Tubes vs Solid State

Tubes sound better because of their inherant slowness which some people call warmth. Solid state sounds fasterwhich some people call harsh.
McIntosh makes amps which have had their tubes replaced with transisters and autoformers which makes them more powerful but still soft. Their resale value is never less than 35cents on the dollar so if you can get a good deal on a used one 50-60 cents or so You'll never lose. Besides they also look the best.

I second the tube top end and the solid state bottom end configuration. My first love is Jazz but I do listen to R&B and some CHOICE urban flavor and tubes generally just don't cut it on music mixed to be dynamic, fast and played loudly.

Hold on here. A solid state amplifier can in fact be made to sound tubelike. Many sucessful examples were Class A designs. These were large, heavy and ran hot.;the very thing solid state was supposed to have eliminated.Ultimately though, there have been just as many blunders on both sides of the fence. I run tubes because I value ultimate naturalness in the voice. No solid state has been able to deliver this that I have heard. They have come close, but still no cigar.

Try an Aloia with the inductive power supply......close, and maybe part of a cigar?

you should have both ready to switch depending on your itch. but it has to be single ended tube and a good mosfet design like the bel amps.