Superhonestben,
Please excuse my inability to get technical in this realm, but hopefully this description (along with those from others) will help clarify some of the differences.
If I remember correctly, you have Klipschorns, yes? They are a perfect match for SET, which has an intimacy and airyness in the midrange, as opposed to what might be characterized as a tighter, punchier, and less holographic sound in a push/pull amp. There are some who would suggest that XYZ push/pull amp sounds like SET, but personally I've never heard one that mimics SET any more than SS can approximate the sound of tubes. Some push/pulls are either wired as triode (Wright Mono 10's, for example) or switchable into triode mode (I believe Rogue, VAC, others), which has the effect of warming up the sound of the pentode push/pull. I would liken the effect on the musical notes to taking a ball of pizza dough (pentode), and rolling it out (triode). When you hear the two, this seemingly odd reference might make more sense.
As a general rule, I like push/pull for rock/blues, and SET for jazz/classical/vocals/etc. Since having been bitten by the SET bug, I could not be without one. Everything else IMO creates distance between me and the music, as a palpable intimacy is lost without it.
Please excuse my inability to get technical in this realm, but hopefully this description (along with those from others) will help clarify some of the differences.
If I remember correctly, you have Klipschorns, yes? They are a perfect match for SET, which has an intimacy and airyness in the midrange, as opposed to what might be characterized as a tighter, punchier, and less holographic sound in a push/pull amp. There are some who would suggest that XYZ push/pull amp sounds like SET, but personally I've never heard one that mimics SET any more than SS can approximate the sound of tubes. Some push/pulls are either wired as triode (Wright Mono 10's, for example) or switchable into triode mode (I believe Rogue, VAC, others), which has the effect of warming up the sound of the pentode push/pull. I would liken the effect on the musical notes to taking a ball of pizza dough (pentode), and rolling it out (triode). When you hear the two, this seemingly odd reference might make more sense.
As a general rule, I like push/pull for rock/blues, and SET for jazz/classical/vocals/etc. Since having been bitten by the SET bug, I could not be without one. Everything else IMO creates distance between me and the music, as a palpable intimacy is lost without it.