AMPLIFIED MUSIC: AM I LIMITED TO SOLID S

DAMN YOU DEKAY. CAN'T YOU JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION WITHOUT MAKING US ALL LAUGH? "I THINK I SOILED MY ARMOR":~)

PS- YEP! I DID.

PSS- MY advise is to find a pair of speakers that do the trick first. Have you ever tried a pair of bose 901's? They might give you that "IN YOUR FACE" sound at high volume that you are looking for.

Sorry for the abuse you have received. There are those in these forums that find it humorous to make fun of those they consider to be less enlightened.

In answer to your question, to play this kind of music to realistic levels requires a lot of power and/or very efficient speakers. Whether this power comes from solid state or tube amps is secondary. The amps sound different but there are many high power amps in both categories. You need to listen to both to decide whether one or the other is more to your taste.

If I, Dekay or Glen came across as "pompous", please excuse us. We have been hit by a recent onslaught of "ALL CAPS" posters. It is both irritating and harder to follow. I hope that you accept the appology that i offer on all of our behalf. Unfortunatly, you were the one that was "unloaded" on. Hopefully, we can get this thread back "on target" : )

A TRULY musical system is one that sounds good on ANY type of music. As such, you will find proponents for both SS and Tube based products on this and other forums. As Herman pointed out, both genres have their high and low points and TYPICALLY offer specific sonic attributes. There are products that DO cross over the "sonic dividing line" though that seems to exist between SS and tube based products. Either way, most of audio is VERY personal. You pretty much have to listen for yourself AND try different things to see exactly what is most compatible with the other components in your system.

Given that "generic disclaimer", i see no problem with either SS or tube based gear working for you. As to your comments about tubes being more "hi-fi" and "elite", that is not necessarily so. Nor is SS gear relegated to the basement. Both have their places and it is up to you to find what suits YOUR tastes the best. Sean
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Thanks Sean. I did mean well, but could not control myself. In all honesty, listen to everything that you can before laying down your hard earned income. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and hopefully you will stumble across something that attracts you. If the forums make it less of a tumble then so much for the better. My advice, if you are new to this passion is, listen hard, listen relaxed and listend long. Best regards, David.

A good amplifier should be able to accurately reproduce both a Steinway grand and a Les Paul driving a Marshall stack. The magazines tend to use acoustic instruments recorded with "purist" techniques because with these recordings more is known about the sound. A well schooled reviewer should know what any number of major orchestras sound like in a variety of halls. They can use this knowledge to compare the truthfulness of a component's reproduction of music. A typical electric guitar recording has so many variables that it's virtually impossible, unless you were in the studio during the recording session, to use it as a reference for accurate music reproduction.

Based upon your stated musical tastes, you should shade your system toward components that excel at rhythm and timing. Your amp/speakers should be able to produce tones down to 40Hz with authority. Tonal accuracy, low distortion and clarity are also required. It really doesn't make any difference whether the components that provide these qualities are tube designs, or not. Enjoy your music.