Hi Jax2, my point has to do with equipment matching. An SET driving a 92 db speaker is going to get clipped a lot if you listen to demanding musical passages. On a speaker like that, you would need a lot more power- 60 to 100 watts, in order to get to appropriate levels. There are not a lot of SETs that can do that, and IMO those that do don't sound very good. Lower power SETs really require a speaker 10 db more efficient than the ones you have/had; then you can play hip hop on them all day, but don't expect a lot of bass with a speaker that is that efficient! That's why those speakers we had at T.H.E. Show are such a nice deal, though they are anything but cheap :)
I would love to have a pair of John's speakers, but alas, not only is it not in the card$ at the moment, but I'm also dealing with a smallish listening space in my home. The WAF would negate anything the size of a dishwasher or larger. My wife used to call my LaScalas, "The Dishwashers". I used those at work and they were highly modified, and yes, they certainly could do more with demanding music...but I still prefer my current nearfield setup. It is pretty rare that I can hear it strain. There are only two tracks I can think of, and I know exactly where they will tax the system, and just in the bass. Otherwise I do not hear it clipping at all (unless I'm missing something - I don't think so because Peter's observed the same thing, as has my other Nervosa inflicted friend). That said, I'm sitting 8 feet from my speakers which are only 2.5 feet from the back wall.
IOW if an amplifier is good, its good for any kind of music, perhaps a qualifier is needed- as long as it is being used with a speaker that matches that amplifier (whatever it is) properly. So I am saying that such an amp will play classical as well as any rock. The amp does not care what someone's taste is- its all electronic signals to an amp :)
I think I get what you're saying here. I completely agree about speaker matching with amps. I don't know that what I think you are getting at overall is how I experience two contrasting amps though. Maybe I'm just delusional. As I said, my SET amps (still have'em) can play rock just fine...enjoyable even...I just think it's more enjoyable on some SS amps I've tried, for instance. Whereas something more stark and simple sounds much better on my SET amps (to me). The illusion of space, presence and realism is far more effective to me with the SET option. That illusion is there to a great degree when playing more challenging, more dense music, rock say, but it occurs to me as more congested than when that same dense is played on a good SS amp in the same system and space. By your definition of a 'good amp' both the SET and SS amps I've used in this space need not apply. It may be all electronic signals to an amp, but it's not that at all to any of us who are listening to the music. We put all kinds of meaning into just how those electronic signals are translated into music. I digress........