Amplifier Weight. A Factor?

A guitar doesn't have a power supply. Electronic components have power supplies and the power supplies are a lot more influential in the performance of components that most realize. Of course, you have a lot of manufacturers making components and using crappy, cheap, light weight power supplies that will try and tell you otherwise, but of course their components don't typically stack up very well.

Weight seems a deciding factor with tube amps, as others have said. There is simply no substitute for big, high quality output transformers with tube amps. If a tube amp does'nt weigh 50lbs+, it will not have the base to give long term satisfaction.
Before anyone else says it, this does'nt apply to OTL amps, though they seem pretty heavy too. I bought a little!! Ayon Spark tube amp recently, it looks small, but it is a brute to move, with all the weight in 3 massive transformers in the back. Was it worth the prolapsed disc getting it upstairs? Absolutely

The weight of amplifier, largely, depends on its power supplies. Many look on rms power in specs to estimate how powerful the amplifier in question is but others look only at headroom i.e. peak voltage, current, their duration and level of distortions there.

In that regard, all amplifiers of all types (A,B,D tube, ss etc) will in the future benefit from ultralight weight FULLY REGULATED and LOW NOISE switching power supplies.

Today,as far as I know, only Jeff Rowland in their flagship amplifiers and Spectron in their pro audio amplifiers use this technology (again FULLY REGULATED and LOW NOISE). For illustration, Spectron (prototype) pro audio 8000 watts rms amplifier weight about 100 lbs.

Simon

I think unsound said it best. My Burson's casework is the heatsink so its a little heavier than its size would indicate but not by much compared to others.

Having been around great lightweight components and lousy heavy ones, I find the idea of weight translating to quality has tremendous potential to mislead.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that as much or more than anything else, the chassis factors into the weight equation. If you really want to ace this test, simply use steel rather than aluminum; the thicker, the better. Let's also not forget a steel chassis costs less.

So many of these overwrought, uberexpensive boxes of today have no capability of adding much, if anything, to sonics or build quality.