I like amps, dunno why. I'm redecorating. That means new amps and shuffling around the rest. I just picked up 2 more Yamaha M80s to go with the one I already have. I think I'll get an Outlaw Monoblock for the center channel and sell my Anthem PVA5 (if the Yammies sound as good or better).
My second HT system will have a brute of an Onkyo M504 with big power meters on the face, and a pair of Onkyo M282 for a 5.2 channel system.
Perhaps my best sounding solid state system is my upgraded garage system - motivated by a slightly tweaked Kenwood KA9100 silver faced beauty driving a pair of modified Dahlquist DQM905s.
I have nothing against solid state amps, I have 'em coming out of my ears.
That having been said, my favorite system for music is still driven by a 5 watt per channel (in Single End Triode mode) integrated Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT. Sorry if some are tired of or have been misled by such descriptions as "liquid," "smooth," "warm," etc. I agree that these terms attempt to distinguish the quality of the music produced by at least this tube amp. What may be misleading about these terms is the expectation that we are talking about distortion or something "added" to the music.
I did a quick audition for Big Will of this tube amp playing Loreena McKennett's "Elemental." Big Will commented that he thought it sounded very much like a solid state amp. I should have played some other pieces. I have a jazz CD, I think it is one of Noel Jewekes' pieces, anyway, there's a nice double bass fiddle riff, and at one point he THWACKS the string against the fingerboard ... it'll make you jump and it sounds like you just heard it happen in the room. Now, this is not warm or liquid, but rather immediate and realistic. Yet, my tube amp recreates this musical effect, and others, better than any of my solid state driven systems.
For those who think a tube amp "adds" 'warmth' or some other distortion effect to the music, consider the possibility that solid state amps tend to remove some quality of the music.
Now, not all tube amps are the same, and neither are all solid state amps, nor are all violins the same. There are Strads and Guarneri and those made in Taiwan. Ask an accoustical engineer to explain the difference in sound between these different instruments. Think of all the different components, circuit choices, material choices that go into a solid state amp and then wonder at the proposition that all solid state amps with the same specs sound the same.
Most of my music listening is in my office using either a streaming slim server or digital cable source. The office system uses a Sony TA E9000ES (Firmware upgraded to VER 2.50), a Yamaha M80 for the front speakers and 2 Onkyo M282 2 channel amps for the rest. It sounds great. Yes, this sytem puts out more bass than my tube set up because the tube set up uses only a single Vance Dickason Titanic 10" sub and the Office system uses 2 subs, a 1640 watt Klipsch LF10 and a 15" Dahlquist. The solid state system has its "liquid" moments and is not fatiguing in any way. I'd go so far as to say, I love this system and enjoy the music it produces. But, for kicking back with a scotch and water, I have to say, that for me, it is the 5 wpc tubie.
