SS amp or receiver that sounds like Tube Amp

I've compared my Hegel H30 to three different tube amps (I've owned) from PL Evo 400 to BAT Rex 3 mono blocks.  Still listening to the H30.  For me, that says it all.  Cheers.

Imagination is a wonderful thing!

When a SS amp tries to emulate a tube amp, you usually get the worst of both worlds. The transients are muted and the bass is not as defined. What you want is a really good sounding SS amp that is mostly neutral with no added warmth or brightness. It just goes about it's business and gets out of the way. But you'd not mistake it for a tube amp. Both topologies can be very good in their lanes.

I just bought my son in law a guitar amp.   I bought him a sweet Mesa Boogie 4-40 California Tweed.   There is no way a Solid State amp can emulate the sound of four 6v6 and four 12ax7 .   Those dsp modeling amps try but they can not deliver the same tone.   

I’d look at a hybrid integrated with a tube input stage and SS output from the likes of Unison Unity or Pathos, or if you’re open to separates a tube pre and SS amp would be another option to get some of that tube magic.  Past that an amp that operates all or largely in Class A like Pass or Coda or a SS amp from a tube amp manufacturer like Audio Research or Atmasphere would be where I’d look next.  Best of luck. 

This post is going nowhere. I will just buy a vintage tube amp and rebuild it.

Going nowhere? You got a lot of good advice that I assume you are choosing to ignore.

You were a total waste of my time/effort.  Ingrate. 

Wow. @jimbennet joined this forum and managed to tick off multiple members in less than 24 hours. Impressive 

Well this is certainly going well.

This is a very complex issue.  All amps sound a bit different so it is hard to say which pair of solid state and tube amp sound alike.  Among very high end amplifiers, I tend to find that solid state amps sound quite similar to each other while tube amps tend to vary much more in sound.  Overall, I like low-powered tube amps the most and have not found any solid state amp that I prefer over a number of such tube amps.  The good low-powered tube amps have a very natural sound -- rich in harmonics, realistic attack and decay of notes, enveloping soundfield, very lively and engaging sound at low volume levels.  Even very good solid state gear tends to be a touch lifeless sounding at lower volume levels.  Solid state does deliver very tight and impactful bass.  I don't like many high-powered tube amps because of a brittle or harsh quality to the sound.  Thus, it is really hard to say what, if any, two amps, one solid state the other tube sound alike.  

At best, I can say that I like some solid state amps regardless of whether they sound like any particular tube amp.  While I haven't heard their newer models, I liked older Ayre solid state electronics.  I also liked a couple of First Watt amps I heard.  I heard a SIT-3 in a friend's system and I had a J-2 First Watt amp in my system for a couple of weeks.  They are both lively sounding amps that don't suffer from being lifeless at lower volume levels.

In vintage SS amps I find the ones that use capacitor couple output stages sound more tube like then the later SS designs. 

LMAO

This Belles Aria. There are many on line reviews that you can check out. BTW, I have owned the Belles and it was an outstanding performer!

Aria Integrated

The new Audio Research S100 and S200 sound like tube amps. Warm / natural and musical with lots of power. 

Any other and hopefully newer SS gear sounds like a quality tube amp? Tube amps usually have a natural sound and lots of detail with high clarity.

@jimbennet There are class D amps out there now that sound very much like a good tube amp. I use a set in my system, with speakers designed on a particular tube amp I used to use. The class D amps are as smooth and revealing as the amps I had before, but with a bit more focus- its easier to tell what's happening in the rear of the sound stage. I don't miss the tube amps at all. 

I can vouch for what @atmasphere said.

