Solid State to Tubes and Back Again


I've been reading a number of posts where individuals have gone from solid state to tubes, and back to solid state again. I'm curious about some of the reasons why.

Could it be a cost (tube replacement) and maintenance issue?

Could it be convenience (change of space - living arrangements), or is it simply because of the preference for solid state over the tube sound?


Thanks in advance for sharing.
hawk28

Showing 1 response by dan_ed

I go back and forth from SS to tubes and back again every time I move from my 2 channel system downstairs to my 5 channel system upstairs. No application of audiophile dogma here, one system uses 116 dB horns and one uses 84 dB box speakers.

Gee, if I can remember, I think I actually biased the tubes once in the last year. Yeah, that took all of 5 minutes. And then there was the time I had to send a SS amp back to the manufacturer for re-biasing. That took 2 weeks and several hundred dollars in shipping cost.

My point is that making generalized statements about one or the other is just a pissing contest. I would rather take each individual component on it's own merits as it interacts in my system. To each his own.