Tube or solid state

I have a tube (hybrid) system and a ss system in the same room the differences are huge, the tube system sounds much better, warmer, more magic. The ss system has much less noise and sounds more accurate (true to the original recording). In recording studios like Capitol they use analog mixers and then record to 192khz ProTools digital. Tubes are warmer a lot like your favorite blanket and your Moms hugs. SS is colder, cleaner and more to the point like your rich aunt who has that house that never had anything out of place. 

My professional mixing is SS, my listening for fun is tube. But I'm getting fed up with changing all these stupid tubes and not really knowing when they start loosing their magic it happens slowly and soon enough you are listening to an expensive system that sounds not as good as it should.

So many great hybrids out in the market now, Pathos, Canor, Rogue, Vincent, Unison Research. Take your pick.

Was not impressed with the McIntosh performance or sound. But heck that’s me. 

i think Tubes are better for Jazz and Classical music like Vaughn Williams string works where you can recreate that ethereal sound you get with a live symphony. for Rock its solid state all the way, so ideally 2 amps are needed.

This might come as a shock for some but its impossible to design amps or preamps to favor a certain genre of music. If the amp is bad on massed strings it will be bad on electric guitars with heavy drums too.

@atmasphere Wrote:

This might come as a shock for some but its impossible to design amps or preamps to favor a certain genre of music. If the amp is bad on massed strings it will be bad on electric guitars with heavy drums too.

I agree. Just as you can’t design speakers for certain genre of music.

Mike

Another vote for the McIntosh MA 352 Hybrid; plus if you decide it’s not for you, you should be able to sell/trade without losing much compared to some other options.

I think what you are driving is the biggest determining factor for whether tube/SS output stage is right for you-- if your speakers are not the most efficient, I think most people would agree that you'll likely be better off with SS with plenty of headroom. If you're driving speakers with at least 92dB or greater sensitivity, then I think you could go either way on the output stage, depending on your preferences. There's really no substitute for an in person demo, ideally on your own or very similar equipment. In the end, there's always going to be the critically important subjective component--- what sounds good to YOU.