it does wonders. For instance the Budapest Quartet's Library of Congress recordings of Beethoven's late quintets has sound from the 1940s - the added clarity, and the lack of harshness, help make the sound enjoyable. Likewise for solo piano - I recently acquired Solomon Cuttner's EMI box set, which has some discs remastered using their ART technology, and some transfers dating back to the early 1990s - the ST1000 makes things more believable through its transparency.
I can relate to your wish to recreate the beauty of live music. One of my favourite recordings is Andras Schiff's 1994 rendition of Schubert's last piano sonata. I can't think of a more beautiful piano performance, and, compared to to other hifi systems, I've found this one presents the music in the most intimate way. To be more specific: I've used the amp with Wilson CUBs, and the speakers with a Jadis Orchestra Reference (2 12AX7s, 4 KT88s); the pre-amp was previously used with an ARC D125 power amp (8 6550 tubes) - from what I can discern the ST1000 extracts the most information, and adds the least of its own emphasis. I would not describe its sound as "cool" at all - if anything it makes the bloom of massed violins more realistic through defining the sound; voices are similarly full and life-like - the finale of Mahler's 2nd, Berliners and Haitink, is stunning (this recording also showed up the advantage of limitless power, with no compression at all despite the huge dynamic range).
The Usher's amazing tweeter is a factor in my comments. The ST1000 with the Wilsons still delivers incredible detail, but the tweeter here is less smooth, and strings in particular are more "electronic". The difference becomes more apparent the longer the listening session.
While far from true "A/B" comparisons, I did audition many other amps - perhaps this is a (very rough) guide to my tastes, but as far as solid state goes I least liked Krell, and most preferred Gryphon; and generally ended up listening to valves - especially Jadis models. In fact possibly the best string sound I've heard came from a pair of Jadis JA30monos driving Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos - with Jadis pre-amp this system came to Aus$50,000; the ST1000 plus Usher Be718s was 10% of this. And there was almost as much wood and rosin.
Hope this helps.
Robert.
