TUBE or SS?

Hi Craig, I read your post and would like to offer my opinion concerning bass reproduction of tube amps. I don't like to generalize but here it goes.... Solid-state amps tend to give a tighter more controlled grip in the bottom octaves where as the right tube amps give the texture timbre and surrounding air around the instruments in ? For me the virtues of a good tube amp are far more important at giving images their reality than solid-state. Out of the solid-state amps that I've heard and enjoyed the Bat VK-500 batpack, and the Pass designs have impressed me. But the texture eludes these fine designs to a degree also. I guess it's a matter of deciding what your priorities in reproduced sound are. The great tube designs have that "magic" for me that I have yet to hear from any solid-state amp at any price. Enjoy, Tom

I am interested in ML, VTL. I've seen them in various show's, however in HT configuration. Anyway they were impressive. What is a Z-System??

Hi Tom; and thanks for your response to my "terse" post. I too shouldn't generalize. Some of the most important aspects of say, R&B music to me are pace, rhythm, and timing, and in my experience (limited w/ tube amps), SS amps are quicker, and have more control of woofers, and thus serve PR&T much better. I auditioned for a week, an SFS-80 (STPH Class B), and while it had a great mid-range and deep powerful bass, the rest of bass characteristics were terrible, ie slow, bloated, boomy, and it totally destroyed PR&T. This was in comparison to my McCormack DNA-1DX which had quick, tight, articulate bass with great PR&T. Other than this, I've only casually heard a few other tube amps at dealers. I agree that mid-range is most important, but to me good bass and PR&T are a close second. I would guess that some of the super tube amps must produce good bass-- I would like to know which and at what price. My long term solution may be to go to Vandersteen 5 speakers, that have built in SS amps for the woofers, and put a good tube amp on the mids + tweeter. Cheers. Craig.

I agree with Tom. I think it is a general misnomer to categorize tube amps as missing in action in the bass department. Agreed that generally solid state has a tendency to have better CONTROL but tube amps DO have a tendency do articulate the timbre more realistically in the lower frequencies as well as the midrange. Craig if you want to hear a tube amp with some bass SLAM listen to an ARC D-250 servo; VT-200 mono's, Jadis 200's, Manley Reference. They may not reach the depths of say a big Krell but I hardly think you could want for too much (excepting maybe a lower electric bill). Personally I have owned and listened to many solid state amps over the years and after owning tube amps for the past 10 years and switching in solid amps on occasion to see if I was missing anything, I have come to the conclusion time and again I am not. Truth of timbre is most important to me and even though the gap may be closing I still don't hear it.