Audiolabyrinth, thanks (I think.) This is one of the joys of tubes for an audiophile...anticipation and interaction, without breaking the bank or going snake oil. I can look forward to hearing the Mullards, and there's three 12AU7 tubes in the circuit I am beginning to research...Mullards or Gold Lions? To me, there is a bliss in the right tube deployment that I've never heard in SS, although I've owned Perreaux, McCormack, and Classe, and auditioned Levinson and Pass.