In this hobby hopefully you'll eventually be able to try (own or at least audition at home) many different designs which will eventually refine your personal taste.
At my age the idea and practicality of lightweight and powerful solid state has been a hopeful search from the first 60's A/B to todays class D switchers. Underneath this silly quest was the reality of the second order harmonic presentation of tube amplifiers that I grew up listening to in radios and televisions from the fifties.
I came full circle last year and purchased a pair of affordable Bob Carver VTA 180s. Cool running, easy maintenance, and more than enough top to bottom power for todays speakers. Having rolled my third set of input tubes their presentation evolves, something that can't be done with solid state.
Don't get me wrong I'm not plugging tubes I'm just enjoying them, again. I still have a pair of Hypex nCore 400 switching amps in my studio. Nothing like a massively powerful solid state amp. Keep in mind what those people are using to make your favorite hard and heavy music.
At my age the idea and practicality of lightweight and powerful solid state has been a hopeful search from the first 60's A/B to todays class D switchers. Underneath this silly quest was the reality of the second order harmonic presentation of tube amplifiers that I grew up listening to in radios and televisions from the fifties.
I came full circle last year and purchased a pair of affordable Bob Carver VTA 180s. Cool running, easy maintenance, and more than enough top to bottom power for todays speakers. Having rolled my third set of input tubes their presentation evolves, something that can't be done with solid state.
Don't get me wrong I'm not plugging tubes I'm just enjoying them, again. I still have a pair of Hypex nCore 400 switching amps in my studio. Nothing like a massively powerful solid state amp. Keep in mind what those people are using to make your favorite hard and heavy music.