They only thing I really need to know about an amp, or pretty much any other product is what the final sound will be like in my system and room.
What I have learned first hand is that it's the implementation of the design rather than the technology. Tubes aren't inherently better than SS; all class A aren't better than A/B, D, ICE, etc. I've heard excellent examples of pretty much every configuration, and I've heard poor examples. It drives me crazy when people say things like 'tube sound,' 'analog sound,' etc. If it has a distinctive type of sound in this regard, it's probably been designed to have a sound that ventures too far from neutral IMO.
Beyond that stuff, I don't understand anything, really. I just want as little coloration in my sources, amplification, and cables as possible. Since the speakers have the most distortion and are bound most by the room, let them be the tone control.
What I have learned first hand is that it's the implementation of the design rather than the technology. Tubes aren't inherently better than SS; all class A aren't better than A/B, D, ICE, etc. I've heard excellent examples of pretty much every configuration, and I've heard poor examples. It drives me crazy when people say things like 'tube sound,' 'analog sound,' etc. If it has a distinctive type of sound in this regard, it's probably been designed to have a sound that ventures too far from neutral IMO.
Beyond that stuff, I don't understand anything, really. I just want as little coloration in my sources, amplification, and cables as possible. Since the speakers have the most distortion and are bound most by the room, let them be the tone control.