Class "A" solid state vs. Tube amp.?

Dustych: I tolerate and enjoy a Musical Fidelity X-A1. Which is way differnt in it's sound being that it is SS. Have not heard the A series.

Chedo: What is the rest of your system? It's a hard call because tubes really do it for popular and traditional acoustic music and class "A" is great for classical, especially if you have the power/current reserves for musicical peaks. There are also many different tube sounds to choose from depending on the size of you room, the volumes at which you listen and your speakers. Stating your budget will also allow the experienced ones at this site to make real world suggestions (I am not a part of this group assuming that your budget is a plump one). My only long term experience is with push/pull tube and class "A" and "A/B" SS amps. I am learning about SET 2A3's, 300B's and other varients using EL34 etc. tubes. Getting good results from the latter group is very system dependent, and requires careful planning, but it is worth the effort from what I have heard so far. It's a good thing that I have a moderate budget or I would never be able to make up my mind, I mean you have to commit at some point.

Chedo: The only part of your system that I have listened to are the 1.1's and I have only auditioned them twice for a short period of time. They seemed to require a great deal of power/current to open up IMO which limits your choices if you have a large room and or listen at higher volumes. I thought the speakers sounded great by the way but I realized when listening to them that I would not want to spend the money to power them. Considering that you enjoy classical music and how full scale some of it can be I might look into the Monarchy 100 watt monoblocks if I were in your position. I would also set up a demo for the Pass gear and take the speakers if necessary in order to see if they will give you the volume and dynamics that you desire. This is also very dependent on your room size and preferred listening levels. I have never used any push/pull tube gear that I believe is powerful enough to make your speakers "sing" so no suggestions on that end. If you enjoy louder listening levels any amp that strains or restricts dynamics in your environment is a waist of money. I being frugal and practical have SS class A/B in the living room and the tube stuff that I have been looking into will go into a tiny spare room where power is not such a concern. This way we will be able enjoy both worlds (we do enjoy the SS system). The living room system is always on standby and ready to play and I do not have a problem with anyone operating the equipment, even children. The tube setup will be there really just for my wife and myself to enjoy when on the computer or when getting away from it all (and each other) in the spare bedroom.