Vote

I perfer my loud and proud Jeff Rowland 8T. It's nice and heavy and anchors my old Studer/Revox turntable down real good, and when I eat pizza I can look in the face plate and make sure nothing is on my mouth!

done properly, like my Threshold T-100, nothing beats it for all around sound and lack of fuss.

Solid state, but single ended.

I feel that the solid-state amplifiers give you more power and with more clean power you are able to enjoy the music more. The music is cleaner, more open, the sound stage is better, imaging is better, and of course the bass is better.

Seperates; Tube Pre-Amp,Transistor Power-Amp.

More natural...

tube input / single ended transistor output

I love my ribbon/planar speakers and the pocket book will not allow me to uses tubes, due to the low efficiency.

I took it because it isen

In my opinion the Pulse Width Modulation technique found in (amongst others?) the Millennium Mk.II from Tact Audio is superior to traditional amplification. When I write "superior", I'm not referring to the sound quality of the Millennium as a product, but to PWM as a technique. Because digital signals can be controlled more easily, I'm convinced that the potential of PWM is better than traditional methods.

Lavardin Model AP GamuT Audio D-200

My choice of course reflects my present speaker's needs for high current, wattage and control at the lower frequencies.

Some of the most musical equipment that I have listened to in almost 30 years of esoteric audio

SINGLE-ENDED TYPE

I have both solid state and tube gear. All things being equal, which they never are, I would prefer the simplicity of solid state, yet there are so few SS components out there, regardless of cost, that I deem worthy of consideration. In the range of anything affordable, tubes are probably the way to go. I'm not yet sold on SETs, though, and none of them will drive my Sound Labs acceptably.

I seriously think that a good design -- and I mean a really good one -- should almost sound the same whatever solid-state or tube. Granted, there are many Recommended Components where both worlds are present. Tubed amps with kicking bass do exist, as do pristine midrange solid-state preamps. As a designer, I'm rather biased to solid-state, since my knowledge in this field is better than my knowledge of tubes. I'm 38 years old and tubes just were not included in my study program. So, for those who really love music, just trust your ears, the difference between (good) solid-state and tubes is often of less importance than differences between two competitive brand names.

The preferred technology is one that sounds good. That being said, I cannot believe people would pay so much money for an amplifier that outputs only 3-5 w/ch and measures very poorly.

Class A design

While tubes definately convey detail, harmonics, transients, and midrange accuracy better than solid-state, the differences between the two are not as extreme as they were even 10 years ago. A superb solid-state amplifier will recreate many of these attributes with almost, not quite, but almost as superb performance. The main reason I prefer solid-state is for the speed, dynamics, bass response, and effortless power. When I listen to large orchestral recordings, I find that the overall power and presence of the performance is much more realisticly conveyed through an exceptional solid-state amplifier.

My first amp was solid-state -- it was a Sansui BA-F1 then I got an Adcom 555. The first tube hybrid gear I bought was a Audio Reserch SP-9mk2 preamp, followed by a VTL 45/45 amp and I haven't looked back at solid-state since.

This is a terminally dumb question. What tastes better, vanilla or cholocate? At the moment, I get sound I enjoy through a VAC preamp (tube) and an Ayre power amp (SS). But my next system might be totally different. And isn't that part of the fun?

Single-Ended Tube. Even though all of my amps are solid state Linn, simply because of the storage issue. Nonetheless, if I had the room I would rather have five stereo-tubed amps for Home Theater. It would just be so unique. And the sound . . . So lovely.

Fundamentally, solid state is more efficient. If one's tastes run to single-ended, the Nelson Pass designs do the job very well, and for more mundane uses, designs like the 30-year--old Quad current-dumping cicuit allow a great sounding amp to avoid acting like a heater. Tubes are great, and work very well - as does a horsedrawn carriage, and I sometimes enjoy a ride in one - but for everyday use (and abuse!) I'll take solid state.

Solid state power running through a tubed linestage.

The one that sounds the best. That is, after all, the point.

Judging from the reviews and test reports I've seen, tubes are colored right out of the gate. Then they immediately start to deteriorate, so gradually that the listener can't detect it. And then there's biasing. I'll take transistors.

dIGITAL

Tubes on top and solid state on the bottom. This way you cheat the devil. You get the spacial cues of tubes that give the sense of life music and the solid bottom end of the transistor. This is a much more cost-effective than a $30,000 pair of tube monoblocks.

I always want what I can't have! Seriously though, solid-state is increasingly sounding more like tubes and vice-versa. So I say again, I always have what I can't want . . . right? I dunno, it's all so confusing.

I prefer tubes. For power amplifiers, non-SET tube amps are more practical to me- at least for now.