Vote

Luxman once had a magnificent hybrid.

Tubes are for old-fashioned, out of date, psychologically impaired, technically challenged individuals.

The FACT is that the transistor has the lowest distortion. Tubes are technically and sonically inferior. End of debate.

The best midrange I hear always seem to come from a tube amp, although bass can be a problem. But my Cat JL-1s have bass that rivals most solid-state amps, so it can be done. But it gets expensive. I could not recommend these high powered type tube amps to the casual high end user. You have to enjoy messing with tubes.

I just haven't had the fortune to hear a good tube-based system yet. I might feel differently when I do.

Audiophiles tend to evaluate components on a checklist system (imaging: check, bass slam: check, dark background: check, etc.). While this is an effective means of comparing like components, it is counter-productive to what our goal should be. I think most hi-fi enthusiasts start out right (just wanting the music that they listen to to sound as good as possible), but somehow they get lost in the science of the industry and forget about the art. In reviewing the comments from the first opinion poll on this matter, I noted that many of the respondents would choose Solid State because of flexibility in speaker choice. This too is problematic. Why should our choice of amplifier be limited by the inept engineering of speaker designers? What is wrong with a speaker that needs a super secret crossover the size of a loaf of bread? By all the usual audiophile standards, Solid State does everything well and, in fact, I've heard some nice sounding Solid State products of late (Jeff Rowland, Krell, etc.). But, do they give me a sound that I never want to live without? No. Listening to Wilson Audio speakers through Krell electronics with a total system cost exceeding the cost of many homes yields excellent hi-fi virtues, but at the end of the listening session, I realize that all I did was listen to the system and not the music. I never once felt the compulsion to tap my feet or sing along. Jeff Rowland does much better in this regard despite the lavish praise thown on Krell. Too often, I've found myself thinking about how much I'd like to improve this or that about a Solid State system (you know, the chorus in the background sounds like a chorus and not a row of individual singers, maybe if I got the dcS upsampler and processor, they would clean that up?). These are things that you should not be thinking about when you listen to your favorite music. If you just want to play movies so loud that you scare your neighbors, then by all means, go out and blow enough money to drive a different car everyday of the week on Solid State designs from manufacturers with Napolean complexes and speakers from guys that know more about reading spectrum analyzers than sheet music. But, if you want to be able to relax and enjoy your favorite music, do yourself a favor and buy SETs and compatible speakers (of which there are plenty on the market). Yes, if you want to compare costs, you can buy Solid State for much less that some tube designs. But, on a dollar for performance level basis, you can kill Solid State once you get to the entry level cost of the many good tube designs out there. How many of us wouldn't be better off with a nice tube integrated like ARC, CJ, or Cary with Vandersteens or Meadowlark Audio speakers over a comparibly priced Solid State system? If you look at what Solid State designs do what Solid State is known best for, then those are the designs that cost a fortune (the $350 Rotel amp isn't the amp people talk about when they think about razor sharp imaging and bass slam, it's the $18,000 Krell monoblocks). I had a salesman tell me one day that my choices are really limited and that it would be hard to put together a decent system if I'm only willing to spend $3,000 per component. Well, yes, if I have to buy Krell. An unqualified no if I decide to buy SETs or tubes in general. Has anyone actually compared the differences in price between Krell and Cary? Solid State is the affordable alternative? I don't think so!

Solid state. Nevger tried tubes.

Silly question. The cheapest one, of course.

If you like pop, rock, alternative rock and/or JAZZ (especially "classic" jazz), nothing beats a class-A amplifier for power and speed. Solid-state works very well with full orchestral recordings also. Additonally, the expensive solid-state amps (around $10,000 plus) have the same "bloom" as tube amps. This statement is NOT intended to disparage tube amps. I have heard some great tube amps (e.g. Audio Research, CAT and Jadis) in "world-class" systems. However, I prefer solid-state.

Though my experience of amplifier technology is heavily biased towards solid-state, I think it is rather foolish of me to say that I prefer one technology over the other. In my opinion, the technology is in the end rather irrelevant. The musical performance is the primary objective, and that can be achieved to good standards with both (if not to say any) technologies.

