If Warmth Is a Distortion, Why Do So Many Audiophiles Still Defend It?

Tube vs solid state is a matter of personal taste. The distortion that is mentioned with quality tube integrated, or separates is low enough that the ear does not perceive it as bad unless it gets harsh sounding. By the time that happens the shingles on the roof are rattling lose from the high SPL. :)  It does not take great power for creating great sound. It does take a robust power supply, and quality design, components, engineering. I'm my opinion, tubes have a warmth in the voice range, and and sound in the midrange which usually will be noticeable.

Solid state has the punch, the quick hit with a drum and  speed that seems effortless in music. Probably due to higher damping factors.

I think tubes give flexibility by allowing pre amp or power amp tubes to be changed for different preferences in sound. With solid state "it is what it is" I also think Orchestra music shines more with tubes. Strings have crisp vibe to them. Voices can be velvet , smooth yet detailed.

Rock music, solid state with a pair of JBLs is tough to beat. 

Everyone's ears are different and have individual preferences.

It's all about what you enjoy. My pick is tube.

tomrk   if warmth is a characteristic of music, wouldn't the recording itself have the warmth recorded? 

Isn't the idea of an expensive set of electronics (call it HiFi) to faithfully reproduce what's in the recording? 

World's best microphones are from 1950's. World's best electric guitars are 50's too. They could make good sound electronics. Older recordings have warmth with good mics. Listen to Elvis.

Almost those 70~90 years old good mics are broken now. New mics sound cold, vague, and confused. We must live with bad ear hurting sound mics now. Same for recordings. New mics aren't capable to record warmth well.

Same for hi-fi. The purpose of hi-fi is faithful reproduction of the original sound. However, no hi-fi (regardless of cost) reproduces the original music yet. To my ears, my audio system is the most accurate sound system in the world. Alex/Wavetouch audio

Isn’t the idea of an expensive set of electronics (call it HiFi) to faithfully reproduce what’s in the recording?  

Not really, the overriding goal is increased “engagement” with the music which could be that goal.  

Audiophiles typically seek either “realistic” or “as you like it” Sonics  (like SET amps).

Audio components are not dead neutral, so subjective sonic preferences are important. For instance, after demoing many speakers at many audio show and stores,  you hear a lot of great Sonics but not identical- different “presentations”.  For instance, the speakers that “resonates” with me (pulls me into the music) is Magico and YG. Although I heard Wilson many times, the Sonics never resonates with me - subjective preference.

I find that quality warmth and detail is usually associated with more expensive components, unfortunately for my wallet 

Hello, everybody.

This topic maker has mentioned:

Warmth is pleasant, but it’s still coloration.

Yes, that's true. And, it's also true many audiophile like the sound of WARMTH.

I have enjoyed the warm and smooth sound. Not any more. Whenever I go to music concert, I feel the sound from the concert somewaht harsher. But, the harsher sound is true to the music, and I like it better! Because it is simply more vivid! Some people whose ears are trained by the real concert sound do not much prefer the WARMTH. I am the one of them.

It is because there are as many different concepts of warmth as there are audiophiles.