high power tube amps vs ss

"Does your system belt it out pretty loud and non fatiguing? OR does it seem to be very detailed and airy, but when you turn it up loud, can you listen for long periods?”

Matt, I haven’t heard Al’s Ulysses but I’ve heard the model just under them - the Argos; so I’m very confident that Al’s system would knock your socks off. But additionally, if you ever have the chance to hear a pair of Volti Vittora speakers, I would highly recommend that you take the opportunity; just to finally put to rest, any reservations you might have left, of what a few tube Watts can accomplish with the right speaker.

Al,
Wow, you really listen at very high SPLs.A few days ago a friend and I visited a local jazz club and his phone has an application for SPL measurements. Average volume was roughly 87-92 with drum kit peaks 100-105 (we were very close to the stage) but it was loud (unamplified that night, thakfully).I'd fear for my hearing with those levels at home on a regular basis. Most of my jazz CDs have a range of 25-35 db, but my average listening level is likely noticeably less than yours. I'm very familiar with your VAC REN 70/70 amplifier and it is a classic in my opinion (so is the 30/30 version).There's just something unique and special musically with DHT output tubes, in both SET and push pull mode.
Regards,

Al,
On relatively rare occasions when I crank up the volume it did remain controlled, clear and unstrained in character(95-103 peaks) but I just want to maintain good hearing as long as I can . I'm not getting any younger that's for sure, but my hearing is still quite good.
Charles,

Hearing issues come from sustained high levels, and unlike something like a gunshot next to your head, a short musical burst (from classical music for example) isn't going to hurt you usually...sitting next to a loud drummer might not be a good idea though...I know from what I speak. Also, the "speed" term makes no sense to me when applied to electrical signals flowing through an amp...I wonder if you even CAN measure the speed of a signal from input to output...I want to know if my tube amp is getting musical notes to me in a timely fashion!

Well Wolf, "speed" is another of those audio terms that is hard to define other than to say you certainly recognize it when you hear it. Much of it to my ears is MOST readily recognized in large scale acoustic and choral music with wide and varying dynamic shadings and tones. A "fast" amp seemingly resolves the leading edges of instruments without softening or rounding off, an effect I hear primarily with OTL tube amps, a greater transparency and resolution of all the musical information on the recording. The ability to resolve dynamic shadings without the sound congealing or dynamics compressing. Now as noted by Charles1dad there are amps that are considered "fast" in this manner but miss the subleties of tone and true and accurate pitch of instruments which can, to my ears, lead to fatigue. When the pitch of instruments sounds natural and more like what you hear live and the subtle dynamic shadings and sense of space is preserved, it just sounds more real.

A good test is listening to large scale music at lower volumes and hearing all the information, including bass, preserved as it is at higher volumes. This is definitely an area where "fast" OTL tube amps excel over most if not all transformer coupled tube amps and SS.