My own experience (for what it's worth) is that I downsized from a combination of a rich sounding ss preamp and mono tube amps to a ss int amp. I could not live with the sound. I tried ss separates and another ss int amp. I could not live with the sound with any of those. Then I stumbled onto a very cost effective solution. I picked up an AMC tube amp on ebay for $700 and a Quicksilver LS for $600. While this is noone's idea of a dream system, it sounds very nice for the money and I would prefer it over almost any ss int amp except, of course, for the Rowland. I was downsizing more to conserve space and make my system less conspicuous, but I ended up spending much less than I imagined and got sound that is as good or better from where I came. The only downsides were the losses I incurred buying and selling the ss stuff.
Downsizing advice
I'm currently running an Air Tight ATC1, c-j Premiere 11A, pre power combo and I am considering downsizing due to financial reasons. That being said, I still want to have a great sounding stereo. Any recommendations on a great sounding integrated in the $2.5-3K range. Tube or solid state, it should be able to drive my Sonus Faber Grand Pianos. Suggestions welcome.