Hi There,
My two cents:
I've had home and heard in other people's systems that I was quite familiar with some very good transistor gear. In some respects the best of it did some things better than my tube and tube hybrid toys. The best of solid-state seems to have a lower noise floor which allows you to more clearly make out those tiny details (chair squeeks, subway rumbles, blah, blah...). Pretty neat.
However, I've yet to hear a s.s. amplification chain flesh out the players/singers/instruments in my room the way that good tubes seem to. Everything you do hear is much more present and dimensional. Now don't get me wrong, not all tube gear gets it right. There is at least as much badly designed tubes as crappy s.s. out there. But comparing best-to-best, tubes just seem to create a more believable sense of "thereness" for me. As a result, I'm willing to put up with their idiosynchracies (heat dumped into the room, tube replacement, etc.).
Happy Trails!
Vince@Freewheel
My two cents:
I've had home and heard in other people's systems that I was quite familiar with some very good transistor gear. In some respects the best of it did some things better than my tube and tube hybrid toys. The best of solid-state seems to have a lower noise floor which allows you to more clearly make out those tiny details (chair squeeks, subway rumbles, blah, blah...). Pretty neat.
However, I've yet to hear a s.s. amplification chain flesh out the players/singers/instruments in my room the way that good tubes seem to. Everything you do hear is much more present and dimensional. Now don't get me wrong, not all tube gear gets it right. There is at least as much badly designed tubes as crappy s.s. out there. But comparing best-to-best, tubes just seem to create a more believable sense of "thereness" for me. As a result, I'm willing to put up with their idiosynchracies (heat dumped into the room, tube replacement, etc.).
Happy Trails!
Vince@Freewheel