I have to weigh in on the SS side when it comes to amps, not because they are all better, but because a few of them are. While I've heard very good tube amps and can appreciate their abilities, I've never heard one that could do bass so that it sounded real. The current and damping just can't handle it, and so I always end up "hearing" that it's a tube amp. It sticks in the back of my mind and won't go away, reminding me every time I hear the thump that I'm listening to a tube amp. I suppose my value system would be very different if I only listened to chamber music and vocalists, and I have no doubt I would be sitting here extolling the virtues of tube amps. SS amps, on the other hand, have gotten to the point where a few of them really CAN seem to disappear from the chain. Not many, and not until recently, but they're out there. My Ayre V-5 is the first amp I've ever owned, SS or tube, which allows me to actually say (the majority of the time, anyway) that "I can't tell it's there." And in my mind, there is no bigger compliment that can be paid to any piece of equipment.
This doesn't address the obvious and more difficult question, which is whether tube or SS preamps are better. I think tubes have a lot more going for them in a preamp, and may always have the upper hand over SS in this application.
This doesn't address the obvious and more difficult question, which is whether tube or SS preamps are better. I think tubes have a lot more going for them in a preamp, and may always have the upper hand over SS in this application.