I've been thinking quite a bit about a comment from alwayslearning, above. This is regarding his preference for tubed gear over solid state, citing a particular distraction on the reference track of hearing the (unrelated?) nonmusical sounds of the performers going about their necessary human business.
I consider myself to be a fan of the sound tubes can provide, if not their idiosyncrasies which range from humorous to agonizing. Yet, this comment gave me pause. Of course, honest retrieval of these types of noises is a great goal of audiophilia, right? Hearing audience members shifting in their seats on a recording is a memorable event, markable on the calendar. Yet, here is an experienced audiophile citing same as a distraction from the musical message.
The Red Wine Audio Signature 70 monoblock amplifiers in question have been hailed as SET solid state. But, I don't think anyone at the Sunday session confused the RWAs with the Yamamoto - they have important, divergent musical traits. My opinion is they share many skills as well.
Grain, especially in the treble region, is often aligned with solid state amplifiers by tube-o-philes. The Signature amps are utterly smooth. Tubes can be most adept at riding the nuance of instrument. A saxophone note quavers and darts in a split second. Lithe tracking of faint transitions is a major advantage of tubes which most solid state gear cannot match. Again, the Red Wine amps give up nothing to a great tube amp here.
These two similarities are significant and by themselves make the Signature amplifiers a big step toward creating a Great Tube Experience without the glowing bottles (hey, the red power lights kind of glow though).
Now, the differences: Properly implemented, tubes have something of a quirky artificial intelligence. Not everyone will appreciate it. They *decide* what is important and emphasize that. Minor sounds and details are shuffled backward or off the stage entirely and the lead singer or guitarist is pushed to the front. Dynamic contrasts between main and ancillary performers is accentuated, which has an immersive and powerful effect.
A related phenomenon is their rubberband effect. The transient strike is, to varying degrees, recessed. It might not be noticeable without direct comparison. Then, they make up for that lag with a jump through the power of the note, with a languid and lingering finish.
These two elements combine to serve an intimate and addicting version of the performance. While details might be softened or lost, the overall performance, the meat of it, may be heightened. The Red Wine amps don't do this, taking neutral ground and serving all the detail, albeit in proper context.
These are gross generalizations. They do describe my experience with these amplifiers though.
Chasing detail can be exciting. Right now, I'm listening to Patricia Barber's sublime Cafe Blue. On the Red Wine amps, the band is kept together tightly and all parts are in step even in the chaos this band dips into from time to time. It is wonderful. Yet, on the last CD, JJ Cale with Eric Clapton - The Road to Escondido, I was thinking the cymbals were too prominent and somewhat hard. Last week when the Yamamoto was in the system this was less of a concern.
In pursuing neutrality and detail, honorable though that may be, recording quality becomes increasingly important. These traits punish poor recordings more severely than systems directed at tonal development and dynamics. The latter seem to bring the best out of what's on the record where the former exposes the nits.
Both can sound great. Followers of the respective camps can rightfully fault the other. As with everything audio, it's about learning what you value First, then following that vision.