Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better?

@wolf_garcia :

..serious pricey horn systems are generally powered by pricey tube amps. 

Good point and observation....👍

I've a pair of vintage Utah horns with their matching woofers that are driven with an ss amp and would agree they'd 'prefer' to be driven with a tube amp....and likely, the pre as well.

I snatched them up for being in flawless but dusty shape in trashed cabs for reference' sake.  In the era they were made, tubes were what they'd get attached to, and would perform best with.

Vague plans to treat them to a 'proper' amp at some point....

You might find this article interesting!

https://medium.com/collectors-weekly/could-an-old-school-tube-amp-make-the-music-you-love-sound-better-a35574739c45

@emergingsoul,

As Wolf Garcia has said, there are many "reference" systems using tube amplifiers of all kinds - otherwise companies like Jadis, VTL and Audio Research (now rescued) would not exist.

The term "reference system" is a bit meaningless. However, to the extent that is is taken to mean systems aspiring to emulate the dynamic range and frequency response of live music, the challenge in using tubes for non horn-based systems of this type is the sheer amount of tubes and associated circuitry needed to generate high power output.

As atmasphere noted above, tubes produce harmonics (distortion) that most solid state gear does not. That distortion is pleasing to many, but not to all. It can also be overdone. I have a tube preamp (Cary SLP-05) and a solid state amp (Levinson 432). I like the "tubiness" of the Cary, but if I pair that with a tube amp the "tubiness" gets to be too much.  In addition, my speakers are not very efficient and have a significant phase angle issue at low frequencies and I find they are better driven by a big SS amp. Also, I do not listen to much rock music, and, quite frankly, my system is not as good with that type of music as it is with jazz, folk, vocal, classical etc.   My point - there is no right or wrong. It depends on the specific equipment, the type of music and personal tastes. And, as others have mentioned, tube rolling and tube adjustments, esp. in power amps, are not for everyone. It's nice to have options to tune the sound to your own particular tastes.

@carlsbad2 wrote:

@emergingsoul Looks like you hurt the feelings of some sensitive sold state guys. They arn’t ok with your prefernce for tube amps.

Oh well.

Jerry

Oh, it’s not really about preference. It would seem there are even some valve aficionados out there troubled by the absolutist stance of the OP, which is the crux of the matter, right? But I guess to some valve lovers seeing it being made into an objective fact that valves rule helps boosting their egos, or something.

Even still, why are so many riled up about the statement made by the OP? Is he an über-authority, a deity? It’s just words, a stance likely meant to provoke. Whatever floats your boat in whatever setup context. I’ve heard great of both valve-based and SS amps; the former (i.e.: SET’s) in particular through passively configured high efficiency speakers, the latter on actively configured dittos.

It may interested some to know that, not only to my ears, SS amps actively configured in some regards have a somewhat more "tubey" sonic imprinting vs. running low eff. passive speakers, not least through the midrange and HF region. This is perhaps more the arena of Mr. Karsten of @atmasphere if there are changing distortion characteristics (or their lack) at play here to account for sonic differences, but in any case the SS amps would see a vastly easier load when not looking into a passive crossover, which is likely the main reason for a deviation in named characteristics.