I wouldn't be able to compare a regular Line 3 and an SE because I had mine originally built to the SE specs before they were available and have only known it this way. About 6 months or so before the SE upgrade was introduced my dealer told me about all the above (SE) upgrades he had had SF do for his personal unit [and it sounds much better....] so "why don't you do the same..." which I did. The only significant differences from your $899 upgrade is that mine came with 12 x Valvo ECC88's [instead of the Teslas]; Rel-Cap interstage coupling capacitors; and instead of the Kimber wire I use all Harmonic Technology speaker wires and interconnects so I had all the input and output wiring changed to silver Harmonic Technologies.Oh, and I paid more than the $899 to have it done! But it has been a really wonderful staple in my system. I can't praise its virtues enough and couldn't be happier without investing a lot more. I'm sure there's plenty out there these days which are exceptional too, but when you factor in all its features, user friendliness/versatility in addition to its sound... (not to mention build quality and reliability), it makes for a formidable piece of equipment. That all said, if I were you I would probably ask about the price difference if you chose to use your own tubes, it's worth the inquiry.My vote is "it's so much pre already, it's still worth putting a little more $$ into..". IMHO. Good luck.Happy Lissnin.