Spectron vs any good tube amp.

Charles1dad, just a FWIW: one of the reasons that you are less likely to listen to an SET at higher volume levels has to do with the way SETs make distortion as power increases.

As power levels drop towards zero the distortion becomes unmeasurable. As power increases, the lower-ordered harmonics (which are euphonic and so contribute to a 'lush' character in the amp) appear; somewhere at about 1/4 full power the higher-ordered harmonics come into play.

Now music has a lot of transients in it, so if the speaker is well matched to the amp these power levels will only be seen at the higher levels. The ear uses the 5th, 7th and 9th harmonics to figure out how loud a sound is, so when these distortions appear (and only on the transients) the result is that the ear perceives the sounds as louder than they really are and so there is no desire to turn it up any louder. This is why SETs have a reputation for being a lot more dynamic than their power capabilities would suggest.

Charles1dad, you and I are on the same page when it comes to the 'too loud' thing. I for one value my hearing quite a lot- I think anyone here does as well. The point of my prior post was simply that SETs can create a 'too loud' experience at an *actual* sound pressure that is quite lower than it seems and I explained why that is.

Its my opinion that a system should be devoid of loudness artifacts, leaving that to the music instead. But- if you are concerned about hearing, than using SETs is a good way to go.

SS people speak in terms of "fast and definitive with bass slam".

Yes, however I have always felt that to be the province of the best tube amps :)

...

While tube people will speak in abstractions like "nuance", that aren't always easy to communicate; we live in two different worlds.

Yes, communication is an issue! Two audiophiles can use the exact same terms to describe the aspects of soundstage and definition of a $600 transistor amp or a $30,000 tube amp, someone looking on might not be able to discern that the two experiences are very different, as our language does have the terms, but not the expression of intensity.