I have had the pleasure of listening to some fine SET amps, Jcarcop's included. And have enjoyed them very much. And when talking tubes, I am ONLY ever interested in SET designs; push pull tube amps do nothing at all for me.
But, I favor good SS designs these days. My comments, while phrased to be annoying, were true. The good things our ear likes on tube/transformer amplifers are a function of tiny eq (sub half db), some resonant behavior, and the spectra of the distortion which all add flavoring to what might be sterile sounding digital music. I just prefer to do that in software, where I can turn if off if it's not in the service of the music (For instance, if the album was mastered with all sorts of tube gear and or digital plugins. In that case, too much of a good thing.) And, of course, because I love the challenge of finding just WHAT it is we are hearing that we like! Turns out that the great mixing and mastering engineers have known for decades.
But, I favor good SS designs these days. My comments, while phrased to be annoying, were true. The good things our ear likes on tube/transformer amplifers are a function of tiny eq (sub half db), some resonant behavior, and the spectra of the distortion which all add flavoring to what might be sterile sounding digital music. I just prefer to do that in software, where I can turn if off if it's not in the service of the music (For instance, if the album was mastered with all sorts of tube gear and or digital plugins. In that case, too much of a good thing.) And, of course, because I love the challenge of finding just WHAT it is we are hearing that we like! Turns out that the great mixing and mastering engineers have known for decades.