I have a really nice DIY build that I use sometimes. Sounds great. Doesn’t have any of the things people don’t like about solid state (sterile, analytical, etc.). Runs warm, but not hot. Definitely needs a preamp with lots of gain and one that can also swing some voltage. When I use it with one of my preamps with 13 DB gain, I can turn the volume all the way up without using the full capacity of the amp. Pretty good damping factor and doesn’t seem to mind 4 ohm impedance loads, but if I wanted to use it all the time, I look for speakers that were at least 92 DB or so. With the right preamp and speakers, it is very, very good. I doubt there’s anything that would be significantly better in a typical room.
