effect of tubes in cd players

tube cd players will have much more air and less congestion in the highs. To me this is a bid deal.

There are some players that can be switched between solid state out and Tube stage out.. I know Cary makes a couple and there are some other ones as well, but I can't think of them. I have found solid state digital running thru a tube preamp the best overall balance..

10-24-06: Undertow
There are some players that can be switched between solid state out and Tube stage out.

Shanling SCD-T200 is another.

Some of the Consonance also let you switch between tube and SS.

I have a Granite CDP with both a SS output and a tubed output played through the same DAC . I have also auditioned a Cary player set up the same way . Both can do an A/B on the fly , very easy to hear the differences . This type of dual output CDP is really the only way to discern the differences between the two types .
First , you need to have a fairly resolving system to be able to hear the difference .
Second , the difference is not night and day . The SS side is a little more extended and dynamic .
Of course that means that the tubed side will be a little rolled off and be just a tad warmer .
While I have the option of either way , I prefer the SS side .
Again the difference is not significant .
I hope that this helps .