Quote Originally Posted by oldius View Post
True Marco. However, budgets often only allow us to hear products at a certain level. At that level, it's worth hearing a range of equipment to determine our preference, in our own context which may be far from optimal.
Completely agree, Geoff, which is why it's always good to bear the latter in mind. I think it's fairly safe to say that you're more likely to hear a good SS amp, than a valve one, simply because the former are generally easier to make sound good, and often rather more cheaply, too!

Marco.