The difference between tubes and solid state that I am finding

Normally I avoid generalizations; however, you have accurately listed the major differences between tube and solid state sound quality.  The degree of difference over the years and with the introduction of modern tube design have narrowed, and many current tube designs from ARC, Nagra,  VAC, and CJ have wonderful clarity, detail, and bass response missing in earlier designs while maintaining the magical midrange bloom (blossoming), image density and dimensionality, and staging of the past. In turn, many solid state designs from Burmester, Audio Note, ARC, BAT, etc. have closed the gap on bloom, image density, and staging while maintaining the clarity and transient speed of solid state designs.  I grappled intensely with myself in making a decision between ARC or Nagra vs Audio Note or Burmester when I  upgraded my system for retirement.  I chose Burmester for it got close to the magic of tubes but with a clarity, speed, and dynamic nuance reproduction I could not resist.  To each our own.  Recommendation, if you enjoy the tube sound, you should want to optimize the synergy by going all tube.  
 

@ghdprentice “I owned primarily solid state for forty years... and one by one switched to all tube component for all my systems.”
 

With respect, and noting we are close in age, this is possibly related in part to the effect of aging on hearing.  As we age, we loose high frequency hearing but counterintuitively, this makes high frequencies sound annoying and fatiguing because our brain needs to work harder to hear in that range. This also is related to an inability to focus on direct sound when there is background noise.  See peer reviewed articles on Presbycusis and Hyperacusis. I validated this from my own aging experience. 

I use SS on my bass towers for their immediacy and punch (Threshold SA12e) and tubes on my mid/highs for the nuance and fluidity (Manley Snappers).  All is fed by an Allnic linestage.

Have 2 separate systems which are all SS but the SS/Tube system reigns supreme to my ears.

Pick your poison and enjoy it

This is one of the most interesting videos I've seen yet on amp matching, individual amp sound characteristics, and why the differences can be profound (from EAC).

Enjoy!

@jsalerno277 

My change to tubes as I gotten older has nothing to do with my hearing. While my hearing may have deteriorated, my ability to analyze and perceive nuance of sound has continually improved. Quite honestly my tolerance for bad treble and high frequency hash has gotten much smaller... not gone away. This in part may have to do with the pressure it puts on your ear drums regardless of whether you can differentiate the detail or not. 

My switchover to tubes / their sound  has to do with my deeper understanding of sound quality and what characteristics allow for a more direct subconscious emotional connection. When young I was tantalized by my analytical side, hearing something I had never heard before... as I often say... hearing the second violinist move his foot, or some squeak in the drum kit. In these systems, the details are amplified to stand out more then they do in the real world, highlighting and obscuring the midrange. 

My analytical side kept dragging my away from the satisfying gestalt of well reproduced music. It was years listening to  real acoustic music that finally revealed the characteristics that make music emotionally connecting. I think this kind of maturity often comes with experience and age. Although, very occasionally, I meet someone that went for that from the very beginning and never got side tracked... but that is unusual.

@ghdprentice Acknowledged, and as always, well articulated.   As I mentioned before, our goals for SQ appear very similar, as is our passion for live ancous music, even though we went in opposite directions with equipment choices.   I have been to an audiologist.  The conclusion was that my hearing is above average for someone half my age; however, the normal aging process includes Hyperacusis, which has made me less tolerant to high frequency noise and interferes with my ability to focus on direct sounds in an environment rich in background noise.   For example, I am less tolerant digital HF distortion and focusing on conversation in a noisy restaurant has become more difficult.   This has not affected my ability to hear a wide frequency range, acknowledging higher frequency test signals are harder to hear.