Tube versus solid state amps (the cheap ones!)

Q: How does a cheap tube amp like the Darkvoice 336SE compare to a cheap solid state amp like the Schiit Magni?

A: You cant really compare solid state and tube amps, since their sound profiles are entirely different.

If you want neutral sound (or relatively neutral sound), reliability, and true value for money I would say always go with solid state  (Magni, O2, etc.) over a tube amp.

If you want the warm tubey sound at a budget, then before you pull the trigger on a budget tube amp, you should probably also think about how much you will need to factor in for tube rolling. DarkVoice tubes are cheaper than, say those for McIntoshes, but keep in mind that something like a Shuguang Treasure CV181 will cost you upwards of $100 so after swapping the stock tubes you may be really looking at closer to $350-500 than $250. At that price point, Magni isn't really a comparable amp anymore from a price perspective, IMO you should now be looking at a totally different tier of solid state amps.

If you just want to get into tube amps for the rolling experience more than anything else, tube rolling for a Little Dot mk3 works out better than a DarkVoice 336SE because tubes are relatively cheaper and you have more variety.

Q: But doesn't a tube amp better than a solid state amp? After all, tube amps have variations in their sound when you put in different tubes but all solid state amps pretty much sound the same?

A: I don't know if tube amps are better or worse than solid state amps, just that they are different.

There is a lot to be said for solid state amps, for example: quality solid state components cost much less than quality tube components, solid state components are more reliable than tubes, and they are more efficient. If you are buying your first amp, you should probably get a solid state instead of a tube amp unless you are very sure that you want tube sound.

If you are a "purist", i.e. what you want to hear is the source file without coloration or added tonality, then you should not go down the tube route since you are sure to be disappointed. If you want the coloration, tubes give you pleasing distortion and the ability to "tune" that distortion by swapping tubes.

"Better solid state" is not necessarily "the same sound, just better". The quality of solid state components do make a difference acoustically, to some degree (like noise floor, THD, etc.) But you are right that the difference between, say a Magni and an O2 is not as vast as the difference between, say a Schiit Valhalla and a Little Dot.