I have and I can't. My old roommate was/is off the deep end into that sort of stuff (at least until he got hitched!) and we used to frequent a uber high-end shop out in Rochester. They had some lower end tube stuff, which is to say really high-end consumer stuff there, including the regualar bunch of McIntosh and B&W gear (didn't they used to make amps? or am I thinking of someone else?!).. I was like the poor kid just tagging along w/ mr money-bux, although he couldn't really afford that stuff either. But we did con the salesman into giving us a demo once or twice. It sounds nice, but a solid-state Denon or something is good 'nuf fer this kid..

 

I am sure that if we put you in front of my system and compared my class b Kenwood transistor amp against the Audio Research tube amp I auditioned last year, you could tell the difference. When I came home from the demo I couldn't listen to my system for at least a week, it sounded terrible to me even though I listened to the amp on the very same speaker model I have at home.

 

I've never gotten into the audiophile end of it, but I know the sound of tube guitar amps CANNOT be fully replicated digitally. Its aweful close (hell, I play a digital modelling amp) but the difference is real.

 

I think that is chalked up to a difference between sound production and sound re-production. When you are making music you are usually after a distictive sound, for which I'm sure tubed amps have no equal. But when you're after sound re-production I think solid state does just fine. I'd much rather spend more money on a better solid state amp & speaker combo than get a tubed amp, especially in my budget range (< $2k for both amp and speakers).

I want to hear sound that sounded just like the artist/recording engineer intended.

 

Then you need tube gear and some vinyl. Most insturments don't put out zeros and ones, they put out analog waves. A class A tube amp is going to be much truer to the original signal than a regular class B solid state switching amplifier will be. If you want to go all the way you can get a single ended triode amp which is the simplest topology out there. Only problem is they are very limited on power.

I'm not trying to convince you of anything, nor am I even stating my views. I'm just showing you what the typical argument would be from a tube head.

 

And I don't buy it!

Instruments don't put out zeros and ones, quite true, but what an over-simplification if I've ever heard one! The important part is to reproduce the sound as faithfully as possible w/o introducing any external or new imperfections. And for that I think the solid-state amps do just fine. I refuse to believe that a tubed amp can have a more 'perfect' sound. A 'better' sound perhaps, but not more accurate. I think that 'tube heads' as you call them are not horribly unlike Bose fans. They like the characteristics that a tube amp adds to the listening experience. Be it any imperfections in the frequency response, or the sheer elitism of using a tubed amp.

But whatever floats yer boat! It's your money, do w/ it as you please..

At any rate, I stand by my previous statement that I'd rather spend the money on a better solid-state amp and/or speakers than on a tubed amp.