The ups and downs of tube vs. SS...

Two audio shows really shaped my opinions on tube gear.  One was a single ended symposium put on by Stereophile mag in the early-mid 90's in Philadelphia and it was the first time I heard SET gear.  That day I heard 845 amps, 300b, 211, and 2A3 amps from very well known designers.  They were all incredible sounding but the one that caught my ear the most was the least expensive and lowest powered amps the FI 2A3 monoblocks.  At 3 wpc, they were able to fill a 40 x 40 room with 104 db horn speakers.

Several years later, I went to another show in Central NJ sponsored by Vacuum Tube Valley magazine.  That day I heard great solid state systems, several digital class D amps w/tube preamps and many different tube amps both push pull and single ended.  I heard KT88, 6550, EL34, 6L6, 6BQ5, 6BG4 tubes in push pull and 300B, 2A3, 45, 50, 10 SET amps and again, to my ear, the best sounding was the lowest powered amps.

In PP, I thought the best was a moded Dynaco ST70 using 6BG4 in PP triode for 12 wpc along with an 18 wpc Dyna mk II which used 6BQ5 tubes; however, my overall favorite was the very low powered SET amps that were 2-3 wpc.  

Of course it's all about system synergy in every system you put together.  In the 5-7K range, I would tell you to spend about 2-2500 on a 45 or 2A3 amp and a nice pair of single driver Omegas and just save the rest of the money as I don't believe spending double will get that much better.  The 300B amps will get you double the power but replacing 300Bs can get very expensive.  

Keep us posted on what you end up with

@schubert Thanks for the reply which reinforces even more that there is no size fits all in the debate. The SP-T700's sound superb with rockier material, especially Americana, Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle etc. No doubt ancillory equipment, Speakers, Power, Cables, matching etc. room, differ. This is why there is no definitive.

So to the OP, as you can see there are too many factors to rule out either topology, and as you've just seen musical preferences can be a big factor.

If finances allow get both!

I agree with jsm71, pick your speaker first keeping in mind that the more inefficient the more power required from the amp. Not only that but impedance dips may further require more current demands from the amp. I personally prefer speakers that are efficient making low to medium tube amps an ideal match. Yes, some ss amps can sound very good but the better ones, to my ears, are either lower powered class A designs, or for greater power requirements, Class A/AB. Neither of those choices, the best examples, are cheap but can sound excellent. 

The fact that you have to replace tubes is part  of the deal. If you don't want to bother, you go ss or go with a tube design that have long life outputs, i.e Berning, Music Reference, many SET designs, my ancient McIntosh MC-60s and many others.  Remember this as part of the debate, do you ever hear "great tube amp that reminds you of the best SS designs" the best complement for either might perhaps be "this design really make the debate of ss vs tube a moot point". All said and done I am still in step with my monikor, ymmv.   

Tweed,
Tubegroover makes two really salient points,
1 Proper speaker and amplifier mating is mandatory, it truly is the metaphorical marriage. A high  quality tube amplifier can sound poor with the wrong speaker choice.

2 There are definitely tube power amplifiers that are very easy on tubes and there are tube with inherently long tube life. In some cases you can go years before having to change these tubes. For one example I currently use a tube (EML XLS 300b) where older versions are approaching 40,000 hours of use and yet continue to test new! That’s a lot of years of music loving enjoyment 😊. I believe for another example that the Atnma-Sphere OTLs provide long tube lifespan. These in addition to what Tubegroover mentioned above.
Charles