Your question sounds like a conspiracy theory. I have a Van Alstine Fetvalve 550EX amplifier, a design that uses tubes and solid state. The amp is very transparent, powerful and, above all, has a a very real or live sound. I love tube amps, but there are a lot of trade-offs (less power, high heat output, coloration) that seem to go along with many tube designs. The Fetvalve 550EX doesn't exhibit any of these negatives on my system. Also, since the Fetvalve system is patented (16 patents), I believe this particular design is unique to Van Alstine.
I cut and pasted some of the description from the website:
Our hybrid vacuum tube design sounds so real because it lets the individual gain parts each work in optimum environments. Vacuum tubes are great at manipulating voltages—you can play with 200+ volt signals where transistors would go up in smoke and flames. So, we use vacuum tubes for all voltage manipulations. Vacuum tubes, however, cannot drive difficult loads. They have very limited output current and get in big trouble trying to drive feedback loops, stray internal capacitances, and connection cables. So, we don’t let our tubes see any loads at all. They operate in an idealized mode amplifying voltages only, and do it perfectly.
Power MOSFETs are super current amplifiers. They can control great gobs of current without stress, and when properly selected and used, they perform without needing external compensation, thermal tracking circuits, or VI limiting and protect circuits. So we use all power MOSFETs for current-amplification duties. There is simply no roughness or compression in Fet Valve amplifiers. Our power supply features a shielded toroid power transformer and a regulated 12 volt heater supply for the vacuum tubes. The tubes see no AC ripple at all and thus have vastly extended service lives. There is a separate six-stage power supply for the active circuits with isolated supply sections for each tube and hybrid section of each channel.
Unlike other tube-MOSFET hybrids, our tube sections do not have to directly drive MOSFETs connected to real world loads, thus the tubes never load down as they are doubly isolated from the real world. The promise of true hybrid design is realized in your music system, not just on paper.
Lastly, I recently had my 550HC upgraded to a 550EX. Since I also had my Fetvalve preamp upgraded to T7, it's difficult to tell what is making my system sound so much better (the pre or the amp) but it certainly has been improved in every area. Bass is more powerful, treble is more detailed without any harshness and the overall musical presentation is more realistic (versus the older Fetvalve design). The older Fetvalve design (compared to the newer) was more "tubey" sounding. The upgrades provide more detail and a separation between instruments that seemed to be lacking in the original by comparison.
Lastly, the newer design runs much cooler than the old. My gear has been running for five days, 24 hours per, and has never gotten above warm (say, a warm swimming pool or shower, versus a hot-tub or warmish cup of tea for the older design). The older stuff would run a bit hot. Not "make me some scrambled eggs on that thing" hot like some class A or tube designs, but the metal top of the preamp case would be pretty warm to the touch.
You are welcome to come by with your speakers and check out the Fetvalve (if you are in the IL area). If you find an integrated that outperforms it for less than $3500, please let us know.
Regards,
Jman
Edit: I just noticed that you are in Oregon...too far to come to Chicago for a listen. AVA has a 30 day return policy and the Fetvalve 550EX is not very heavy or expensive to ship. I'd suggest trying it yourself on your system. For the money, I don't know of a better amp. I also believe (based on a brief listening session at my home) the other non-hybrid amps from AVA have much of the performance of the Fetvalve or hybrid designs. If you want a refined, powerful inexpensive hand-made amp, you may want to check out the Omegastar amps from AVA or even an AVA rebuilt Hafler model. I have seen a couple on Audiogon and Ebay for decent prices. All older AVA gear can be upgraded to the latest circuit designs. That's what I did with mine. For $1,100 (there was a summer sale), my older Fetvalve preamp was upgraded to T7 (with a new transformer, all new circuits including new phono preamp and headphone amp and new tubes) and my Fetvalve 550HC was upgraded to the newer EX model. They even replaced the goofy star head screws with standard philips head screws for easier tube swaps. Also, it appears the rubber feet on the older gear was replaced with new feet. I can't recall a more impactful $1,100 spend.
