What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

Rebbi, As for stepped attenuators you can also check out Goldpoint. Around $150. As mentioned above it is one of the most important parts of your amp.
Jet.

Thanks for all the good wishes and feedback, folks.

Corresponded with Brian again. (Very nice, very enthusiastic guy, by the way.)

I was confused at first because the web site says that the kit comes standard with Mundorf gold/silver/oil caps. Brian apologized and said that's an error on the site that he'll get fixed. The kit comes standard with Mundorf Supremes and the two upgrades they offer are the Mundorf Silver/Gold/Oil (which I'm getting) or the AN Copper. I checked on Partsconnexion.com and the Mundorf Supremes go for about $15 each but the Silver/Gold/Oils go for about $60 each... bottom line is he's giving me about an $80 discount off retail on the better caps.

As for the volume attenuator, it's going to have to wait. I really do have to stick to my budget. As I'm sure some of you can relate, this audio adventure takes place in the context of a family that needs to be sheltered, educated, clothed and fed. ;-)

I mentioned upgrading the volume pot to Brian and he said that it's about a $200 upgrade and that I should just talk to him when I'm ready to do it but that it's "not worth it now." Also, the kit comes with a nice PCB for the stock pot, which he recommends for a first-time install.

Ah, and one other interesting wrinkle. I see that Partsconnexion offers bundled upgrade kits for AN kits. For example, there's this Kit 1 tube upgrade bundle:

300B-Z Shuguang Treasure
6SN7 (CV181, ECC32)
Sylvania 5U4G/VT244 (NOS)
5687 Tungsol (NOS)

Bundle price: $536.18, about $95 off retail

Rebbi,
Brian sounds like a fair and reasonable person. If the budget is tight currently that's understood. It certainly isn't a life or death matter to get all upgrades at once, there's plenty of time. The point is that you're starting with a very solid foundation with a proven product, you did well. Okay, time for some NFL fun.For the 3 games today I'm picking Lions,Cowboys and Seahawks.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, Charles. Not a big football fan (which, here in Texas, is heresy) but do enjoy your day and thanks for all your help and advice. :-)