Man this thread has gotten way off the track! I've heard both Rowland and Levinson amps. You don't have a bad choice here. A freind owned an all Rowland system (pre w/monoamps) and his system was easily one of the best I've heard. The looks of the front panal are killer too. I own Levinson 436s and they sound exceptional also. I never brought my amps over to my friends house buy I did bring my #32 to place in his system when I was thinking of buying it, and there were differences, but more like your favorite flavor of ice cream.
As for solid state vs. tube, I do like the sound of the many tube amps and preamps I've heard, (mostly CJ and Audio Research) but I've witnessed first hand several tube amps self destruct: (tubes arcing, capacitors blowing) and be away for service for months . . . besides the fact that one never knows if those tubes functioning properly or slowly fading away. For these reasons, I give solid state the nod!
As for solid state vs. tube, I do like the sound of the many tube amps and preamps I've heard, (mostly CJ and Audio Research) but I've witnessed first hand several tube amps self destruct: (tubes arcing, capacitors blowing) and be away for service for months . . . besides the fact that one never knows if those tubes functioning properly or slowly fading away. For these reasons, I give solid state the nod!