Switching to solid state amp?

I was going toward a similar path as you, although a bit in the opposite direction. I've always had brystons and spectrons but was wanting a little more musiciality so after a ton of listening I ended up mating with a hybrid tube pre (AR LS-17se) and loved what it did for the sound. It opened things up so much but after a while of listening something was missing, although I couldn't put my finger on what. I ended up trailing a few tube amps (quickie v4's (with both kt88 and 120), AR 100.2, and rogue. After those sessions I realized I could deal with the lack of the Brystons muscle in return of the holographic sound of the tubes. I was all set on getting a set of the V4's and was sold on tubes when John from Audio Connection (Verona NJ) had me listen to some of his Belles amps. First the Aria integrated, then the aria monos....literally had one of the best sounds (to my ears) to the point I stopped wanting solid state or tubes , it didn't matter as the amor just sounded good. Usually when I demo something I make mental notes on what stands out, maybe what's missing but with the Belles I just listened....for hours. 
John ended up letting me demo the sa-100 and it was game over. 
In the end everything is system dependant and everyone's ears are different but with the Sa-100 I feel I got the listening experience I wanted with tubes and the reliability of solid state. I can't say enough about Daves products or Johns expertise. 
Give Belles a listen if you have the opportunity 

Although im not in your price range, i am really enjoying my Rogue RP-5 preamp, Nuforce sta200 amp and Zu speakers. My ss amp has higher than normal gain (speakers 101db) , however, the hiss is hardly noticable at listening position. 

Great bass with the smooth mids and highs. I m still thinking about tube amps, however, i do not want to give up that bass.  Im thinking of a Firstwatt myself. 

Thanks for all the recommendations.  If I do make the switch to SS Pass, Ayre, Wells Audio  are all being looked at.  Btw anyone hear Wells Audio amps.  If I stay with tubes Conrad Johnson, Atma-sphere, Quicksilver are currently on the top of my list.  A third option would be a nice integrated amp.  Pass int60 or Gryphon Diablo 120.

A sonically excellent power amplifier should exhibit high input impedance, very low output impedance, flat frequency response, and ultra low distortion. And it should do all of this without contributing any extraneous hum or noise. In addition, it should also be capable of producing unclipped power output that's some 2 or 3 dB more than your loudspeakers can tolerate.

It first became practical to build a power amplifier that meets all of these requirements back in 1976, when PNP silicon power transistors finally became affordable, thereby permitting fully complementary differential solid state circuit design at reasonable cost. And that's when I personally left vacuum tubes behind, in the past, where they belong.

While it's theoretically possible to construct a tube-type power amplifier that will approach the described design criteria, that product will exhibit persistent vacuum tube degradation that begins at initial turn-on and ultimately ends in cathode depletion failure—barring other modes of premature demise (e.g. open filament, vacuum leaks, gassing, microphonics, atypical distortion, hum/noise). So vacuum tubes are not a wise choice when stable, long term circuit performance is a serious design goal.

I ran an Ayre AX-7 for a while.  When I inserted a Rogue CMII into the system, the Ayre got relegated to the secondary system.

Hi.  I switched to SS: Ayre MXR's, but after a couple of years was not satisfied with the outcome.  I went back to tubes: Octave MRE 220 with Super Black Boxes.  They are simply superb and have provided the absolute best of a tube and SS amp: fast, articulate transients and deep inner detail of the former and the true flesh and fulness that only tubes can properly deliver.  Don't know how the age of your current tube amp is but if its more than 10 years old then you should know that some modern tube amps like Octave have closed the gap (shut!) between the worlds of glass and transistors.

Pass/First Watt are a good place to start and Gryphon would be another option.  D'Agostino even better....does everything right.  A used S200 might be a little over your budget but worth stretching for.  I'm surprised Ayre has been mentioned as close to tubes....excellent solid state but it is said to be a bit dry.  Another suggestion would be to look at a Jeff Rowland amp.  Truly among the best of solid state.

