The problem I have had with valve amps is not with the amp per say but with the so so quality of the valves available today. Not near as reliable as those made back in the 50's-60's-70's. The biggest difference I've noticed between Valve and SS is more of how they respond to my playing and not so much as to how they sound. They just feel different and they both take some getting use too. I've settled on a lightweight SS amp (Ampeg PF-500) Once I got use to how it responded to my playing I'm just fine with it. It is all about figuring out how you, your guitar, and your amp all work together. Is Valve better than SS, NO they are just different. As for a 300 watt valve amp sounding louder than a 300 watt SS. The answer is YES and the reason for that is the Valve amp can operate at 300 watts and can be pushed into soft clipping which sounds louder because of the changed harmonic content, while this sound is distorted it is still musical. The SS amp has no soft clipping sound like a valve. When it is pushed into clipping it get real ugly real fast. But, valve amps tend to top out at 300-400 watts and SS bass heads 800-1000.