Just for complete disclosure....I don't like the less expensive Wilson products..I think they are overpriced and use gimmics to impress the listener (out of phase midranges, bumped highs, etc) however, they do sound the best with lots of power. It doesn't matter where those watts come from. Audio Research has their top of the line tube unit = I forgot what they call it, but it sounds great with Watts. As for the sound quality...it doesn't make any difference between tubes or solid state. Once upon a time in the good old days, tubes sounded different than transistors. In the recent past, however, the typical tube sound and the typical s/s sound have been converging. They now are the same in the top performers. I dare you to listen to Ayre blindfolded for instance and know its s/s = or the top line Audio Research and tell me if its tubes.
