Tubes vs Ttansistors or is it just active component count?

Today a single ended PCL86 power amplifier was connected to the linoleum Pleiades Auratone 5C type monitoring small cube speaker.


Sound was worse than expected.


Treble was great.
Mid was reasonant.
Bass left something to be desired.


Then the speaker was carried to the smaller reverb room and played with the one transistor Pleiades 2N3055 power amp.
The sound is warm, natural, extended in bass, great mid, great treble.


Could it be that it does not matter if it is transistor or electron tube?


Could it be that what matters is the simplicity of the circuit or in better words the active device component count? Or total component count including passive, active components?


Yes the single ended PCL86 is pentode output, there is a triode driving it. There is an output transformer giving together with electron tube output impedance a -3dB point at the left side of the spectrum.


The Pleiades 2N3055 is single stage direct coupled ie frequency response of amp goes down to 0Hz.


Having said that, the Heathkit AA-32 sounds very nice too although it has more than one electron tubes in the signal path.