high power tube amps vs ss

What is to be lost are large amounts of cash chasing after the "perfect" tube of the month, in buying NOS tubes that "test well" but are near the end of their useful lfe etc etc.

Marakanetz. only tubes you can buy for $20 bucks are those wretched Russian "re-issue" in which case there is no doubt a good SS amp is better.
A good quad of EL-34's will set you back 3-500 hundred bucks and are ,as likely as not, fake .

Jond, I'm happy you are satisfied.
Perhaps its because I'm an old man who started in audio when tubes were all there were that I became so used to the sound of Telefunken,Siemens, Raytheon, RCA,Amprex,Teslsa. British Mullard and Brimar etc that I find the China and Russian tubes so wretched.
Not that I given up on tubes entirely, I stll have 3 tube amps and 3 tube preamps.
Only 6 German EL-34's left .Down to my last dozen RCA 12AU7
and 4 50's Tungram 12AX7 and 4 French 6Bm8's.

Jond, it was not my intent to imply you are ignorant, clearly, you are anything but.

HEY. you 6550 guys, you need SYLVANIA 6550's not those shrill GE's.
I use Winged C's myself as the last quad I saw of unused Sylvania's was going for $600 and that was a few years back.