inna, as has already been opined, there is a fundamental difference in the sound of tube devices vs solid state. It is true that as one gets closer to the SOTA in either technology that difference becomes more and more subtle; the two will tend to sound more and more alike. However, to my ears that fundamental difference in sound still remains to a lesser degree. Whether one sonic signature is “better” than the other to your ears is a personal call. To my ears good tube (pre)amplification tends to preserve more of the qualities that I care about most in the sound of live music: closer to correct timbre, dimensionality and tonal density of images; and, most important to me, micro dynamics that are more realistic which is what gives music a sense of aliveness. However, as has also been pointed out, tubes can be a pain. Totally worth the effort to me.