1) I have heard tube amps that sound harsher than SS amps, vice versa, quite alike, and then of course quite different. I feel the further up in the bucks one goes, the more and more amps begin sounding more alike than they do different. It's almost as if the "hi-fi" world treats Tubes/SS just like they do digital/vinyl...
2) I have noticed that amps, regardless of what they are, can either dig into the speaker well, or they just fail to do so. Even tube amps with say, 90 watts a side vs. my 30 watts a side amps can sound inferior not just sound quality wise but POWER wise...that 90 watt $5K retail tube amp just cannot dig into my speakers like the 30 watter can...same with SS amps...5K-20K SS amps can have just as much trouble, but, the ones that are capable, absolutely flatten my tube amps with respect to breaking open the speaker:)). No getting around that one:)! However, just because they are breaking open the speaker more, does not mean the "quality" is as good. So you are then faced with, am I ok with the power levels I can achieve with the much superior quality OR do I really need the much louder levels with a sacrifice of the quality?
3) I am in the camp that a reference level line stage, a very pure sounding one, can actually do wonders for SS amps...sure, I still find issues with these SS amps vs. my reference tube amps...BUT...those issues are a LOT more subtle and even capable of the compromise. In other words, I can easily live with an SS amp with lesser sound quality (so long as the SS is close enough sound wise) because my preamp gives such a fantastic signal/resolution for that amplifier to enjoy. Some will say the tube magic in a pre ahead of an SS amp is the way to go, and this is indeed a very basic/simple way to go...but my preamp (it's a preamp+dac tied into one unit) has such a clean sound in spite it is a transistor based linestage, that I do not find any point in using a tubed device. I have a tubed pre-dac as well and yes, it adds some flavor, but it's so similar sounding due to the designer's very similar circuitry/design tastes that I don't consider it to be any different in terms of "helping" that SS amp sound more like tubes or whatever. Anyways, point here is that preamp can truly "click" onto a well done SS amp and make all the difference in the world in terms of sacrificing that love for your beloved tube amp, but gaining in that ultimate breaking loose of the speakers.
There's never an easy answer in all of this, but I rank things like this:
Preamp (in my case, pre-dac) and then a "good" SS amp or a "good" tube amp (either/or dependent on your speaker's efficiency or even how loud you need to hear the music).
Lastly, and something I did not discuss is impedance matching..the very best impedance matched system is going to "always" have a head start..matching the system impedance/gain structure goes a long way to get as pure of a signal as tightly locked together as is possible.
Hope this helps others in spite it's a year old thread:))!
