I concur with all of these observations.
The only type of equipment that I’ve found generalizations to somewhat apply are speakers – i.e. Horns, Boxes, Planars, Open Baffles, low efficiency et al. I’ve been a fan of panel type sound since my first high-end system in the 70’s. Although I’ve listened to far too many speakers to enumerate, after Apogee’s, I’ve ended up with electrostatic’s – Martin Logan upstairs and SoundLab Majestic 845’s in the 2-channel room. I also have an affinity for horns and open baffles. Boxes are fine, but not my cup of tea. It’s all about personal preferences, not someone else’s opinion.
With that said, tubes can sound like solid state and vice versa. Their design, implementation and their downstream components are everything!! They simply must be auditioned with your components and in your room. Preferably, with several other pre-amps of various types and especially from various designers.
Hence, my suggestion is not buy into the tube vs ss – one is better than the other; sounds like this – debate! They aren’t and they don’t, depending on who designs them and the various components in the chain!