@arj
I agree to your assessment. There are SS amps that can voice out like a tube amps and vice versa.
@firearm12
One immediate difference I hear in SS vs tubes is
"depth of stage".
It is more pronounced when there is a tube component in the chain.
Even a simple tube buffer gets this trick done.
At home, I have an AKSA55 (kit amp built out of Hugh Dean's design).
Have compared this amp to the others in my chain with the DAC/preamp being the same.
It is an SS design, but it produces a perceptible depth to the way sound is rendered on the same set of speakers.
Somehow, this sound signature is very relaxing without losing out on any of the PRaT stuff.
When Lyrita Pre is introduced in the chain, the depth becomes more pronounced.
I have heard a few tube preamps that just turn the music into "mashed potato". Definitely not for me.
The channel tubes in Lyrita DHT are 4P1L and these are really lively tubes.
They do HF presence/sparkle quite well without being harsh. Bass and vocals are lovely too.
A poorly designed or compromised tube stage (pre/power or component) can make the sound too "gooey".
In SS designs, I personally don't like overly "analytical/neutral/cold" components.
Cheers,
Raghu