Tube or solid state

Yes, definitely tastes change over time. I climbed mountains, jumped out of airplanes, and dove below 120’ in the ocean. As I got older I more in tune with more subtle and nuanced sound. Street racing of one’s youth becomes a passion for high performance Farari and Maserati later in life… one learns. I don’t like cars… but Kurt Vonnegut has been replaced by Tolstoy and Henry James for sure. Onkyo replaced by Audio Research.

i like the tubey sound of the rega brio amp. unfortunately the little thing runs at least as hot as real tube equipment. but it sounds sweet. 

Solid state.  Based on my amplification (Yamaha RX-Z9 in Pure Direct vs Melton P/P KT-88s) the highs are so much crisper and articulated through the Great Heils.  Levels are matched to within 0.1 dB.

https://youtu.be/HTxZJBoOywM

https://youtu.be/FDIu2BFbt-Q

https://youtu.be/W66SQS1wDUA

https://youtu.be/ZxhDJ_eOlYw

So much of it all comes down to your budget. I’ve had numbers of tube amps That I’ve loved like the VTL Ichibon’s however, I don’t want that much heat and tubes to maintain. I use an auto bias S 200 amp now and I’m thrilled with the push button ease You’re never gonna get the holographic sound out of solid state that you get out of tubes. A good newer, Pre Amp, like a Conrad Johnson ET5 or something that has one tube is perfect. In my mind. I still have solid state back ups but there’s no need to run those amps unless I have catastrophic failure &  less is more with regard to Tube’s. Something that has for kt120 tubes is plenty but it’s also all about matching as I don’t like EL34 tubes with my Harbeth. It’s too Syrupy, but with horns, it would be great My gear plays rock ‘n’ roll. Perfect but I have a nice Rel sub to tighten that bottom end. Enjoy whatever you do

Been  listening to tubes exclusively since the early 90s.

Tried other tube amps, but kept going back to my EL34 integrated,

Just over a year ago, started listening to SS amps. Kept going back to the EL34 as it just sounded better than anything else I tried.

Built a pure Class A 30 watt power amp, and put a single ended tube pre in front of it. 

Since I finished the power amp, it has been in my system and I have zero desire to put the tube integrated back in. 
 

When I get a fresh set of EL34’s, I’m going to put it back in and have another listen and see how I feel about it.