Class "A" solid state vs. Tube amp.?

Tubegroover: "The power supply of the amp will dictate whether or not it runs out of gas on busy and dynamic passages of full orchestral music." Are you suggesting that that is the only determinant of an amp's dynamic behavior and ability to reproduce complex passages with accuracy ? In my experience brute force is not the key issue in well designed amps, whether tube or solid state, (although I agree it is an issue) but rather a break-down in tonal accuracy which I find is better dealt with in solid state than in tubes, dollar for dollar.

Chedo: The only part of your system that I have listened to are the 1.1's and I have only auditioned them twice for a short period of time. They seemed to require a great deal of power/current to open up IMO which limits your choices if you have a large room and or listen at higher volumes. I thought the speakers sounded great by the way but I realized when listening to them that I would not want to spend the money to power them. Considering that you enjoy classical music and how full scale some of it can be I might look into the Monarchy 100 watt monoblocks if I were in your position. I would also set up a demo for the Pass gear and take the speakers if necessary in order to see if they will give you the volume and dynamics that you desire. This is also very dependent on your room size and preferred listening levels. I have never used any push/pull tube gear that I believe is powerful enough to make your speakers "sing" so no suggestions on that end. If you enjoy louder listening levels any amp that strains or restricts dynamics in your environment is a waist of money. I being frugal and practical have SS class A/B in the living room and the tube stuff that I have been looking into will go into a tiny spare room where power is not such a concern. This way we will be able enjoy both worlds (we do enjoy the SS system). The living room system is always on standby and ready to play and I do not have a problem with anyone operating the equipment, even children. The tube setup will be there really just for my wife and myself to enjoy when on the computer or when getting away from it all (and each other) in the spare bedroom.

I agree with most of the above posts. The difference really rears its head when distortion occurs. I just prefer the sound of tube distortion. I would rather have 1% of tube distortion (or whatever my Jolida JD102B is) than .001% of solid state (or whatever my Krell KAV300i is). This shouldn't matter if your equipment is adequate for the job, but I would still go tube, myself. The only solid state amp that I have found even remotely tolerable is the Musical Fidelity A3CR.

Dustych: I tolerate and enjoy a Musical Fidelity X-A1. Which is way differnt in it's sound being that it is SS. Have not heard the A series.

Yes Joe I would say if current limiting isn't a factor due to an impedence dip caused by the loudspeaker load (thiels and several panel designs), the power supply limitations would be the primary factor that would cause audible compression in a tube amp. Again matching the amp with the speaker is important. What else would cause a change in tonal character? I have heard this effect more with solid state than tubes. I’m sure a ss amp on the order of a big Krell or Classe would not exhibit these characteristics with virtually any type of load; maybe the Apogee Scintilla’s? On the other hand I am aware of no tube amp that can drive a <1 ohm load. The issue isn't brute force so much as having the reserve to provide effortlessness during dynamic, demanding musical passages. It certainly doesn't hurt bass performance either. Even when a tube amp does clip it doesn’t exhibit the type of compression that solid state does when it clips, which is most audible. I really am curious as to what tube amps you have listened to in your system? And if you still have the Silverline Sonata speakers with their 93db efficiency rating I can't imagine you hearing what you are describing concerning a tube amp, even an 20-30 watt SET if not the flea flicker 3-7 watters.