Tekton Double Impacts

@kdude66- Totally agree the DI is a fantastic tool for an audiophile to learn what they like. I do agree with sprocket75 that putting some power behind the DI's does add some presence and "realism" and I listen at an average volume in the mid to upper 70db range with peaks in the mid 80's.
   This big SS vs SET amps brings up an important personal distinction and there aren't too many speakers out there that can sound good with  both big SS and SET. For many years I wondered what was wrong with me because I didn't feel so passionately about SET amps that people gushed over and I tried (845,211,300B, 2A3). I finally read a Nelson Pass article about distortion and found out that it's about an even split between people that prefer 3rd order harmonic distortion to 2nd order....Clearly my ears prefer the 3rd harmonic and that truly helped me make decisions about speaker choices and amplification. It was liberating to know that there wasn't something wrong with me for not loving SET.
   As far as the DI's go, they are the perfect way to find out what camp you fall in (2nd order, 3rd order, mixture of both). If you don't know which camp you fall in, pick a representative example of both topologies at the same time (if economically feasible) and find out what your ears prefer.
  

Everything about this hobby is subjective when it comes to sound quality. But you have to be very careful about generalizations regardings amps and especially specific tubes.

All I can tell you guys is that my solid state 30 watt per channel All Class A Pioneer M-22 sounds noticeably better than my solid state 200 watts per channel Class AB Schiit Audio Vidar amp.

The Vidar bass is outstanding for a $699 amp. But, the bass is better with the M-22. I listen to a lot of classical music and my max volumes do see an occasional 100dB because of the dynamic range. I have never had the M-22 have a problem with headroom. I wish it had a meters so I could tell how much power is being used. I don't see how extra power would change the sound if you never use it....

Teajay,

My most excellent brother reviewer and audiophile friend.  I take issue with your remarks:

  "With much love to both my brothers, Michael and Allan, they both adore    FREAKING loud volume levels when listening to music."  

When were you ever at my home, listening to music with me, and felt I was listening to music so loud that you had to ask me to turn the volume down?  Other than my wife complaining, no one has ever come over to my home and said I listen to music too loud.   

Now, I will say that I'm used to listening to music in rooms that are a little more intimate in size than in your large room.  It very well could be that when I'm in that large room of yours, listening to music, that I don't feel I'm hearing everything and is why I ask you to turn it up.  It could be that I want to hear a particular passage of music better, or I'm not following an instrumental line, or want to get a better idea of a performer's placement on the stage.  That may be why I ask you to turn it up.  So I can hear things better in your system. 

Allen, on the other hand, being a DJ and knowing how he feels certain selections should sound, has his moments when he really wants to feel the music and turns the music up.   He has come over to my house and asked for the remote and I brace myself just in case.  Not with everything he plays, but just with certain tunes where he feels he needs to.

Whereas you, on the other hand, who spends 30 seconds or more, setting the volume for "seemingly" every CD and every selection where you want to hear it or where you think visitors want to hear it.  Again, this is a subjective observation, and you're entitled to your opinion, but I do not listen to music loudly and do not adore "FREAKING" loud music.

Hey Micheal,

My remark meant no disrespect to you, or Allan, at all.  My statement regarding other individual's systems being played to loud for my taste was not directed at you at all, but at others.  Correct, the times I have had the pleasure to be at your home this was never an issue.  However, with respect to my guest listeners, including you, I always ask if the volume level is were you want it to be.  Please don't take this personally, virtually everybody, with a few exceptions, that comes over asks for volume levels that I would not being listening to if I was seriously listening to my system alone.  And it is very true that are dear friend Allan might be the volume "King" at getting to levels that he loves to listen most of the time.  Of course the levels I think are realistic for the reasons I shared in the other post (regarding size of individual images) might be my own personal criteria, indeed.  One other possibility why you like higher volume levels  in my house is that the way you experience bass, how percussive/powerful it is, is more important to you then me and to get it in my very large acoustic space to your personal liking it needs to be turned up to a higher volume level. Remember, in the past Mike Kay and I have affectionately nick named you the "Bass King" because those lower frequencies are really very important to you.  That's way I think you loved your Wilson speakers so much because of their low end grunt/punch.

 So, love ya man, so no offense was intended at all.