I hate to say it, but now I think maybe I like my amp in ultralinear mode versus triode

That is hardly all that you said, but I appreciate the back pedal. We will agree to disagree and leave it at that, logical fallacy, or no.

From a design perspective, ultralinear taps must be added to an output transformer at the manufacturing stage. They have a cost associated with them, a PP output transformer designed strictly for triode operation would be less expensive without the UL winding. So if the manufacturer spends the extra money for a UL winding they would, seemingly, have optimised it for the tube type and circuit.

No back pedal. I’ve told the forum what I said; please tell tell us what you think I said.

@ghdprentice: I, and presumably atmasphere, and all other rational thinkers, would rationally conclude that your amps are optimized for triode topology...and, necessarily, that the ultralinear topology was added, presumably as a gimmick, to presumably, attract more purchasers. Let’s hope so anyway, as the other option is that the amps are not optimized for either topology and that you and the other folks just like the same not optimized topology over the other not optimized topology.

That is exactly what you said.

So if the manufacturer spends the extra money for a UL winding they would, seemingly, have optimised it for the tube type and circuit.

@viridian This assumes that the manufacturer knew about the patent and designed according to it rather than the tradition that developed trying to get around it. In a way, David Hafler might be the one responsible for that; he was one of the inventors when he was at Acrosound, to whom the patent was assigned. When Hafler moved to Dynaco the patent didn't go with him but he knew full well how to get around it. So its reasonable to assume that Dynaco OPTs are not optimized.

So a rational thinker, in possession of that knowledge, might conclude that the UL taps were improperly placed, causing the triode setting to work better. However, a rational thinker might also wonder if the OPT had windings to accommodate the difference in the plate load impedances required since that value for a given tube is different for a pentode as opposed to the same tube wired in triode.

I'm certainly wondering that. Whether I'm a rational thinker is another matter.

@emergingsoul , at on or about the 16th reply to this thread, at my request, @mulveling  did provide a description of the different (triode, ultralinear, and pentode) topologies..

@mulveling 

Out of all the possible questions to be asked on this forum, this is one I would never have expected before now. No, UL is not solid state. And it’s about as much a marketing term as "gravity" or "electromagnetism".

You have a way with words.