can a tube-o-phile be happy with ss?


I switched to tubes over a decade ago, after realizing that I no longer listened to the stereo because it did not sound like real music and ss and digital were irritating, on a subconscious level. Went to all tubes and mostly LP's. It worked. I even prefer triode with no negative feedback settings, usually. Now ss has supposedly improved, and its advantages beckon, e.g., less heat, electricity and trouble, better bass and perhaps more detail and clarity. Have any of you voluntarily gone back to the dark side and been content? (with the understanding that it never really ends, for an audiophile). On an unlimited budget one might have few complaints, but this question is necessarily in the context of a semblance of fiscal sanity, not top of the line Boulder, Ayre or Zanden.
128x128lloydc
The statement made by an audiogon member pertaining to tube gear "More attention to detail when they are built" is equivalent to junk science period. There is no proff that a designer of tube equiptment when compared to ss, paid more attention to detail when designing a piece of audio gear. I remind you all of a preamp shootout many years in the old absolute sound when a ss design blow away all the competition, encluding top tube designs. The preamp in question was the DR-5 and 6 by Dave Reich of old Classe.
To say tubes are better than any SS model is a statement I thought many in this hobby would be too smart to support but I keep on being surprised. Tubes can and are great but so is solid state, and to say one is better than another is mere opinion, arrogance and at times dilusion.
I never stop being so amazed as why so many insist on views that have no proof and why in such a solitary hobby so many care what anyone thinks in the first place.
I don't get it.Tube and solid state amps are different animals,you can't make a solid state amp sound like a tube amp and why would you try.I enjoy red wine,you claim white is better so am I going to make a red wine that tastes like a white wine.How dumb is that.Music is a medium and what audio gear we choose to enjoy that medium is a personal decision,yes.
For me, every time I have SS gear, I either find myself either changing gear a lot or not even listening to it at all. But whenever I've had tube gear, I go many years without a single change in gear - which says one thing to me - I can't be happy with SS...Tubes rule.