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For anyone who moved from tubes to solid state — a question

I'm the happy owner of a fairly new tube preamp and monoblock amps. I love it and have bought new tubes. To have another option for warmer weather or possibly a second listening room, I got a very good solid state integrated. I've run the tube preamp with the solid state amp and it sounds quite nice. I love all tubes, too.

But this question is for you. Please forget the convenience factor for a moment, including the issue of tube replacement etc. Also, forget about those cases where you bought new speakers and needed more power, etc.

Assuming you had quality tube gear with sufficient power — here's the question if you abandoned tubes for SONIC reasons:

What what is that tubes couldn't give you?
What did your solid state gear do for you which was so much better that you divorced to marry anew?

I'm curious about what people list as the positive sonic reasons they love solid state (including A, AB, D, etc.).

Thanks.
128x128hilde45
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,772 posts
 
Take something like the Benchmark AHB2 noise and distortion is below audibly of humans
Yes- what is happening here is that this amp has enough feedback to sort things out. This value tends to be north of about 35dB. By 'sort things out' I mean that the feedback value is so high that it can compensate for the distortion caused by the application of the feedback (which is what causes brightness in many solid state amps going back 50 years); its an impressive accomplishment.
decooney
1,948 posts
 
It's always interesting reading when designers work very hard to make solid state and hybrid amplifiers to "sound like a tube amp". 

While I like and rotate both, when its time to simply become most engaged listening to the music, its all tube.  
wig's avatar
wig
1,250 posts
 
It really comes down to preference and system compatibility; my 25 watts Triode KT88 is way more resolving and transparent than my 18 Watts Class A SS and this is at normal listening levels; the clarity is just amazing and I could not believe that the Class A SS was masking that much detail...

It’s hard to produce the dimensionality and musicality of tubes even though a tube pre and SS will get you in the realm but it still does not check all boxes for many tube fans, to include myself 😄

Wig
knotscott
909 posts
 
I switched back to solid state because it produced better clarity. That’s important if you like large symphonic works with lots of subtle detail. Tubes smeared the detail

It’s worth pointing out that the tubes "you" were using smeared the detail, but that’s certainly not the the case  universally with all tubes ....in many cases its just the opposite with good examples of tube amps. One of the down sides of tube amps is that they do need to be maintained and monitored, and if not, the result can be less than optimal. That, and not all tube circuits are good tube circuits, and not all tube circuits are a good match with all speakers.
77jovian
405 posts
 
I loved the sound of my tube gear.  I put up with the inefficiency, meaning the furnace-like heat.  I began to wear down, though, from the cost of re-tubing and once having to ship the amp back to the manufacturer for repair when a tube blew up.  But I finally decided to move to solid state when I realized how often I was not listening to my system.  I never turned it on unless I had an hour or more to listen...took a while for it to warm up and sound it’s best, and I was concerned about shortening tube life by switching on and off for short intervals.  Got a half hour before we leave the house?  Forget it, no music.  Want to hear that one song a couple times you’re trying to learn on the guitar?  Forget it, no music.

My solid state gear sounds great and I listen to it much more than my tube system.  Solid state fits my life better.
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