Buying Tubes Again; Maddening

Test on why audiophiles, the overwhelming majority of whom are male, are still using tubes.

A. Tubes sound a lot like boobs.

B. Look at all the pretty lights!

C. I wouldn't know what else to do with all the money I spend on them.

D. I really hate myself but I'm not into self mutilation so I'll buy these things instead.

E. All the above.

While I am a SS user I used tubes when I started; it seems tubes do not last the way they use to; after all the world use to run on tubes and they were not always failing. While some designs do seem to overstress their tubes in an effort to wring the last bit of performance out others use them within what should be consistant with long life. My tube using friends are always complaining about how often they have to replace them so the problem appears to be widespread. Pardon the levity I injected at the beginning of the thread.

I got my first SS amp in 1963 and never went back; I don't want it to sound like tubes but like music. The tube amps I used were mainly Dynaco but I have occasionaly tried out others over the years and have heard quite a few on others systems. My CJ 350 or Meridian 605s have excellent bass, good but not bright highs and a transparent midrange. I usually find tube pre amps too bright and lacking in bass and detail; I have not heard the AR Ref series or top CJ pre amps and they are out of my price range anyway. But I recently compared my MF Kw line stage to a $6k tube one and the consensus was that it was better. My Spendors could be driven by tubes but my Gamut would be difficult for all but the biggest tube amps and they take a lot of power and go below 3 ohms. I simply like the sound of SS better but have no problem with anyone who likes tubes better; apparently some took my humor seriously. I do have a problem with some designers; they do fail to respect the tube as mentioned above in that they use it outside the range in which it will have a normal life span. I don't care how good it sounds, if it is not reliable or requires constant retubing then it is not a good design. It is like a car that can go 0 to 60 in three seconds but will not go over 500 miles without breaking down.