"Vote" Solid State or Tubes..Which one is your Favourite?

You need to add a vote for the tube Sound Quest Sq-84 V2. 

 

http://www.questforsound.com/amps/amps_sq84-V2.htm

 

They say Denons sound better with solid state, but my Sq-84 sounds great with them.

 

 

 

Also, to make your solid state group complete I'd add a Blue Circle HPT. 

 

 

http://www.bluecircle.com/index.php?page_id=9388

 

Your poll seemed to have copied a couple of them.  Favorite amp for?

Edited by HeatFan12 - 9/10/10 at 3:13pm

I'd pick the M^3.

It is an excellent design and has an active ground, the same way a three channel Beta22 does. I also think a M^3 is worth buying because it would support the small manufacturers and the DIY community. It might not be obvious amid the marketing hype and constant FOTMs, but it is the DIY community that advances amp design in the headphone community.

Most of the inexpensive tube amps cut too many corners. If you look, there's plenty of information about power supplies and construction technique for tube amps. You'll see where some really fall down on design and execution. Solid state costs much less to do right, and the M^3 is a great design.

The Dynalo is also very good, but I'd be tempted to buy two of those, bridge them, and make a Dynamid.

I haven't heard all those, but of them, I personally would pick the AudioTailor Jade. It sounded good with a wide variety of headphones.

Voted Dynalo.  I would actually pick up the HA-006++ or a HeadAmp if you can find one used though.

I have never heard any of them. 

um isn't this supposed to be in the amp section. very interested in the results though 

 

I have only heard a few of those. If I was buying an amp today for Grado or the Senn HD580/600 I would go for a Mapletree Ear+ HD or an older Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 w/ the PinkFloyd Mods. The first would be under $1000 and the second if I did the mods myself for under $400 including a Little Pinkie PSU. A Blue Circle would also be an excellent solution.

I voted jade. It sounds very good for the money. Like Uncle Erik said about inexpensive tube amps, it does cut corners. But that don't always translate into poor performance or reliability.  One amp that's in the same price range that I think sounds even better is the ming da mc84 c07. That amp sounds better to me than many much more expensive amps I've listen to. I would recommend that over any tube amp below 500.00.

Deceptive poll. I thought it was a poll between tubes and ss, not a random sampling of only a handful of amps, none of which I've ever heard.

I haven't heard those amps.  Which amp you choose depends a lot on what phones you will drive with it, and some of my favorites are tube and SS.  I don't think one is better than the other if designed properly.

I haven't heard any of these except for the Mini^3. M^3 is awesome though! Not my kind of amp, I like a more laidback and relaxed sound, but this one has a really good sound for it and sometimes I crave for this kind of sound.