Into 2009; What rules?? Tubes or Solid State

For me, it's tubes. Like Nillthepill, personally, I've never heard a system with a solid state amplifier that would cause me to throw the box away.

Of course, the statements about loudspeakers are most salient, but the speakers that I would put money down on (apart maybe trying the Apogees), would more or less invariably be tube friendly. Speakers, and the speaker - room interface always comes first, but as Manley says, "tubes rule."

Great tube amps can be very captivating...can SS be that way?? Yes but in a different way...greater transparency...but not as rich in harmonics and less ambient retreival...but the transparency and resolution are something I'm hooked on. Go listen and make a choice...I have both tubes and SS and enjoy both.

Tubes that sound like solid state and solid state that sounds like tubes.

RJA, you have a point there, tubes and SS designs both can yield opposite stereotypicaal behavior that I am not partial to. . . on the other hand, some devices transcend the most common idiosyncrasies of their class, and just deliver. . . music in a way that I can relate to.

If speakers rule and amps serve, then tube amps just serve better.

Many different systems in different rooms at different price points all make me want to listen to more music. They all have tube amps in them.

Some ss amp systems let me hear lots of detail, but it's the rare system w/ ss amp that makes me want to stay and listen to more music. Cheers,
Spencer