Octave has an excellent reputation, including their integrateds.
As I understand it, and I might be wrong, Gryphon Diablo 120 is not quite Diablo 300 only less powerful. The latter is a reference level integrated. You would want to listen to them both if you considered Gryphon. The phono stage, $2200 option in either, should be excellent. Diablo 120 is $11k and Diablo 300 is $16k, without phono or dac. This would no doubt be different sound - Octave and Gryphon top integrateds.

just made the switch back to SS myself. Went from Rogue M-180's (loved 'em) to Pass X260.8's

There's nothing "modern" about vacuum tubes! Indeed, vacuum tube commerce has collapsed in the 40+ year lapse since I last used a tube-type audio amplifier. All of the principal domestic, British, Dutch, and German producers are now either defunct (like Tung-Sol Electric, my employer from ’57 - ’60), or they’ve long since ceased making tubes. The entire world market for (receiving-type) tubes is now confined to a small coterie of audio and guitar buffs, and served only by obscure Russian and Chinese suppliers with no previous market recognition. (There are other minor sources in former Soviet bloc countries.) The quality and reliability of the tubes made by those arcane foreign suppliers is a subject worthy of concern. And those sources will persist only as long as there’s viable demand, so the outlook for assured access to replacement stock seems dicey. Further, this situation prevails at a time when every instrumented means of evaluating audio quality validates the measurable superiority of modern solid state design, so it's hard to envision an audio future that will extend vacuum tube usage.

@inna  Can you or others provide more detailed information on why the Gryphon 120 is not comparable to the performance level of the 300, other than the power differential? Assuming appropriate speaker pairing, for each. Thanks. 

david_ten, this is just my tentative assumption, not based on any experience or science but only on my impression in differences between the designer's presentation of both. Flemming Rasmussen obviously likes his Diablo 300 and considers it his achievement in the designing of an integrated amp. Diablo 120 presentation sounded like - it is an excellent integrated, better than previous generation Atilla, but..
However, this is my impression and speculation, that's all.

Russians have been making great tubes for ages. They still do. There are also excellent Chinese tubes.
As for the future of tube equipment, I don't know. It might be doomed, it might be not. There are enough good tubes for our lifetime, though, just will be getting more expensive, perhaps.

@inna   Thanks for the added info and clarification. That's good to know, despite the price differential.

Anyone who has heard both?

In addition, Diablo 300 DAC option is much more expensive, and you can have both phono stage and DAC in it, Diablo 120 is either/or only.

One could make a case to move from tubes to SS because they prefer the sound of a SS amp as that is a decision based on personal preference. One can also make a case that they don't want to pay for tube replacements. That is also valid with amps with expensive tubes (ie. 845's or 300b's) but if one is careful in choosing a tube amp they can buy one that doesn't use expensive tubes.

But to say one wants to go back to SS because they are easier to maintain or are more reliable is not valid. A point-to-point wired tube amp, with no printed circuit boards is one of the most straight forward designs to diagnose and repair.

I will look at the Octave it could be a good choice.  From what I have learned about the Diablo 120 the build and parts are quite equal to the Diablo 300 but the 300 is a brute.   I am sure the transformer is beefier but both have the same house sound.

I second the vote for and highly recommend Clayton Audio M300 or S2000.
You won’t miss tubes with Clayton, although I do keep a VAC Renaissance 5 preamp in front of the Clayton for even greater sound. All the best!

depending on your wattage requirements, klaus at odyssey audio builds amazing amps at great prices. i recently took delivery of a kismet and am just loving the sound. powerful, detailed, beautiful bloom - not overwhelming amounts. overall, love it more than my ayon spirit 3.

I agree with some comments above that matching your amp and preamp is still the most important factor and the only sure way about this is of course to listen to it.

Athough I obviously not tried all the combinaisons suggested above, my personal experience is pointing towards YBA with their classic series. YBA1, YBA2, and if you are ok with only 50W YBA3.

The company's founder Yves Bernard André brought two distinct technologies that make solid state sound very tubelike:
-) double C transformer that is exclusive to YBA. This transformer besides producing very low noise is also slow, that might look like a disadvantage but that slow reaction is a major part of making these amps soud very much tubelike.
-) he also got his own amplification class, the "alpha class" with is prety much a lower heat A class.  

