Mid-fi tube vs high-end SS

@samureyex ...It’s just that reading the reviews of these fantastic SS amps make me really curious. A tube pre-amp with SS monos sound enticing but I’m trying to have less tubes in my life. haha.

Gotcha. There were some helpful replies in this thread by members sharing with you the pros/cons of sound from each. I’m a 35+ year class A/AB solid state amp owner, until really good tube amps entered the picture for me 8 years ago. Well made tube amps are simple and don’t burn up tubes prematurely. Good USA or Japan made tube amp designs last 50+ years. If you want a lasting SS amp with decent sound, get a Bryston. Was simply trying to relate your BMR speakers will do much better with the right amp driving them. Best of Luck

I currently run a Peachtree Grand x-1 hybrid intergrated amp with 440 watts per channel of class D solid state design.  This unit, like so many others today, have a built in pre-amp that is 'tubed'.  Peachtree has been a leader in making Class D a great way to go with S.S.  The current technology is a big boost in performance, cost and enviornonmentally more desireable.  Significant drop in power needed and used and much less heat.  The pre-amp section with 2 12AU7s gives back the magic of tubes and that 'tube sound'.  I also like any of the Rogue models of hybrid amps.  You can have your cake and eat it too.  Find a hybrid that fits your system and you will have the best of both worlds.

@lowtubes is a sage! Best advice I’ve read in a long time!

Hello Sam, I became curious also with listening to other products and designs. My first hifi amplifier was a Class A solid state design which was extremely good. But reading hifi magazines got interested in tube amplifiers, I wanted to try one. Since, I’ve owned many SS and tube amplifiers throughout the years. So I understand your curiosity and can honestly say that for me, the only thing that would satisfy my curiosity was to travel down the path I did by hearing many them in my home. Some people prefer SS and others prefer tubes. I’ve discovered that I am mostly a tube person but I could be very happy with an all SS system as well. I recently went to my friends home who also is a tube guy to hear a setup he put together. It consists of $40,000 Dac & CD combo, $8,000 monitors, interconnect $3,500 per 3 meters and a class D amplifier $1,200. The sound was fantastic. Even though the rest of this setup is very expensive, I was quite amazed how good the sound was with a little inexpensive amplifier.  Solid State amps have their strengths and tube amps have theirs. It all comes down to which sounds best to you in your system. So even though I prefer tube amps, I still own some very good SS pieces. 

Wow - great thread where the OP has gotten a lot of advice, guidance and opinions.  I’ve been down the road of trying to figure out if I prefer Tube or SS for amps and Pre’s.  

I don’t proclaim to be an expert but have been lucky enough to have plenty of gear and the ability to a/b on my own listening area.  My experience has taught me it’s all about synergy through the chain, room acoustics play a big role (took me quite a while to come to terms with this one) and the most important part of the equation, only persons opinion that matters is yours - if you love it - ignore the noise from others.  

Based on your set up, I’d start by assessing if you love your speakers.  If you do, exploring SS amps makes sense.  Some speaker require a control, efficiency, agility of an amp to be at there best.  From what have read about your speakers, they seem to fall into that category, they can be easy to drive per se but likely would really shine when driven by SS.  What you say you love about the speakers and the characteristics you want to enhance, that would point you to Tubes.  Picking the right SS Amp is key.  Krell, Coda, Pass all have some of the Tube like magic, warmth you find in Tubes but the benefits of SS power / control.  Class A leans into that harder but some A/B designs deliver a tube like experience.  
 

The best combo I have found is a Tube Pre paired with SS amp known for being able to drive almost any speaker while capturing some of that tube magic, a SS amp will likely never fully capture that magic however.  I don’t have any experience with Schiit gear but if you snagged a Freya + and one of their stereo or mono SS amps, should provide the right synergy between Pre and Amp.  Might get you where you want to go.  
 

I’ve had Parasound, Marantz, Anthem, Prima Luna, Krell, Coda all in my system.  I’ve preferred all tubes with certain speakers and SS with others.  Speakers I’ve had various Focal’s, an Omega Speaker and landed on the Alta Audio Alec’s.  All shined with a Tube Pre and SS Amp. 
 

My favorite SS Amps where the Krell’s followed closely by Coda.  I would guess if I moved up to the Coda 16 Amp it would have likely exceeded my love for Krell.  Currently I’ve got a Zesto Leto pre feeding a Krell Duo XD - combo would be well above your budget so not suggesting this path, wanted to give a sense of my personal tastes when it comes to house sound signature.  
 

Good Luck!