How far have ss amps really come in the last twenty years?

I suspect that just like loudspeakers, when the amplifier designer engineers an amplifier to fit to a certain price point, he is also targeting an amplifier sound that he thinks best presents music as realistically as possible.  In other words, its not all about perfect square waves, SNR and THD.  Therefore, its reasonable to expect that different designers have different ideas of what sounds right...hence amplifier will sound different.

As Blindjim said....just try a few amps and it doesn't take long to see that either the amps themselves sound different....or the way they interact with the rest of the equipment results in a different sound.

Right now, I'm "trying out" a new amplifier called the 2Cherry from Digital Amplifier Company. Its class d, no modules, all in house designed circuitry using discrete components...and boy does it sound good...open, three dimensional, detailed, liquid...I could go on....for less than $3k....so I think there may well be room for continued amplifier development.

And in a way, I agree with Atmasphere...most of us say that we want as little distortion as possible...but I think we really want is what sounds the most like trumpets, pianos, guitars and voices that we have heard live...and maybe sometimes, to some listeners, a euphonic presentation is more pleasing.

@mrdecibel

I'm with you...amplifier differences are audible.  Holy Moly...20 amplifiers, why so many?  Which ones are your favorites?

@wspohn

You make a good point.  Most every time you change a component and often when you change a wire, you end up hearing something different...but that doesn't mean that the change you hear will be appealing to you!