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

"Solid state is cardboard or paper mache. Tubes are liquid and human sounding."

That was my (subjective) opinion as well until I heard the Pass XA25 a friend just purchased last week. Paired with his floor standing Omega speakers it sounds lush and gorgeous, even with his Pass SS preamp. 
It sounded even more captivating when we switched in my Aric Audio tube preamp but I thought it got a bit too syrupy for my taste. Really liked that XA25...

That’s the exception that proves the rule. 😛

Dear God....  That staid dogma about tubes Geoff just spouted is such obtuse nonsense! All this magical jazz people attribute to tubes has practically nothing to do with the tubes themselves. It's far more a product of the topology. Plenty of solid state amps make that case. 

I’ve got a chance to buy a brand new, old stock Grant Fidelity Rita 880. I know nothing about it. Anyone know of this model? Any good?
i can get it for about 1/5th original retail. Should I go for it?
jtweed

"Should I go for it?"
Yes!  It reputed to be a very good push pull tube amplifier. Put a tube amplifier in your system, listen and judge for yourself. I believe that you'll like what you hear. 
Charles