I would like to emphasize that, while the Chord does not have that last molecule of "reach out and touch it" presence that a great tube amplifier has, I enjoyed it much more than a lot of other solid-state amplifiers I've heard over the years. Am I ready to put my ARC Classic 120s on eBay? Not yet, but if you prefer solid-state sound over tubes and think buying eight pairs of 6550s on a regular basis is a waste of time, you should check out the Chord before you write a check for something else. You will be in good company; major studios like Abbey Road use them for mastering.