Mid-fi tube vs high-end SS

I’d like to be helpful. It would be useful to know exactly your system. There is a place to put photos and your components under your user ID as your virtual system. This would help us a lot in helping you. The venue and all components matter.

Having said that and been working on pursuing the cutting edge for over fifty years. I would not be moving from tubed to solid start… I would move in reverse or simply upgrade in the tube arena. In general. You are going to get more natural and musical components when using tubed equipment. I stayed away from tube amps for decades thinking of inconvenience and cost that simply has not been there. I have over 40 tubes in my system and by a huge amount, it is the best my system has ever sounded, and after years have spent very little on tubes. 
 

I have to recommend that I’d you want really high quality sound, stick with tubes. Then make your decision.

I guess it depends on what you mean by midfi and high end. I have a system consisting of a Schitt Freya + with some premium tubes and a Peachtree Audio Gan 400 amp running all balanced with Magnepan LRS + which will shortly be mounted on the Magnariser Mk7 stands.

Do your Philharmonic BMR speakers have any association with Salk?

I don't know the Van Alstine DVA 225, but my system uses his Transcendence 10RB preamp into a FirstWatt F8 (by Pass). With compatible speakers, the sound is musical (not "artificial") but not colored one way or the other.

It made me a believer in a good tube preamp but leave the power work to solid state. Nelson Pass uses FET transistors in his designs.

Audition some likely SS and tube contenders and see what 'improvement' you hear.

@akg_ca   Agree your advice to OP.

OP. some great recommendations here. I have a Qualiton X200 and there is zero lack of dynamics in this tube integrated, however is more $$$$. 

I do have a few SS integrated in my home and as of late I have been listening a lot to my Heed Elixir a 45W SS Class A integrated and I use while working in my office. For $1395.00 with its transcap technology it it sounds very tubey for a SS IA. I could live with this little thing, and it has an outstanding headphone section (better than the X200) and a MM Phone Pre (Heed Quasar). Built like a tank. 

@jaytor  You had some very solid points. To answer your question, the main reason I'm wanting to buy a permanent SS amp is for its convenient. Tubes are getting real expensive to maintain and I want a SS for movies and gaming for my usage as well. 

I was curious to know the kinds of improvements I can get by dropping 4 grand into a new amp. Atm I'm quite happy with the sound of my tubes on all aspects, except for dynamics, but still the dynamics are good enough.

@knotscott  I don't know much about tubes but I've put a significant amount of time into some other tubes I should buy and that tubes I've been meaning to buy is the Tesla ef806s. Thank you. 

One manufacturer I can recommend is Ayre.

I own both Atmasphere and Ayre, and both sound very close to one another.-With the Ayre being a bit 'tighter' especially in the bass.

If you have been getting by with 55wpc, then an AX-7e would probably do the trick.-And, very available used.

I would also consider the Belles Aria Integrated.

bob

@samureyex - still not sure why you are looking at switching to SS. If you like the sound you are getting from your tube amp but are just looking to raise the quality a bit, you could consider upgrading the decoupling capacitors. 

Your amp comes with pretty cheap CDE film caps (at least they aren't electrolytics). There are a LOT of options for caps that will likely improve (and certainly change) the sound.

I really like the copper foil caps from brands like Miflex and Jupiter, but you may not have adequate space for them - they are physically significantly larger than the CDE caps. 

A reasonably priced and sized option is the VCAP ODAM. These are very clean sounding, but are also very neutral which may or may not be what you are looking for. 

If you don't feel comfortable making this kind of modification yourself, I suspect you can find a local electronics repair shop that will do this for you at a modest cost. 

I know you’ve done the tube "upgrade", but have you done much experimenting with other tubes? There are lots of subtle difference between tubes, and some not so subtle.  You may stumble into something you prefer that may not be the recommended upgrade, but it’s all very subjective.

My speakers are the Philharmonic BMR towers. 6-ohm 86 db. Easy to drive, confirmed by the designer. My tube amp drives it without a sweat.

I feel like the midrange on the BMR is too neutral. The designed voiced the speaker that way. My preference I want a little more richness to the mids and I'm getting that from the tubes. 

AHB2 is a no-go for me for 2 reasons. Price has gone up from 3k to $3,300 and also its weaknesses are things I value highly. 

Thank you everyone. 

what efficiency speakers are you using?

contemplating less efficient speakers in the future?

What sound levels, how large a space?

Think 'prefered', not better.

IOW, I would expect to prefer the sound of tubes over sound of SS, unless not enough power.

Another thought is speakers that can be bi-amped, use SS for Bass only, keep tubes for mid/highs

"...how much improvement should I expect?"

"Improvement" is probably not the right word.  What you can be sure of is that a solid state amp will sound "different" than your current amp.  Whether or not that will be an improvement is a matter of personal taste. SS amps typically have better control of the bass, but behave differently when they clip (which is one of the reasons for the trend toward high power in SS amps.)  Or, you may find you miss that rich "tube sound" that so many tube aficionados love.

In short, pick a likely SS candidate that is available for a home trial and can be returned if you don't care for it and see what you think.

The degree of audio performance improvements with a new solid state amp you are hoping for is entirely dependent on the synergy (or lack of ) with your system as a whole. One new piece in the link may or may not be an improvement.

For example, in a prior system, my buddy asked to borrow my speakers at that prior time ( TOTEM FORESTs) paired with my quality build ss integrated amp . He took them home to test-drive them with his top-end CARY tube amp. 

In short, it was a huge disappointment and a step back in his system as a clear and not insignificant absence of system synergy.

Ignore the pricepoint hyperbole trap,  and rely on your personal audition(s) to drive your selection process. It is impossible to blindly recommend an amp brand or particular model for you with any assurance of an improvement for you, without a direct knowledge and experience with the rest of your system. 

Choose wisely.

First off, I can't help on the specific amps you have and are considering.  That said, I think it would help you get some informed answers to know what speakers you use, and what you like and don't like about your current setup.

There you have it Jason has spoken. 

The Benchmark AHB2 is the SS amp to get! $3K. Most transparent and lowest distortion SS amp today!