Solid State vs. Tubes - What if Transistors came first?


What do you guys think?

If transistors came first, and then decades later tubes were invented, would we have any tube amps we would call high end?

Wouldn’t they all fail to reach the height of performance and transparency set by transistor amps?

Best,

E

P.S. I love Conrad Johnson. I'm just wondering how  much of our arguments have to do with timing. 
erik_squires
Too bad De Forest’s hearing was shot by the time transistor radios came out. Otherwise he would have said, Yikes! Transistors suck!
Uh, in Hades, his punishment is to stand in the lake of boiling blood, listening to a tube amp, err, imp.  

<brayeagle
erik wrote:  ". . . Peter Walker’s conclusion was that all well-designed amps operated below clipping will sound the same."

A Peter Azcel posit? (The Audio Critic)>

You can also add Alan Shaw (Harbeth) to that already esteemed list.

However, Ken Rockwell back in 2015 posted a technically logical explanation why tube amps are often preferred.

https://kenrockwell.com/audio/why-tubes-sound-better.htm