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

Sparky57 is right on! But you CAN NOT tell someone this. It can only be experienced first hand. Some people would disagree and I'm talking experienced listeners. To me it is all too obvious but then again we all hear and listen differently. What is right for one is wrong for another. Then there are the system variables and impedence matters that would all but mandate a solid state amp. There is no absolute answer to your question. My answer to you is DON'T be tempted, and DON'T take a chance. If you are willing to spend the money you will for a Pass amp, I have heard and it is good indeed, for solid state, take the time to compare tubes and solid state. When you are finished comparing, you really won't need to ask anyone because the opinion that matters the most, yours, will hold the answer. My preference is obvious and am in full agreement with all the above.

Joe welcome back. Well in response to your comments I am from the accuracy camp in audio reproduction. That is I want to hear what is on the recording as accurately as possible. It is really in the midrange that tubes have that presence that seems to elude solid state at least to my ears. I really don't know how much you have listened to tubes or what you have listened to since you don't give an example. Might I suggest you try a ARC VT-100 Mk2 to compare with those in your post and report back your findings. And so far as music breaking up through tubes, who told you that? It makes me wonder if you have ever listened to tube electronics at all. I have heard most of the amps you mention. A few years back I put my MC-60's side by side with a Sunfire amp in the store running through both B&W 805's and NHT's 2.5i's which I ultimately bought. EVERYONE who listened, customer and sales person alike were quite taken with the 45 year old Mac's and several commented on how much better they sounded on vocals. But maybe it is 2nd harmonic distortion characteristic of tubes, all I know is it sounds more real to me.

Joe it is ironic that I find the opposite to be true so far as dynamics in complex music. 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. The VT-100 MK2 provides in the neighborhood of 500+ Joules filter capacitance which would make it hard to imagine that it would ever run out of steam and probably would compare favorably with most 200 watt solid state amps out there. My D-115 Mk2 by comparison has a total of 280 Joules and I NEVER hear congestion or compression during busy passages. But then again my speakers are very efficient and have a very flat frequency response across the band with no serious impedence dips. My MC-60 while not as extended at the frequency extremes as most solid state amps, still deliver the power. Filter capacitance is over 250 Joules each amp, they have been modified. They also never sound congested or compressed and offer better bass slam if not definition than the D-115 Mk2. The tube amps, to my ears, offer a better rendering of the micro macro dynamic swings that are evident in live music. This is another area where they excel. The one area where solid state is generally better is in the area of bass slam which eludes most tube amps of similar power. High frequency extention and smoothness is also quite good in the best designs. That said, I still think the ARC amps are superb in the area of bass definition. It is my understanding, although I haven’t heard myself yet, that OTL amps are even better in this area. I hope to find out soon. Once again a matter of taste and preference.

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.

Waldhorner I say to you, well stated. However in matters of reproduced audio ambiguity abounds as do opinions. The purpose of this forum is to provide insight from different camps insofar as reproduced music is concerned. As to which camp is right is not the issue. What is more paramount is that the less experienced develop through the various insights a sense of what they may be personally looking for. Nothing is a better substitute than listening to live music however I could sit next to you at a live concert that we both might enjoy immensely and yet if we listened to a recording of the same event on two different systems we very well might come to two different preferences. We all must find our own path and the only way for that to be fully realized is as you said through personal experience, not external approval.

Waldhorner Leave it to McIntosh to design an amp that will do it. I have a pair of MC-60's and all I can say about them is they don't make transformers like that any more!