valve or solid state

[selmerdave]

Personally I think tubes are the way to go especially if you are looking for midrange accuracy/detail. Of course there are many that would disagree. As noted SET is the purest of pure for tubes but you won't get much power without going for something like an 845 amp. For most listening that is more than enough for the efficiency that we're dealing with (I have around 1.2w per side). If you want to really fill a good sized room you'll need more, but something like a 30w UL PP would do that big time, so I don't think the tubes/SS debate has much to do with power in this case.

Dave

[glenn_m]

Originally posted by martyh45:
TUBE:
One clear and undeniable advantage of tubes is that they overload much more gracefully than solid state devices. This is probably the reason that people say tube watts sound louder than SS watts. You can push them harder without adding the edgy distortion of an overloading SS circuit. Another advantage (at least from my point of view) is the ability to run triodes without negative feedback. Feedback is an essential engineering practice in many fields but as they say “there aint no free lunch.” The result of feedback in audio amplifiers is, almost always, to skew the distortion spectrum so that higher order harmonics predominate. The result is a sound that many find less pleasurable.

SS:
The availability of very high power SS amps can, at least in theory, eliminate the problems associated with SS overload distortion. Additionally, talented designers can manipulate the distortion spectrum of their pieces to add a very slight sharpness to transients that gives the illusion of increased detail and speed without causing listener fatigue.

In the end, both types of circuit have there strengths and weaknesses. I have heard very good examples of both types although far less really good SS gear than really good tube type. The choice anyone makes depends more on personal preference than any measurable superiority.

(All possible disclaimers apply)

Marty

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[glenn_m]

aloha Marty and a big mahalo for your input... im not sure if im doing this reply business correctly, or if i should be just adding to your original message to reply
i really appreciate the product knowledge and maturity that shows very deep experience and wisdom from all who have assisted. my heartfelt gratitude, aloha glenn...