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

I have had both and I am now using Pass Labs XA mono-blocs and I am very pleased with the results. Tubes are fun to play (rolling) with but can require much more maintenance and I can't say they are sonically superior to my Pass XA Mon-Blocs. Pass class A SS better bass control and the XA amps give me that mid to high frequency detail and delicacy I desire.
It really comes down to you the listener as I can certainly understand the desire for vacuum tubes and have considered picking up a Cary 300B integrated for the fun and beauty of a vacuum tube amplifier.
Also I had a power tube let go once and the main fuse didn't blow, there is a reason they call them fire bottles.

Chuck 

Confessions of a former tube roller:

Schubert is right. The cost of tubes can be significant. IMO rolling tubes can be habit forming, but isn’t that part of being a true audiophile, never leaving well enough alone?

If you think the cost of tubes is high, and I’m talking about really good NOS Bad Boys and Orange Globes and Bugle Boys and so forth, wait’ll ya get a load of the cost of tube dampers, especially when you do what I did and use two dampers per tube. That’s right, two! And I’m talking about the Herbies dampers, not the cheap little elastomer jobs that don’t do anything.

It depends.... And nobody should argue with that. 

Unlike solid state, valve owners obsess over their gain devices. A lot of them can tell you how well the devices are paired, how they're biased, what type of devices they are, who made them, and what mode they're operated in. I think if solid state users took that kind of interest in their gain devices instead of obsessing over passive parts like capacitors the opinions might be a bit more balanced. Beyond that, a strong argument can obviously be made for simple topologies which is the rule for tubes. You just can't throw tubes at problems like you can transistors. Simple solid state topologies can be very competitive with tubes if the same attention to detail are applied. 

After years of hearing this debate, I ended up getting a pair of Atma Sphere MA-1's and I have to say they are the finest amps I have ever owned.
As Ralph pointed out, they do get hot, and in summer can challenge the AC system.
So, I also bought a pair of Ayre MX-R's.
I have to say they really give the Atma's a run for the money.
Perhaps it is the zero feedback in both designs. I don't know.

But, at least I can use the tubes in winter and SS in summer.
HTH
Bob