Tube amps have a signature sound

The longer I've lived with tubes, the more I've tried to purchase or modify tube components to eliminate that tubbey midrange bulge that sometimes comes at the cost of sluggish dynamics and mediocre bass control. Somewhat rare is the tube component that sounds clear, neutral, and dynamic, while being faithful to the seductive sound of tubes.

Seasoned, a slightly over-ripe presence region in the VK75SE is not attributable to tubes, but rather to BAT's choice of PIO coupling caps. A good teflon cap in this amp will enhance clarity & neutrality without sacrificing warmth.

I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. I would argue that modern high quality tube amps don't sound colored or have a "signature" compared with solid state which sounds less natural overall.

Solid state tendencies:

-emphasize the leading edge or transient at the expense of decay

-overly etched sound and images that doesn't resemble anything heard in real life.

-a congested or clogged sound (when compared to the best tube amplifiers)

-an inability to resolve the space between the performers, making it sound more like instruments and voices in a black hole

-bass that extends down to DC but sounds overdamped and less natural

Now, all that said, there are some fabulous sounding solid state amps that minimize, to a great extent, all of these shortcomings, but they don't totally eliminate them when compared to the best tube amps.

In fairness, I will also admit that tubes have a couple of weaknesses of there own, but as Atmasphere has pointed out, they are less of a problem because they don't contradict the laws of human hearing.

I don't know, both can sound terrific and it all has to do with the implementation.

I think that the sound is more dependant on the tube character that goes into them. I think tube amps tend to have a signature character rather than sound and that is what has been described here. Characteristics meaning lifelike mids, soundatsge, imaging and soft on the extremes.

Yes, tube amps sound different from SS amps Chris. The "Signature Sound" of tube amps to me is palpability, or the fuzz on the peach effect. Yes, SS is quieter and has better bass definition, and I've heard smooth SS, but I've never heard SS have the "fuzz on the peach" palbability of tubes.

Cheers,
John