Vote

SET is the most musical platform for audio.

With IGBT power supplies

I'm waiting for "digital" amplification to become widespread before I buy a new amp. Not only does their sound quality appear to be excellent (Oooh - that bel Canto), the power requirements of many good solid state amplifiers is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

I have a Sonic Frontiers Power II. Push-pull, 100 watts or more per channel. Four 6550's per channel, and it powers my Pro Ac, 3.5's, as nice as I've heard them. Simply put, I'm happy with tube push-pull.

My last year's purchase of a well known broke-audiophile amp has opened my ears to music like never before. SET is obviously where it's at for me. I don't have the cash to recreate the live-musical-moment, but I can feel the emotion with my Zen just as well.

I prefer methods that work..... }:)>

I mocked tubed equipment for years. Heavy, expensive, ineffecient, antiquated - solid-state was all I ate. Then I happened to sit in on a long term (several hours) demo of ARC, CJ, VAC tube equipment. I was hooked. Nothing's perfect of course, but to my ears, tubes do it better, overall.

I haven't heard a great deal of valve amps so I'll stick with what I know.

Solid-state technology would be more successful (i.e. produce more musically satisfying sounds) if more manufacturers allowed users the option of switching between class A operation and class A/B, like Plinius amps do. Mosfet devices also appear to sound less clinical than bipolar output devices.

Tubes give too much character to the sound. I listen to many types of music and a good clean neutral solid state designhandles all types of music well. I have tubes in my guitar amp, but I wouldn't put my synth through it. The same applies for music.

I am really watching the promising digital amp technology (i.e., TACT).

I have tubes mostly and one trannie. If I could have anything I wanted, rather than what was given or almost given to me I would take tranistor as the tube stuff is way higher maintenance and, thus, has a higher operating cost. Both can sound excellent.

Simple circuits without a lot of 'sand' in the box, and well wound transformers are the best.

In spite of the advances made involving solid-state technology over the last several years,I still find myself preferring the sound presented by tube amplification. It's still a warmer, more musical sound which provides you with a sense of "being there" which solid-state equipment has yet to achieve. It's a feeling of what it was like to be in the recording studio.

Tubes are for boobs. However, if you enjoy your music with added distortion, mushy bass, and some occasional ringing, by all means buy a SET amp!

The allure, romanticized or Freudian, of tubes and the glorious music they produce, is unmatched.

Tubes and more Tubes

Some choose their favorite kind of amplifier and then go in search of a speaker that is a good match for that amplifier. Others like myself search for a speaker that we like then go in search of an amplifier that is a good match for it. I like the Magnepans, and solid-state seems to be the proper amp to hook them up to. One day I'm gonna audition a tube amp with tube-friendly speakers. I like the easy maintenance of solid-state -- which is, pretty much, doing nothing.

Still the best. Nothing is warmer or fuller sounding.

I go for bi-amping with solid state in the bass and tubes above 100Hz. I feel this combination gets the best of both worlds. As a technician, I an comfortable with both tubes and transistors.

I feel you get a lot more for your money.

I prefer to hear music not not noise. Oh excuse me, I mean "the smooth velvet tones of mystical magic from my 2W amp."

When it comes to handling power, I prefer the more reliable transistor. When tubes need replacing, it impacts the sound too much. I have a Sonic Frontiers pre-amp with one tube. When it gets noisy and needs replacing, I can never get the same brand of tube. It changes the sound of my system and not always for the better.

Class A tube. SET is silly, and SS is for walkmans.

I have a Sunfire power amp that works very well with maggies. It has enough juice at 4 ohms (600w/ch) to grab those panels and make them pay attention. Voltage source hook up only. You guys really shunned the whole Sunfire product line except in the home theater rag. I think the amount of money Carver was asking for their products drew you in. Too bad. While you couldn't get enough of Audio Alchemy (who?)a lot of products went right by. Sam Telig has the right idea.

Digital amplifier.

I haven't heard SET in a long session yet but it did catch my attention. However, the power rating and speaker matching still points the other way for flexibility.

live music in my room

I feel solid state at its best is for me, but tube preamp into a solid state amp is the way I would go for "live recordings".

Right now, I prefer solid state because it's within my budget and doesn't require re-tubing every other year. However, some solid state equipment can sound overly detailed and become irritating during long listening sessions. Whether tubed or not, I'm still listening for what sounds just right within my budget constraints.