The music you like and your preferred playback volume levels mitigate against going low-power SET. Ultimate purity of harmonic structure is not as important a factor for replay of hard rock music as are high-volume capability, full frequency range, and dynamic slam and control. Having said that, I'm betting that the "100w" SS amp you heard distort into the Klipschs before wasn't a high-end piece with a sturdy power supply. On those speakers, a quality 100w piece, be it tube or SS, should certainly not give up before you do (or the speaker does). Since you say you are "happy as can be" with the SS C-J amp that's in your system already, hold on to it. If you experiment for curiousity's sake, you probably will hear a difference with a tube amp, but not because of the way it clips (if you select it correctly). Rather, the overall presentation may take on a somewhat different character than what you're used to, maybe spatially as well as tonally, but it'll be up to you to choose which is preferrable. Even efficient speakers with large woofers need some amp power to get a handle on the bass, so if you audition something tube-wise, I would suggest a push-pull tetrode or pentode design of around 80w minimum or up (VTL makes some nice sounding stuff with high power for the $).
About the guitar amp points raised above, I just thought, as a guitar player, that I might comment. It's true that most stuff in the HM/hard rock genres made since the late-60's has been played through tube amps (particularly Marshalls and their derivatives, themselves derived from the older original Fender Bassman design of the 50's) with anywhere from 50 to 200 rated watts per amp head - with multiple "stacks" prevelant, meaning many heads working simultaneously to achieve a very high-volume "wall of sound". But it's also important to realize that this choice has mostly to do with the sound of an amp's distortion - not how loudly it can play and stay clean. Since the harmonic structure of a tube amp run in clipping produces distortion that is musically consonant, whereas a SS amp's is not, tube guitar amps have remained the popular choice for their characteristic distortion sound, not their volume capability per se. (This explains why, in a recording studio situation where high absolute volume is not necessary to get a sound into the mic and on tape, small tube amps that distort easily at lower volumes have long been popular. Although Led Zeppelin was known for Jimmy Page's Marshall stacks onstage, he often recorded in the studio with tiny vintage Fender and Supro amps, good for only a few watts.) Since in hi-fi reproduction we don't want any clipping to occur (or even come close to it, ideally), the character of an amp's overdriven sound should not be the issue.
P.S. Rats - NOW I see that Sean has beaten me to the "Submit" button...
About the guitar amp points raised above, I just thought, as a guitar player, that I might comment. It's true that most stuff in the HM/hard rock genres made since the late-60's has been played through tube amps (particularly Marshalls and their derivatives, themselves derived from the older original Fender Bassman design of the 50's) with anywhere from 50 to 200 rated watts per amp head - with multiple "stacks" prevelant, meaning many heads working simultaneously to achieve a very high-volume "wall of sound". But it's also important to realize that this choice has mostly to do with the sound of an amp's distortion - not how loudly it can play and stay clean. Since the harmonic structure of a tube amp run in clipping produces distortion that is musically consonant, whereas a SS amp's is not, tube guitar amps have remained the popular choice for their characteristic distortion sound, not their volume capability per se. (This explains why, in a recording studio situation where high absolute volume is not necessary to get a sound into the mic and on tape, small tube amps that distort easily at lower volumes have long been popular. Although Led Zeppelin was known for Jimmy Page's Marshall stacks onstage, he often recorded in the studio with tiny vintage Fender and Supro amps, good for only a few watts.) Since in hi-fi reproduction we don't want any clipping to occur (or even come close to it, ideally), the character of an amp's overdriven sound should not be the issue.
P.S. Rats - NOW I see that Sean has beaten me to the "Submit" button...