Dekay and Albert are right on. I would just add that these topics have been heavily covered in previous threads and posts, sometimes heatedly I might say, and you might do a search for them. Good Luck. Craig.
Tube v. Solid State / Analog v. Digital
WHAT'S THE DEAL? I'M NOT AN ENGINEER OR AN AUDIOPHILE. I HAVE HAD KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE SAY THE GOAL IS NO DISTORTION AND THAT CAN BEST BE ACHIEVED IN A DIGITAL/SOLID STATE/CD REALM. OTHER KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE SAY THAT'S NOT TRUE. TUBES/ANALOG/VINYL IS IT. ALL I KNOW IS THAT DIGITAL/SOLID STATE/ CD IS SUBJECT TO MEASUREMENT AND ANALOG/TUBE/VINYL IS BASICALLY NOT. TO ME THE ULTIMATE OXYMORON IS A CD PLAYER WITH A TUBE STAGE IN IT. WHAT'S THE DEAL HERE?