From tubes to solid state. What do you loose...

I switched from a Rogue Magnum 120 to a Plinius SA100 MKIII and I do not miss it. I listened to tubes for 20 years and this Plinius has made a believer out of me, solid state if done right, is great.

I think what Judith's alluding to is that even a tiny amount of 3rd or 7th order harmonic will add a discordant "edge" to a fundamental, thus giving it a sharpness that allows you to perceive it more easily.
Come to think of it I used to do the same thing as a kid by adding such a discordant harmonic to my Hammond organ playing by pulling out one of those upper "drawbars" to give color and definition to a melodic line. Listen to Jimmy Smith. It's that discordant upper harmonic that gets ya!
But alas not so great in amplifiers.
I use Pass Labs Alephs as a great compromise to achieve a neutral, clean, ultraquiet amplification that's regarded as somewhat tubelike, but with the advantages of only two solid-state gain stages.
Tubes act like natural compressors, so they get by with less wattage because their peaks are squashed, bursting forth with only even order stuff when clipping.
I prefer a CLEAN, unforced ss amp because of its linearity and lower noisefloor, and GREAT bass whomp, of course.
But tubes are great in a low-powered situation, like thosde great old radios of the 50s. Ahhh....

Subaru, i am still pissed-off at you for bashing the Vac Avatar, and now this!: "...tubes are great in a low-powered situation, like thosde great old radios of the 50s..." Just kiddin' dawg, i hope you are too?! Still, last time i listened Aleph 3, the bass was sloppy and midrange was recessed (is that imitation of tubes?) and it didn't sound very good to my ears despite stellar Stereophile review. Never mind the midrange, but why bass? Tubes, as tubes are might be pain in the ass, but what they do, they do it right and where matters most.

You miss nothing if you get something like a Rowland Concentra II, Pass or any of the great solid state amps out there. I have heard more glare from some KT88 equipped amps than I have ever heard from my Rowland with bad CD material. The biggest factor however is matching the amp to the speakers...tube or solid state.

It all boils down to system matching.

I have heard tube amp and tube preamp combos that made my jaw drop sonically.

And I have heard tube preamp and solid state amp that was equally amazing.

I have also heard solid state preamp and tube amp that was in the same ball park as the above two instances.

Then I have heard my all Solid State system that well does not sound much like solid state or tubes, it just makes amazing music.

Anyway, my point is this:

Too many folks generalize about TUBES and SOLID STATE. They think that all tubes sound the same or at least have similiar sonic properties, and all solid state sounds similiar ot has similiar sonic properties.

Well folks, these generalizations are not true. There is a great difference in the range of sound from tube amps, and tube preamps, and solid state amps and preamps. BIG DIFFERENCES folks! I do not know why wome folks think that tubes always add a 'magic' to a system. I have heard god awful sound from tubes. I have also heard AMAZING sound from tubes. It all depends on how a system is matched. I have heard god awful SS as well as absolutely amazing SS.

Anyway you cut it, the best SS sound can compete with the best TUBES and vice versus. If you do not think so, please go listen to some of the best sounding SS or TUBE systems. YOu might be hard pressed to tell whether they were tube or ss with a blindfold on. They just tend to sound absolutely amazing.

PS: My friend Frank has the best tube system I have heard in a home. His tube amp and preamp were made specially for him by the chief designer of a esoteric hi end company. Frank makes a lot more money than I do, and can afford amazing tube amps and preamps built for him. All I can say is, if I had tubes, I'd want his, heh heh... Frank is a 100% tube hard core guy. The first time (and every subsequent time) he hears my system, he is in total disbelief. He cannot beleive the sound I am getting is from solid state. Mine is the only SS system he likes. He covets my Ayre CDP as well... (Step AWAY from the Ayre CDP Frank! I step away from his tubes in return, heh heh...) He uses a Dodson 217 mk2 and a Mark Levinson transport, and he still covets the Ayre CDP.

KF