@gryphongryph I’ll post them. I have tube stuff and thought, I should try a solid state just as a possible alternative -- for variety, for backup, etc. I researched Sugden, Pass, Belles, and some other Class A stuff, but since I put my system together recently and my speakers require a bit of oomph to drive, I decided on the SET 400. Apparently, it’s made to sound fairly "warm" (I know, vague word), and that it runs in class A for the early watts. And, it’s $2k rather than much more than that. Seemed worth a shot.
My room is just recently (like, yesterday) about as dialed in as I can make it, and so this weekend I’ll listen to my tube stuff with the bigger tubes (KT88’s rather than 77’s) to set that impression in stone (with the room settled) and then I’ll try the SET 400 initially and then run it in a while, and compare. At its price point, it seems hard to beat, but if I don’t like it, I’ll send it back.
FWIW, I've been listening to a relatively new podcast with Duncan (of TMR) and Darren (of P.S. Audio) and one of them made the interesting comment that as their system has improved, some tracks which sounded ok now sound great, where others that sounded great now reveal flaws. They both understand recording and mastering, and since that part of the equation is all over the map, the "dialed in" nature of any system is fluctuating from both the gear and recording side. This seems like something audiophiles know already, but the way they described it helped solidify the ever-heterogenous nature of "the" sound of one's system. That helps me chill out with tracks that tempt me to blame my system too quickly. It also makes a powerful little argument to always have a tweak (a different bit of kit or an equalizer) handy.
