Is pure class A ss the equal to tubes?

Hey, I was into tubes for years (for about 10 years I wouldn't consider anything else) and still like them. They are most beguiling to the innocent. I just got tired of the microphonic problems, the constant tube rolling and tube replacement, and their relatively unreliable and inconsistant nature in general. And good tubes ain't exactly cheap anymore.

Now that some companies are producing better sounding solid state designs I see no reason to return to the problems and continual disappointments of tube amps. They almost always soften the bass, and the high frequencies, and although they can sound nice in the midrange, so can good solid state. My hybrid amps use one input tube per channel and that's all the euphony (2nd and 4th order distortion) I presently require, thank you very much. :)

I tried an Aleph 30 mated to a VTL pre (it's a good impedance match), but I ended up with a simple Rogue 88 amp (I would have gotten a VTL ST-85, but they aren't for sell that often).

Aleph: Clean, well-resolved imaging, but, I hate to admit it, a little "jangly" sounding. Didn't matter what wires I was using, it always sounded hot to me. Also, there isn't that 3-d soundstage.

Rogue: Warm, but not overly "euphonic." Good resolution (with a good $200 power cord), and life-like 3-d soundstage. The winner in my system.

All of this said, I think that it's totally worth it to buy two or three amps used, and try them out. One will probably definitely be The One.

However, as others of already pointed out, you have to go with what's important to you. Neither the Rogue nor the the Aleph is a thunder-bass type of amp. See, I don't listen for "bass extension;" rather, I want to hear, as authentic as possible, the sound of "a bass." That is, I want to hear the wood of an acoustic bass, or, if it's an electric, I want my amp to be realistic enough to reveal whether it's humbucking pick-ups or single coils. If it's a little recessed in the soundscape, that's okay for me.

I'm glad I tried the Aleph. I think everyone ought to ^_^

For me, all tubes just work better, and it really doesn't matter what genre of music I'm playing.

I reckon the thing to do is to enjoy the music, not so much the amp.

Plato, which hybrid(s) do you recommend? And, which do you not...?

I'm curious too which hybrids are recommended. Thanks