It would be an interesting survey to see how many forum members have solid state electronics and how many have tube electronics.
I have solid state, for a few reasons. First, and possibly most important, I haven't found tube gear in my price range that can handle the microdynamics of large scale orchestral music correctly. I haven't looked extensively either, but I did do an extended AB comparison (and this means listening to the same material for extended periods of time - after a while the sonic signatures of a piece of gear become absolutely clear, but it has to be done for extended periods) of a $6K integrated tube amp from a well regarded manufacturer to solid state gear in the same price range. The tubes excelled in musical continuity of say, small combo jazz, and acoustic guitar, but failed to be fast enough for a Mahler symphony. A retailer I know said that you have to go up in the world to get this kind of performance from tubes, and demonstrated a $15K Air Tight system to me, which was amazing, and did handle it all.
I haven't looked into SETs either, simply because the speakers I tend to prefer (and this is the most personal choice in audio, I think) use more power than SETs provide.
Secondly, there is the hassle factor for tubes- I have always worried about getting replacements, you have to warm up your system, tubes denigrate over time, etc.
Of course, RTR has a big hassle factor, too! Anyway, I will be getting my first tube gear when I can put together the $$$ for mods to my Technics and a tape head amp.
Who knows, what day you might walk into my place and see tube gear everywhere as well.
