Switched From Tubes To SS???Glad You Did???

When I look at my compliment of fairly expensive tubes and consider the expense of having to replace them someday - hopefully well into the future - I truly envy those who prefer SS (Mezmo, are you nuts: "I want to be a tube person”). Maybe I just haven’t heard the right system but when I listen to SS, I find that I’m more impressed by the stereo; and with tubes, I’m more impressed with the music. I hope that I find something to change that before re-tubing.

"I've said it before: Tubes are more fun. There, I said it again. Anybody currently using SS amps for anything other than live sound reinforcement is anti-fun. I'm sorry, but it's true, and there's nothing wrong with that so don't feel bad as there are a lot of people in the "anti-fun" boat. Big boat."

Tube guys r 'into' gear, solid state guys r into music. There, I said it....:-)
Been there, done it. Listen to more tunes w/solid state. That said, luv a
nice hybrid integrated.....the music never stops. Don't feel bad as there r
lot of audio fools in the 'anti music' boat. It's a small little dinghy though
cause most learn what's 'more than enough' & learn to curb their 'euphonic'
excesses.

Regismc- not to get into a war, but i think that your comment is unfair. I'll
grant you tubes are a pain, but there is a real sense of music in the right
tube set up, and not all tube equipment is euphonic. As I mentioned earlier
in this thread, although I have been using tube equipment since the early
70's I also have solid state stuff - my main system line stage is actually a ss
audio path with tube power supply- and there is joy to be had in both. So
much is system dependent, and the overall musical result hinges so much
on the careful selection of the components to work as a system, gross
generalizations (all tubes are overly romantic) is not a realistic assessment,
let alone that all users of tubes are into futzing, not music. And, while I am
the first to admit that I am a gearhead, what goes into my main system is in
the service of music- to create an illusion that touches you on a visceral
level. You are more than welcome to visit me in the New York area if you
would like to hear what I'm talking about. And to the extent you were simply
trying to balance out Wolf Garcia's comment to the opposite extreme, he is
in the same 'boat.' :)
Best,
bill hart

Actually in my case the reverse was true. In my earlier all solid state setup, I had many CDs that I found unlistenable. It was usually more contemporary music that had bad compression or badly mastered. I tried finding better quality pressings/remasters but not everything was available. But once I tried an Ayon CD2S tube CDP, they all became listenable again. And without an overly warm and syrupy sound too. Still with great dynamics and pace but somehow just more listenable.

A friend of mine recently swapped out his CJ GAT preamp and Jadis JA120 special edition for a Karan built preamp and stereo power amp (tweaked by ASI) but I didn't feel he lost out a lot in the swap. I suspect with his fundamentals in place (dedicated power lines, Sound Application SA-X conditioner and ASI power cords), the overall tonality and sound quality was very similar.

Doggie- so much current pop is recorded or mastered so badly- I
hate the autotune on the vocals and the compression to get that pumped
up sound just robs the music of any real dynamics. Somebody here turned
me onto Black Dub. On vinyl it's pretty good, like Black Keys, but not as
monotonous and definitely better sounding than their latest- El Camino.
Unfortunately, both copies were warped! (I'm a vinyl only guy, so if you
want to talk about masochism, ...).
:)