Which is the most tubelike solid state amp around

"Tube-like" means different things to different people. To some, it means exceptional clarity and openness free of grain. To others, it means warm and fuzzy with a softened top end and an overall rounded sound.

Ecka, which definition do you use for "tube-like". Or if neither of mine fit your idea of "tube-like", how do you describe it?

Pass Labs has a clarity and grain-free sound reminiscent of certain modern tube amps I have owned, i.e. VAC and Atma-Sphere. However, the Pass Labs amps don't sound entirely like either tube amp.

So, while the Pass Labs XA-30.5 and XA-60.5 I have heard in my system are in some respects "tube-like", I cannot recommend them as direct replacements for modern tube amps with sonic characteristics like the VAC and Atma-Sphere amps.

Few tube amp owners I have met would be satisfied with a close approximation.

I happen to find the Pass Labs a satisfactory compromise with my present speakers, which to my ears are not driven successfully by tube amps.

MrT, to use adjectives such as "objectionable", "annoying", "aggressive" is to write with subjective imprecision, which you yourself have rejected in statements made in previous threads.

What is "aggressive" in audio terms? "Annoying" to anyone else but yourself? How can one measure something that is annoying to you?

Please be more precise by eliminating adjectives, and by describing your listening experience in objective terms.

The Odyssey Stratos sounds nothing like tubes, IMO.

I owned Stratos Extreme monoblocks.

I think there is a consistent problem of defining tube amp sound characteristics.

Some people consider a tube amp to sound "warm", with rolled off highs, bloomy midrange and a fat, bloated bottom end. Personally, I have never heard a tube amp that sounded like this. All tube amps I have heard either in personal systems, in my system, or at audio shows have had exceptional, grain free clarity. Some have had well controlled bass, and others have not. Most have had a midrange that projects forward and creates a more three dimensional illusion than does a solid state amp.

Using the second definition of the tube amp sound, I cannot say I have heard a single solid state amp that has all the same characteristics. However, of all the solid state amps I have heard, Pass Labs comes closest to possessing the top-end and midrange clarity and grain free characteristics of a good tube amp. Plus, the Pass Labs amps have the added benefit of better controlled bass than most tube amps.