Tube amp sound is not always 'warm'...
I like a good tubed amp because they tend to sound 'alive' and 'open', while SS usually sounds 'canned' and 'dead' to me in comparison. The music can just vibrantly burst forth from tubes, while transistors often seem to only grudgingly squeeze it out in a leaden sort of way. Just my general opinion (based on not nearly enough experience ;^), and not one to be applied to SOTA offerings I'm sure...
'Warmth' is a different question than tubes vs. SS, and too much warmth usually means a loss of transparency and speed no matter which gain strategy is employed. I'd stay away from either a tube amp or a SS amp that offers a sound too cool or too warm, but rather stick to pursuing a more neutral balance combined with high resolution and natural harmonic structure.
I like a good tubed amp because they tend to sound 'alive' and 'open', while SS usually sounds 'canned' and 'dead' to me in comparison. The music can just vibrantly burst forth from tubes, while transistors often seem to only grudgingly squeeze it out in a leaden sort of way. Just my general opinion (based on not nearly enough experience ;^), and not one to be applied to SOTA offerings I'm sure...
'Warmth' is a different question than tubes vs. SS, and too much warmth usually means a loss of transparency and speed no matter which gain strategy is employed. I'd stay away from either a tube amp or a SS amp that offers a sound too cool or too warm, but rather stick to pursuing a more neutral balance combined with high resolution and natural harmonic structure.