can a tube-o-phile be happy with ss?


I switched to tubes over a decade ago, after realizing that I no longer listened to the stereo because it did not sound like real music and ss and digital were irritating, on a subconscious level. Went to all tubes and mostly LP's. It worked. I even prefer triode with no negative feedback settings, usually. Now ss has supposedly improved, and its advantages beckon, e.g., less heat, electricity and trouble, better bass and perhaps more detail and clarity. Have any of you voluntarily gone back to the dark side and been content? (with the understanding that it never really ends, for an audiophile). On an unlimited budget one might have few complaints, but this question is necessarily in the context of a semblance of fiscal sanity, not top of the line Boulder, Ayre or Zanden.
lloydc

Showing 1 response by hevac1

Yes you can and I did.
I've had only tubes in my system up until about 4 years ago. The cost to retube an amp and the cost to purchase a new tube amp over 100 watts made me look at SS. There are a few amps out there like Moon and Pass that come close to tube sound, look around. I am staying with a tube Preamp though, I feel there is a large differance in the sound compared to SS and the cost to retube is minimal. So keep your tube preamp.