@jimbennet From you post where you warm up to the sound of a vintage low power Onkyo, you prefer vintage tube sound - warm, cozy, comfortable, thick, and laden with background noise - which is how the solid state Onkyo, and many other vintage solid state designs sound.  However, these vintage solid state products fall short in the reproducing the seductive midrange bloom and image dimensionality of vintage tubes.  I have a vintage rig in a vacation home so know and love the sound when there.  However, there is a difference between vintage tube sound and modern tube designs.  Modern tube designs have made notable improvements in reducing tube background noise, providing clarity and detail, while maintaining that seductive midrange bloom and dimensionality.  Compare a vintage AR design to their wonderful modern designs currently offered to understand my point.  So if you prefer vintage tube sound, stay with a vintage Class A amplifier to approximate the warmth you seek.  If you like modern tube sound, go with one of the following:

AR S100 or 200; Burmester; Humboldt; Griffin 

These will provide the sweet warmth, bloom (admittedly to a lesser but not significant degree) and dimensionality of tubes with the clarity, transient speed, and dynamics of solid state.  Be prepared for sticker shock so research while sitting.  

Another vote for checking out a Hybrid.  I have a hybrid preamp using 12au7’sand mono blocks using 6922’s so I can tube roll and get the sound I like.  Oh and MOSFET output transistors sound less SS and more tube like.

All the best.

"This post is going nowhere. I will just buy a vintage tube amp and rebuild it."

@jimbennet

What an oddly clueless thing to say. You’ve right from the get go are receiving terrific advice and options from a lot of experienced guys here. Perhaps reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit...

FirstWatt, from Nelson Pass, sells two current solid-state amplifiers based on static induction transistors: the stereo SIT-4 (10W into 8Ω, 5W into 4Ω; note reduced output into lower impedance) and the SIT-5 monoblocks (35W into 8Ω, 60W into 4Ω). Both are class A and dissipate a lot of heat, but provide an extraordinary tube-like sound. To quote Nelson, they're:

emulating the characteristic of a Triode, but operating at voltage and currents directly needed by loudspeakers, eliminating the output transformer. ... As with Triodes, the characteristic curves of the SIT allow operation on Class A “load lines" that can determine the relative values of second and third order harmonics and have little in the way of higher order distortion. It is a now a common observation that the most appealing sound tends to come from a dominant second order harmonic character followed by a lesser values of higher order harmonics.

You can read more about SITs here, and check out the glowing reviews like this one (SIT-4) and this one (SIT-5).

You might very well get the sound signature you prefer by buying one of the current class D with a tube buffer on the input, giving you a modern solution to the problem. If you prefer vintage electronics, might I suggest a Hafler DH-200. This particular model uses Mosfets in the output stage and there are still many of these left in the used marketplace. Further there a few different resources for 'upgrade kits' that are said to increase sound quality quite a bit. Given how good they are right out of the box, improving on the basic performance would put it in rarified company. 

OP

good for you. your Onkyo TX-2500 MKII has performed admirably to your liking with a "wow" moment. I know the feeling as I was comparing my audio note clone 845 power amp with my Pass Xa-25. very close indeed at average listening level. 

If you are happy with the Onkyo, then stay with it, and save yourself alot of money. Shiit Audio has preamps, power amps that sounds much like a tube sound. I compared, and I stuck with the Primaluna. I read another person liked Hegel better, but I compared my EVO 100 integrated directly against a Hegel 390. The Primaluna was the clear winner for detail, accuracy of instruments. A sax on the 390 did not sound right, wth primaluna was perfect. The 390, which way overpowered the EVO integrated, but just was not realistic in sound as the Primaluna. That's my experience. The 30wpc has no problem driving my speakers which are 89db sensitive, 70wpc rated.

During a component switch from my V-4s to my SMc upgraded 225. . . .there wasn't much difference.

Don't know why you guys are still posting to try to help him out.

He's already declared everyone's advice to be a waste of his time.

The MOSFET-based Yamaha integrateds (A-S1200, 2200 etc) go a long way in emulating tube amp sound. More so than any other integrateds I have encountered, including hybrids using tubes on the input stage. 

Though listeners I trust assure me that the Croft Phono hybrid integrated sounds very much like tubes. 

The Axxess Forté1 is another that gets at least halfway to bridging the gap between tubes and SS.