Mid-fi tube vs high-end SS

@knotscott  The 2 owners are friends, Dennis and Jim Salk. Quite a history between the 2 men. Some years ago Dennis made speakers and sold them for so cheap (high quality) but he made no money, actually lost money and overworked eventually he had to stop completely due to medical reason. Jim Salk then continued on making Dennis speakers to sell to people. Long story short, Dennis has bounced back and has started producing high-value speakers again. Even designed some new speakers for Salk recently around $16,000.

Thank you everyone for your inputs. I should've been clearer in my post. I am not moving away from tubes. Quite the opposite actually. I value my tube times so much that I just want a nice SS on the side for movies, gaming, daytime music listening, so that I could prolong the tubes life for music listening late into the night. Tubes are expensive, Quad KT170 for $550. But the NOS ones I wouldn't know where to get once they run out. 

There are some bangers SS amps at around $4k. The gato 150. The super high-value DVA M225. Frank said these monoblocks are the best amps he'd ever made in the 50 years of amp making. And the Schitt Tyrs. The Tyrs are new, not a lot of reviews but Schitt also said these are the best amps they have ever made. User experience reflects that. Imagine the Schitt Aegir but with way more power, and even better sounding. 

As you know, the BMRs will have some similarities in sound to some of the Salk models. Suggest you head over to the AC forum and do some reading on the Salk and VanAlstine threads. 

A pure class A tube amp would be under 20 watts in a Tube amp ,

50 watts pentode or ultralinear  , and$2k is just a starting point fora tube amplifiers 

One ofthe key elements is the transformers ,and chokes ,brand name like Lundahl 

that Ayon uses excellent C core type  for example is far better then , any Chinese amp like primaluna , they use torroid type which  no Highend company uses.

and inside the resistors,capacitors everything counts , I have had several Ayon  models theirSpirit 5 is ideal triode,or pentode ,even the tube sockets solid copper 

not cheap $3 brass type far better conductivity ,and machined aluminum cases,night and day better,less vibration then sheet metal ,ad microprocessor controlled per tube bias ,not Allpower tubes averaged out like most.tubes wear better and optimum bias,better sound and they are using the verygood kt150tubes.

when a tube goes bad it does not blow a transformer it goes into standby ,shows you the tube , just replace the tube ,hit there bias button and up and running .

yes abit more monies but very high quality from Austria. 

My Dennis Had tube amp is hardly "mid fi" except that it wasn't expensive, and I still listen to it from time to time but it was relegated to a resting spot by a Pass XA-25. That actually is one of the most transparent SS amps out there but it's 5 grand or so. Utterly worth it and there's nothing like it I know of.

Boulder