Ping you need at look at the long term, many start with solid state but eventually almost all move to valve, (does that tell you something about your question) you do not want to play the expensive game of buying and selling to try to end up at Valhalla, just go straight there, via a great production valve amp. and then mod your way to greatness. You can make your amp sound any way you like, once you have a fully understanding of the colorations of the parts you will use. So you need to find out what is a great amp to start with. First we need to know your budget.
Sound sensible approach to me oh holy one.
Best idea is to save yourself a ton of pain and frustration and make a final purchase first.
determine what your final speakers are going to be then get Paul (Falls Audio) to build the
best amp you can't afford, then find, beg, steal or borrow the money to get it. Once you have
your amplification and your speakers right (room also) any source change will instantly let you
know if you are going in the right direction. The bonus is you will have something decent to listen
to and test changes while you sort out your front end. You can start with mediocre gear and try and
make it decent but you better have a very good ear and it helps if your 12 years old when you start
the process. This stuff takes years and an extreme skill level even to get good results let alone
outstanding results. I know what I hear and I know what I like to hear. Just sometimes my system
meets my highest expectations but only sometimes. This is a fuggin tough hobby. You can fcuk about
for years and spend 10's of thousands or much more only to realize that you are chasing your tail and
end up thinking the system you had 5 years ago sounded better (i've been there 3 times)
Save yourself some pain and buy the best you can first is my recommendation.
