high power tube amps vs ss

I'd see tubes as having a low to moderate power (2 output tubes per channel) amplifier paired with efficient speakers and priced substantially bellow solid state gear. I've seen excellent vintage set ups that do not rip your wallet and sounding FANTASTIC.

I wholeheartedly agree with Charles1dad and others with like opinion who caution about amp/speaker compatibility. There's a thread running now about high current SS amps versus tube amps. Read the posts. There are some very excellent comments and much to learn. Suffice to say that the decision to invest in a quality tube amp is not just plug and play. Just read the OP. I don't have the energy to rehash all the issues again. But trust me, it's not just about tube warmth versus SS this or that. There are serious electrical issues at play.

Grannyring,
I believe you'd really like a high efficiency speaker with a low or moderate power(but high quality built) tube amplifier. You would appreciate the natural sound.
Regards,

I second the comments that have been made by several people to the effect that the answer to the original question is speaker dependent.

Winggo, I see that in a thread you started about a year and a half ago you mentioned having a pair of AR9 speakers. If those are the ones in question, given their vintage (1970s), their modest 87 db efficiency, their nominally 4 ohm impedance, and their high power handling capability, it is safe to assume that they were designed with solid state amplification in mind.

As some of the others have said, the suitability of using high powered tube amplification will be significantly dependent on how the impedance magnitude and impedance phase angle of the speaker vary as a function of frequency. I couldn't find any indication of the speaker's phase angle characteristics, but according to this review their impedance magnitude is generally between 3 and 5 ohms, with peaks of 10 ohms at 750 Hz and 8 ohms at 27 Hz. In comparison with a solid state amp, a tube amp will tend to give slightly more emphasis to frequencies in those vicinities.

Another point I would make is that IME a forte of tube amplification tends to be imaging and dimensionality. Although I have no basis upon which to be certain, my suspicion is that that is not a strong point of these speakers, and that potential benefit of tube amplification would likely be wasted on them.

My bottom line guess is that these speakers would do reasonably well with something like one of the higher powered Rogue Audio tube amplifiers, but you would be likely to do just as well if not better with a somewhat lower priced solid state model.

Regards,
-- Al

Schubert point taken and the reverse holds true as well. Maybe I am satisfied because I have really not delved into NOS tubes and so don't know enough not to be satisfied. I concede that is entirely possible but I am happy, and less broke, in my ignorance. Cheers.