Which SS amps sound like a tube amp?


I'm doing research to find a new amp to replace my Parasound HCA 3500. I'd like the tubey midrange but the virtues of SS in the bass. Biamping is not an option as my rack is quite full. I need at least 200 wpc and want to spend less than 2k used. I'm driving VMPS Supertower/R SE's. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
warnerwh
I agree with Jacob,I haven't heard any SS amps with tube sound,moreover ML amps.
Which apples taste the most like pears? Red Delicious, or Granny Smiths, or....?! If you like pears have a friggin' pear, why eat some imitation that is supposed to duplicate some of the qualities of one while diluting the taste with its own character. OK, so you're looking for something unique...the quest for the holy grail which posesses all qualities....Unfortunately the few tube amps I've heard that put out significant power don't really exhibit the qualities I love most about tubes which is the sense of airiness and holography they can impart to musical reproduction, along with that magical midrange you seek. I've also heard several of the ML amps mentioned (including two all-ML systems extensively) and absolutely none of them sounded tubelike to me (that comparison is also surprising to me). They had plenty of bass slam though, and speed and detail in spades. But none had the palpability of tubes that gets me where I live. If you just have to have apples that taste like pears well then I'd say Pass Labs Aleph series does a pretty good job, and would likely meet your criterium as far as mixing together the qualities of the sound of each. The Aleph 5 was the closest I've heard to that description, but it does not have nearly as much power as you ask for. At the power you need you'd be limited to the more expensive Aleph 1 (150wpc) or 2's (100wpc) which are both mono designs (used they would go for about $3500-5500 a pair for either with the 1's being more expensive). I guess if you really need the power you should check out their X series, as previously suggested, on which I cannot comment as I've not heard them. Don't necessarily rule out biamping because you haven't got a slot in your rack. Just put the amps on amp stands or sandboxes near (behind or beside) your speakers with a shorter speaker run and longer interconnect from pre to amp. You may even find that that works better with your system.

Good luck in your quest.

Marco
All of the recent McIntosh, Pass X150, CJ 2300 (and others of that era). I have to say that after listening to the Audio Research 100.2 several times in two systems, I don't think it is very tubey. I was surprised to see it listed here a few times. I may have to give it another try in yet another setup and see if it changed. Arthur
GO FOR THE CONRAD JOHNSON MF2500A VERSION THIS AMP HAS IT ALL THE BEST OF WHAT TUBES ARE KNOWN FOR AND THE BEST OF WHAT SOLID STATE IS KNOWN FOR I DONT KNOW HOW CJ DID IT, PUT THIS AMP AS A PRIORTY ON YOUR LIST ITLL WIN YOU OVER LIKE IT DID ME.