A tubes vs. Solid State question.

I don't know. Have you tried smashing up your stuff to see what it would sound like?
Just kidding, man. I am definitely with you. I like the way solid state sounds very much.
There are some who say that it shouldn't sound like anything, but obviously, they are different.
I have always prefered solid state to tubes in my stereo equipment. But lately, I have been seeking to make it tube, because mostly I haven't done it yet. For me, in order to really check it out, I have to actually get it.
I already have a tube pre, but I modified it to have the option of being passive, and have been listening to that mostly.
I think a lot of the hoopla is that there are a lot of people out there that would definitely prefer tube, but they haven't tried it, because despite all the talk of tubes, most are solid-state.
But I dig the way good solid state sounds. The tube guys tend to give them a bad rap, but for true harmonic integrity, dynamics, and neutrality, and of coarse, textural complexity, solid state is where to find the best of it.
Besides, I wonder if most tube guys listen to mostly cd's or vinyl?
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-click.

Judit; I just threaded into the quicksilver ls review-It explains my current pre situation.
Besides budget pre's, I haven't really checked out pre's too much. I have never really been a fan of pre's because to me it always seemed like a lot of money to spend on something that is only going to degrade the sound. (I can buy a volume and put it anywhere I want, you know.) I am currently a man without a real power amp, and no dough, so I gotta use what's around the house (a luxman). I got the pre when I tried out some pse studio V's, and found that the input was such that they seemed to need a pre, so I borrowed the quicksilver, and it found a home and the pse's went back.
I remain ready for my christmas check, and enough versatility to try any power amp I might run into to drive a pair of vandy 2ci's, with any length of ic, passive or active. Then, I will decide on whether or not I evan want a pre, or if ss or tube.
Thing is, when it comes to cheaper equipment, I can't stand the distortions caused by tubes, where I can live with the distortions caused by ss. Dynaco's, old marantz, and sorry guys, McIntosh, don't cut it for me. (notice i DID capitalize Mac.) I much prefer older rotel, I'm living comfortably with the luxman, parasound, and the like. But note that these are in the bargain catagory, with of coarse less perfection. Most of the systems that I have heard that stand out in my memory have been tube, so I'm going to aim higher and give it a try.
I have lots of experience with tubes in my guitar amps, being of audiophile sickness, so I am pretty familiar with different tones and distortions associated with tubes. SS in that realm I don't like, and I'm not just being a typical "hip" guitar player. I find ss fatiguing, evan hybrids, and those that I would consider good sounding. In the stereo world, less fatiguing seems to be a buzz phrase for tubes, so perhaps I will discover something to that.