Class "A" solid state vs. Tube amp.?

Chedo: What is the rest of your system? It's a hard call because tubes really do it for popular and traditional acoustic music and class "A" is great for classical, especially if you have the power/current reserves for musicical peaks. There are also many different tube sounds to choose from depending on the size of you room, the volumes at which you listen and your speakers. Stating your budget will also allow the experienced ones at this site to make real world suggestions (I am not a part of this group assuming that your budget is a plump one). My only long term experience is with push/pull tube and class "A" and "A/B" SS amps. I am learning about SET 2A3's, 300B's and other varients using EL34 etc. tubes. Getting good results from the latter group is very system dependent, and requires careful planning, but it is worth the effort from what I have heard so far. It's a good thing that I have a moderate budget or I would never be able to make up my mind, I mean you have to commit at some point.

Joe welcome back. Well in response to your comments I am from the accuracy camp in audio reproduction. That is I want to hear what is on the recording as accurately as possible. It is really in the midrange that tubes have that presence that seems to elude solid state at least to my ears. I really don't know how much you have listened to tubes or what you have listened to since you don't give an example. Might I suggest you try a ARC VT-100 Mk2 to compare with those in your post and report back your findings. And so far as music breaking up through tubes, who told you that? It makes me wonder if you have ever listened to tube electronics at all. I have heard most of the amps you mention. A few years back I put my MC-60's side by side with a Sunfire amp in the store running through both B&W 805's and NHT's 2.5i's which I ultimately bought. EVERYONE who listened, customer and sales person alike were quite taken with the 45 year old Mac's and several commented on how much better they sounded on vocals. But maybe it is 2nd harmonic distortion characteristic of tubes, all I know is it sounds more real to me.

Tubegroover, while I have the utmost respect for ARC products in terms of delivering good sound I frankly prefer the honest straightforward gain provided by the ss amps I listed. I have done sufficient comparisons of tubes vs. ss to conclude that the sweetness in the mids is unnecessary if the source is good, and in addition the compromise is too high when the system is reproducing more demanding passages. For the money, I remain convinced that you can easily match the ARC sound or best it (e.g. the GamuT)without the inherent hassles and practical limitations of tubes. Having said that, if your preference is for small ensemble music or vocals I can understand that a good tube amp will make for a very enjoyable musical experience that could cost many $$$ in top notch ss front end.

Hi Joe_coherent. Your statements do not offend me in the least. I have the Marsh amp for back up amp or to use when using speakers that require More power than my SET amps. The Marsh amp is a fine sounding amp considering that it is ss. But it is the one that has the colorations when comparing to my other tube amps. I could not disagree with you more. Though I do disagree with you I certainly respect your opinion.

Joe it is ironic that I find the opposite to be true so far as dynamics in complex music. The power supply of the amp will dictate whether or not it runs out of gas on busy and dynamic passages of full orchestral music. The VT-100 MK2 provides in the neighborhood of 500+ Joules filter capacitance which would make it hard to imagine that it would ever run out of steam and probably would compare favorably with most 200 watt solid state amps out there. My D-115 Mk2 by comparison has a total of 280 Joules and I NEVER hear congestion or compression during busy passages. But then again my speakers are very efficient and have a very flat frequency response across the band with no serious impedence dips. My MC-60 while not as extended at the frequency extremes as most solid state amps, still deliver the power. Filter capacitance is over 250 Joules each amp, they have been modified. They also never sound congested or compressed and offer better bass slam if not definition than the D-115 Mk2. The tube amps, to my ears, offer a better rendering of the micro macro dynamic swings that are evident in live music. This is another area where they excel. The one area where solid state is generally better is in the area of bass slam which eludes most tube amps of similar power. High frequency extention and smoothness is also quite good in the best designs. That said, I still think the ARC amps are superb in the area of bass definition. It is my understanding, although I haven’t heard myself yet, that OTL amps are even better in this area. I hope to find out soon. Once again a matter of taste and preference.