From tubes to solid state

RLB61: I agree in principle, but the tube CDP's I've heard (e.g. AA Capitole 24/192 MKI) are bit too ripe in the bass for me. So I prefer a solid-state CDP (preferably without preamp needed), feeding a biamped system where one can use tubes for mids/highs and solid state for bass. But certainly it is nice to have tubes somewhere in the chain to give the mids a palpabiity, and smooth out the highs....
All this gets complicated and expensive,unfortunately.

Interesting, Bishopwill. I've had just the opposite experience, with music (especially classical instrumental) seeming more real through good tube gear. Granted, some tube equipment can be euphonic and "slow", but other units can be very detailed, transparent, and more correct regarding tone/timbre to my ears than most solid state (one exception: the lower bass). Nevertheless I keep searching through SS gear in hopes of finding something (mainly amp) that will satisfy my ears, since tube gear is a bit of a hassle, and those nice NOS tubes will eventually run out!