Tubes vs Solid State - Imaging, Soundstaging, 3D

A rebel? Perhaps.
A businessman first and foremost.

Techno babbalo obfuscaturo amundo is definitely what's going on here. Because the question remains...is 'El tubo harmonico supremo? What are we talking about? NF vs. no NF, tubes vs. ss, or a whole host of variations in between? There's a lot of options here, never mind the degrees of implementation and where. There's also a lot of amps out there, the majority of which most or all of us have not auditioned or will ever. How much of an influence has the marketplace had on those we have indeed auditioned? I'm here taking up space and I'm telling everyone here that there are aspects of performance that trump the so-called obvious differences between tube and ss amps, rendering them absolutely moot. It just so happens that it's more difficult and takes more skill to design a good ss amp than it does to design a good tube amp. Hence the constant allusion to tubes by the ss market. The ratio is higher for tubes than for ss. I've heard bigger differences among ss amps than between tubes and ss. Ime tube amps sound more alike than do ss amps. That doesn't make them 'better'. It simply reveals a wider playing field within ss topologies.

El tubo even order harmonico bueno, solido stato odd order mundo problemico.

I've heard a lot of systems and a lot of combinations (pre and amp) of tubes w/ tubes, SS w/ tubes (both ways) and SS alone. In general I prefer "some" tubes in the system to SS alone, basically because tubes seem to add harmonic texture. Whether you call that distortion or not, well, I don't care. It sounds better to me.

SS alone does seem to be cleaner sounding, tighter, perhaps with more bass punch in general. All tubes seem to be very rich, but that doesn't have to mean sloppy.

IMO it is more important to match the amp with the speaker to get the best control, be that a tube amp or a SS amp. Then get a preamp that tunes the system more to your liking and both complements the amp and helps true up any deficiencies. We all know it's a synergy game and sometimes trial and error is necessary to get the best balance that works for your ears and musical tastes.

****A rebel? Perhaps.A businessman first and foremost.****

You know, I just don't get why some people feel the need to get one of their useless little barbs in. Here we have a guy (Ralph) with the knowledge and talent to bring something meaningful to the discussion, and who is willing to take the time to help those of us who are only capable of scratching the surface of a complicated subject, and instead of showing some appreciation, cynicism has to be thrown in. I have no relation to Atmasphere and don't own any of their products, but I am grateful for his contributions to these dicussions. His comments make a lot of sense to me. Obviously, we dont always have to agree with any one person's viewpoint; but, when a guy is capable of designing equipment which consistently gets great reviews and commentary that focuses on how all of the "mumbo jumbo" actually relates to MUSIC and things other than the usual lame numbers game, I for one, am going to listen. If I misconstrued the comment, my apology. OK, I feel better now.