Solid State for Rock and Tubes for Jazz, Yes or No

Assuming that the amp-speaker combination is basically compatible, one can get better dynamics and "slam" from tube amps than solid state. Try an OTL amp, you will be shocked at how much more lively such amps will sound than a solid state amp at the same average volume level. Solid state amps can provide a lot of power and can be made to play at loud levels, but, most sound dynamically flat at lower volume levels compared to a good tube amp, particularly OTL and SET amps (assuming the speakers are efficient enough for the very low powered SET amp).

While not reaching deep, and often not being able to do the room shaking thing, I like the bass from SET amps--it is tunefull, varies with the qualities of the particular music (does not sound generic or the same all the time), and natural. The bass on solid state amps can also sound very good. I know it is a generalization, but, I often have more issues with tube pushpull amp bass--everything seems to sound the same--punchy, but, sort of uniformly so.

Charles1dad makes allot of sense to me. But I think he paints with to broad a brush with his last sentence about tube amps. Natural and believable bass is a product of the ears and experience of the designer and how he implements those designs. I think by now we have all heard excellent and compelling bass from both technologies. It's really hard to pick a clear winner, at best, all you can do is choose the one you prefer.

Larryi's post makes me think that this is not as simple as tube v. solid state. There are topologies to also be considered. In the tube world, there is SET, push-pull, and OTL. In addition to triode, pentode and ultralinear designs (some tube amps have switches to select between these).

In the SS world, there are Class A, AB and D designs.

All of these have their own unique advantages and disadvantages, and each will work better with certain speakers than others. No one size-fits-all solution exists.

Walsh type speaker drivers might be unique in terms of how high damping
affects the sound.

If you read up on lincoln walsh's design, you find walsh drivers operate as
a transmission line based on walsh's experience withradar systems in
ww2. Also, they are mounted vertical not horizontal and gravity
becomes more of a factor. I think the high damping helps the
transmission line principle function better to deliver better detail and
accuracy overall, not just nuanced and well controlled bass.

hi tmsorosk,
Actually I agree with you, most everything we state concerning audio is just based on our individual experiences and and the conclusions we form as a result. What I wrote is just my personal account and impression of my reaction to different amplifier types and not a universal proclamation to be accepted by everyone else.

Chad,Atmasphere, Larryi and others have noted findings same as my own, so I could relate to their points .Larryi`s satisfaction with SET amplifiers is something that I discovered several years ago and would not had thought possible prior to this exposure. OTLs also work great for some with the right speaker choices.

There`s no question there are a number of paths to achieve exceptional bass. I just think some are unaware of the very sucessful method available with high efficiency speaker and tube amps with low DF.This is counter to conventional wisdom.

Regards,