In all the solid state amp I've tried YBA is the closes to tubes

One of the very best low-power solid state amps available can be built for well under $1000, See: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=138229.0

If you are not comfortable slinging solder and drilling faceplates you can hire a builder; Radu Tarta of CT builds a lot of SE tube amps yet is impressed with this little SS build. His site is https://simplepleasuretubeamps.wordpress.com/

I have two and they are absolutely amazing; just as enjoyable as my old Audio Note Kit One 300B amp.

Speaking in very general terms, I have found that tubes often have a "rightness" in the treble that I often, but not always have found lacking in solid state. I would almost call it a "phasey" character that keeps cymbal taps and bells from sounding clear and open. In my experience single ended and class A push pull amps often do not suffer this.  Ralph, maybe you could expand on this as your amps seem to excel in this area. 

Bruce

After a bunch of years of tube, I gulped and bought a Hegel H160. First solid state ever other than a few Rega that were place holders. 

I like it. A lot. My phono is still tube, but the sound is shimmery and clear. 

You our also may be interested in an LSA Statement hybrid dual-mono integrated. Beautiful sound. 

I second Lak’s suggestion above to look at Plinius. I have an SA-103 in the same rack with a VAC 300.1a, switching back and forth depending on mood. The Plinius more than holds its own. It does not have quite the HF extension and sparkle of the VAC (that’s a high bar), but it delivers well enough in those areas and really nails the mids and bass. A big plus, to my mind, is the ability to switch between Class A and Class A/B with a button on the front. You can leave it idling in A/B with little power draw, then flip it to Class A for serious listening. Great for the hot summer months, and to be a little greener than Class A typically allows, though it does raise the noise floor somewhat. I run it with a VAC Phi Beta preamp or a Bent AVC passive. Works greater with both, though I’ve taken to using the Bent more often with this amp.

I bought my SA-103 used and then had it upgraded by Vince Galbo, who is the US warranty tech for Plinius and used to be the importer. This brings a lot more refinement and extension to its already-excellent sound. If you look around you can generally get a used 103 for $5K or so; add the Galbo upgrades for around $1,500, and you have a deeply satisfying SS amp with power, grace, and versatility at a very nice price.

I should add that I have a couple other tube-based systems running, too, one built around a SET 2A3 amp and the other a push-pull EL84. Even in the face of this very tubey competition, the Plinius is a highly enjoyable amp in its system, providing the depth and palpability I love about tubes.

For about 17 years I was basically using tube Manley Stingray. They drive very well Thiel CS3.6 speakers with a  natural and open overall performance. Since a few years ago, I have two more amps, which are solid state, but both give tube-like soft sound. A moderate Arcam A90, a good deal  for the price, and Mcintosh MA5200 with Thiel CS6 speakers. So far, I am quite satisfied with Mcintosh  sound. It is notably more clean than that of Stingray, with slightly less intensive but good natural base, the soundstage is I think also better (it sounds perhaps less "aggressive" than Audio Research tube amps).

I would not accept such point of view, say 5 year ago though...  

A couple of thoughts:
SS amps have some realistic advantages. 
None are created equally and specifications are really no indicator of sound quality or sound characteristics. Much of the time the Loudspeakers that are mated with a particular amplifier are the most important consideration. Ask yourself why is that happening? 
Begin with a thorough examination of your speakers specifications with as much information that you can garner.
Look for a SS amplifier that is less complex than more. Simple well executed single ended designs are generally advantageous and less costly.
Sometimes a loudspeaker will sound so much better with one particular amplifier than anything else, magic.
I would finally recommend that you consider contacting your loudspeaker manufacturer and inquire about the amplifier(s) that they use to great effect.
Good luck!

Has anyone paired Quicksilver preamp with a solid state amp, somewhere in the $2k range? I'm curious about tubes, but am suspecting the the crisp control from SS will be important.