I believe in technology and so far, SS is coming close to the sound of tube amps. There are current recordings that make the difference almost indistinguishable. However, there is one aspect of tube amps that technology is not able to come close to yet and that is the "feel" of a tube amp. The sag and responsiveness of a tube amp, even those with SS rectifiers, is still something that is missing in SS amps.
Yes. Some companies sell their S/S amps as tube sounding. But there are also companies that veer away from the typical "tube amp sound" and market their amplifiers as dynamic, close to reality description.
I personally think, electric guitars specifically, really need to use tube amps because electric guitars doesn't have a sound on it's own without an amplifier. I mean one cannot play an electric guitar without an amp. This i'm not sure pero since the electric guitar was first used, tube amp na ang kaparehas niya. So tayo, as listeners, would want to hear the electric guitars sa tube amps because "that's the way they sound" for us.
Ako, as a 2 channel hobbyist, i tried to listen to fast music (80's music specifically) using SET amp. Parang hindi ako nababagayan. Pero sa S/S amp, mas-lively siya and masbagay.
Parang turntable and cd comparison for me.
