Switching to solid state amp?

We are dealers for Electrocompaniet, whose amps are very tube like. Recently due to a stronger dollar their prices went down. They make a fantastic 250 watt beast of an amplifer the AW 250 and it is both very powerful and very open with a smooth tube like sound. It used to be $9k current price is $7,200.00 and it can drive anything with ease.

So I would add that amp to your list I am also intersted in listening to the Wells they are getting a lot of raves as well. 

As per tubes vs solid state, our reference system went from CJ ART tube amplifiers which are $40k tube amplifiers which are wonderful to the T+A solid state 300 watt amplifier which is a bit higher then your budget at $19k the T+A amp so far has consistantly sounded better than the best tube amplifiers we have tested driving our reference speaker lines, Kef Blades, Paradigm Personas, and the Polymer Reserach MKX-s.

None of the tube amplifiers ever had the slam tha you get from a good solid state amplifier, and todays' best solid state amplifiers have a much more tube like sense of imaging and midrange warmth. 

So for us, we love the new solid state gear. 

Hope that helps.

Dave owner
Audio Doctor NJ

Thanks for your opinion Audio Doctor.  I owned a Electrocompaniet Cdp in the early 2000’s so I am very familiar with their gear.  Wish I could expand my budget to look at the fine T+A  amp.

moscode hybrid, used....

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/tube-amazing-hybrid-power-amp-2017-10-03-amplifiers

It’s solid state output, one that is designed from the ground up...with that tube voltage gain front end (in the amplifier), to match your retained tube preamp.

These amps are ’tunable’.

Hybrids are always on my short list.

At the bottom of the listing is a link to a 6 moons review of the older model.

Read.

It explains why hybrids are in some important and critical ways... ’the only real choice’.

Made the switch 45 years ago with a Sony TA-3200F. Still have it, though regulated to multiamp duty on my 'B' setup. Never had a problem, sounds fabulous. In the heyday of HH Scott, Marantz, Mac etc. it was heralded by all my friends as having the best sound they'd ever heard. There is IMO no point to using tubes unless you like the visual factor. Induce some phase shift in the last 1 1/2 octaves, stay out of clipping and poof, you have that 'warm tube sound'.

As more people learn to use complementary devices (matched pnp and npn transistors), SS sounds better and better.

I say DIY. When you make it yourself, you can use the finest components and still have an almost sane budget, as long as you are prepared to test and discard popular mythology.

YMMV