I have followed these discussions with great interest over the years in search of the best solution for me. I most recently went through integrated SS amps from Parasound and Hegel, then graduated to separates with a Prima Luna Evo 300 preamp paired with an excellent YBA Passion 400 SS amp rated at 100 wpc to drive my Harbeth 30.2s. I still felt something was missing, so added a single REL T9i subwoofer after being convinced that it would be a better addition that rolling tubes in my Prima Luna. The REL is compelling, but I still wondered if I needed more amps. I wasn't looking for louder, but fuller and bigger sound. My search ended with the purchase of a tube amp with less rated power than my SS amp. A dealer kindly agreed to come to my house to A/B my YBA against a Rogue Audio ST100, which is rated at less power than the YBA. After about two-plus hours of listening back and forth, I concluded that the Rogue Audio tube amp sounded more musical, fuller and more dynamic in Triode mode than the more powerful YBA -- which is an excellent amp! I never find listening with the Rogue Audio ST 100 to be in any way fatiguing and am a very happy camper. After years of being convinced that I was not and never would be a tube guy, well, I'm a tube guy. This obviously doesn't solve the mysteries of SS vs tube amps or how many watts, but I must admit I was surprised at where I ended.
Tube vs. Solid State Amplifiers
I found this really good link regarding the differences:
https://www.caryaudio.com/2018/06/04/vacuum-tube-vs-solid-state/
I've heard some (who are much more knowledgeable than me) say that a tube amp and solid state amp which are rated at the same output power in practice will not drive a speaker to the same level, that in selecting amplifier power levels, you would get similar results from lower powered tube amps.
I thought it would be interesting to see what those who know much more about this subject would contribute to this discussion.
https://www.caryaudio.com/2018/06/04/vacuum-tube-vs-solid-state/
I've heard some (who are much more knowledgeable than me) say that a tube amp and solid state amp which are rated at the same output power in practice will not drive a speaker to the same level, that in selecting amplifier power levels, you would get similar results from lower powered tube amps.
I thought it would be interesting to see what those who know much more about this subject would contribute to this discussion.