Music reproduction in the home is like life itself. Faithful bass reproduction which is the foundation of true high fidelity is akin to family, faith and values which are the foundation of a worthy human life. The midle frequencies where most music occurs are like the human pursuit of career and making a living which occupies most of our time. The higher frequencies and overtones are the cherry on the cake. As are human recreation, vacations, theater and indeed hobbies such as the enjoyment of music itself which make life a little more pleasant. In music as in life, these elements must be in balance to have a satisfying musical listening experience or a well lived life. Tubes have always given me the opportunity to seek this balance within my means. They are exceptional in reproducing the all important mid-range. They are easy in their decay of higher frequencies and overtones. While they can be wimpy in the foundations, I have found a satisfying solution in coupling my Spendor SP1 speakers with REL Storm active woofers. This arrangement relieves my Quicksilvers of the burden of low frequency reproductions. I tried some well regarded solid state amplification devices, but none gave me the enjoyment I get from my current system. At least none that is within my means. Call me an incorrigible tuberphile.

I still don't know why, but Valve Amplifiers sound best! But then again, I do have the big horn speakers to go with them!

I have owned both and tubes seem more pure to me. The "distortion" thing does not bother me. I figure the amount of distorion I get from my speakers and room dwarfs the amount that comes from my amp!

I love anything that sounds beautiful and offers the attributes of high quality design and construction.

My Krell FPB 650c gives me most of the benefits of tubes without any of the associated maintenance, limited life headaches. Push one button, sit back, enjoy.

Solid state Class D preferably.

While single-ended triode amplifiers are beautiful to listen to under very controlled conditions but I'm convinced Solid State Class A A/B designs are the most stable. Very good amplifier design stabilized about 15 years ago and so a trip to the used preamp/amp shelves in your favorite High End Hi-Fi store can result in a bargain basement gem.

Tubes? If it glowsm it blows.

Single-ended, pure Class A, Mosfets with just 2 gain stages. Simple circuitry, great sound. I have tried all kinds of amps before, but none of them gives me such fulfillment as the Pass Aleph 5 in my system. Time will tell if this is going to be a classic, but this one's a keeper.

To me...it seems... that the only real difference is the quality of the company, the wine and the music...Your mileage may vary.

solid state for now , only because i have horrible inefficient speakers that need a ton of high current power, and i haven't finished building my tube phono/pre-amp gear yet!

I PREFER TUBE SOUND BUT TUBES ARE A PAIN IN THE BUTT..IM A 69 YEAR YOUNG AUDIOPHILE AND COME FROM THE OLD MACINTOSH DAYS...

Love that midrange magic! And if done right the extremes are good as well And yes, tehy can rock and roll!~

With current tech and the advent of DSP signal correction, why use anything else.

I use a combination of tube CD player, tube preamp and solid state amplifiers on my reference system. My speakers with their 86db@1 watt/meter sensitivity do not lend themselves to anything but higher power solid state. The prohibitive cost of high-wattage tube amplifiers precludes my use of them.

Full power D/A conversion. Not that I have one, but a D/A converter can buffer a signal then increase the power in the power supply to meet the demand dynamically. That allows very efficient class A operation. In the real world balanced, class A, high power, solid state is what I like best.

Tubes - hahahahaha - what a bunch of dweebs

After extensive listening, I went with the Bel Canto EVO 200.2 ss amp for the power and low-distortion, but mated it to the First Sound Presence Delux tube pre-amp for just that breath of life (but without adding tube haze) tubes can bring.

Bryston B-60 integrated amplifier is a very, very small component, but one of the best I ever heard in over 23 years in HiFi

All things being equal, tubes sound more life like. They reproduce almost every micro-parameter (soudndstage, depth, clarity, etc.) better than solid-state and on the macro-side, the presenting of the music as a whole, they simply trounce semi-conductors. The price for good tube gear has come way down as well. Companies like Rogue Audio, Quicksilver, Jolida, and AES make truly great sounding amps that do not require second mortgages. My exposure to SE tubes is limited to a 2A3 amp that was just not up to my speakers, so I can't comment too much here. I'm sticking with push-pull for now.