Tubes vs Solid State - Imaging, Soundstaging, 3D

Mel, I think you overreacted. How is Charles being a cop. He stated is his opinion, as has you. Charles has always given helpful advise and is an asset on this forum.

I have both types of amps and enjoy both. They each have advantages and disadvantages. They both have come a long way in sound. Good SS isn't thin, bright, and fatiguing. Good tube equipment isn't slow, colored, fuzzy, sounding. I like tubes a little better, put can & do enjoy both.

IMHO, tube rolling makes me save money in the long run. Otherwise, I would change equipment more often. Depending on my mood or music I can tailor the sound to my liking.

Wolf, i'll take flack as good as I give it, so i'll let you "mirthless" comment go through to the keeper. But is your opening statement meant to be ironic? "All SS amps (other than hybrids) are 100% guaranteed to not use tubes. They excell at that." If not, i'd be concerned. Excellent low level detail is a product of an amplifier which has a very low noise floor and generally a high damping factor which helps to control the drivers more accurately and lower volumes. Your example of most guitar amps being tubed is not relevant as they are not required to produce large amounts of current. I dont' know what kind of SS amps you have owned, but I have owned a Classe Delta series integrated, Modwright KWA-150, Boulder 1060 and now Vitus SIA-025, so I think I know what i'm talking about. You're a one-eyed tube guy, cool. All I can say is enjoy your tube rolling & i'll enjoy buying and listening to music.

Snopro, my earlier comment was in response to what I saw as a ridiculously biased comment which lacked objectivity by Wolf_Garcia, nothing to do with the OP's original comments. It's straight forward really, Charles took issue with me (and not for the first time I might add), and this time around he provoked that reaction from me. As I said, if Charles wants to become a moderator, he should nominate to be one or else leave it well alone. I respect his views, but how about seeing my point of view? The issue is, this forum is becoming more mid-fi and guys like me who have serious gear get talked down by a lot of people who in many cases simply don't know what they're talking about.

Mel really nice integrated by the way. It must sound wonderful!

Joe

Snopro, yeah all i'm essentially saying is, for me there was life after tubes. I really didn't think i'd find an amp which had all the desirable qualities of a high end SS amp as well as valve amp, and yet be so beguiling and musical. I have owned and enjoyed some good valve gear including my current Aesthetix Romulus cdp. My philosophy is valves work best in a high end cdp or linestage where they're not stressed and can operate reliably with a SS power amp. I (personally) don't like using tube power amps. I've seen my friend's Cary mono blocks blow up spectacularly and have problems sourcing tubes. But you don't have to spend $27k to get really good tube-like sound from SS gear. Modwright is a great example of good value, reliable, beautifully built amps which combine the best of ss and tubes. Hence Dan Wright and I get along very well and have the same philosophy. At the OP's budget level, the KWI-200 integrated is an excellent high end value imho.