Tube AMP or SS

Tubes do none of those things, but they certainly handle clipping differently,
and that is the difference that makes a difference, but I thought that was long
settled, uncontested and understood. It is not tube voodoo, they simply handle
overload differently, which allows you to play them at higher average watts
without confronting the clipping hash of SS.

By the way, Harley's article, "The Smaller Difference" in the December TAS is a
pretty interesting discussion on what could lead to the importance of listening
versus measuring, the subject versus the objective. A good read I, I think. I
think TAS is also doing a great job of examine and discussing computer based
audio - first rate stuff that is finally getting me to understand it.

Dollar for dollar one can buy more ss watts than tube watts, and in the process avoid clipping altogether. It's been pointed out numerous times in this thread alone, that different amp technologies work differently with different speaker loads, but some here keep banging the same drum, without consideration of that oft repeated fact.

11-15-11: Pubul57
Darkmobius, when you say "outperforming" do you mean quality, or apparent loudness? Certainly the factors you mention have alot to do with one amp outperforming another amp qualitatively, having little to do with watts

Sorry, I probably wasn't clear in what I was saying. I was simply referencing Orpheus's comment that

For reasons unknown to me, that apparently can not be explained; "tube watts" are bigger stronger and tougher

, not how watts are calculated.

DM, got it. Unsound, what drum would that be? Not recognizing the
current/voltage paradigms regarding speakers, or do you mean something else?
I do agree, you can buy a lot of SS watts to make up for SS clipping, and that is
indeed one strategy. And if you own speakers with wide impedance swings and
very low impedances in the bass regions, you would indeed be better served
with an SS amp, and a tube amp might not work very well at all, simply can't
provide the current. But assuming you have speakers suitable for tubes, you
know the requirements, it is clear that a tube amp will sound more powerful
than a similarly rated SS amp, which is why your strategy of buying more, and
cheaper, SS amps is a strategy one could use to overcome these differences
between "watts" - and needed.

Ah, we agree! That is not to say, that I don't think that a tube amp isn't more appropriate in many circumstances, and visa versa.