That one has been and will continue to be debated on this site forever with respect to amplifiers, preamps and the like. Were you to ask the designer of a tubed unit, doubtless he would say the tubed one; likewise, the designers of the Levinson and similar players would say solid state. And while I prefer my tubed dac, I'd be the last one to assert that an Ah! Tjoob CD player sounds remotely as good as an Accuphase. Ultimately the one that sounds "better" is the one you think sounds better after careful listening, I guess.