A little bit to the side but on the topic of tube amps, especially seeing as a few musicians have brought up guitar amps....I usually have my Event Audio 20/20 speakers being run by my Class D Audio SDS 470-C power amp. Digital audio input via a MOTU 828X. I record and mix via this system as well as do my pleasure listening. Good enough for my ears battered by years of stage volume. The other day I realized that I had never tried playing recorded music through my Mesa Boogie 50/50 6L6 powered stereo power amp. Eventually found the cables I needed , hooked it up and as I had just been listening to "Up From The Skies" from "Axis Bold As Love" by Jimi Hendrix I hit play again and was immediately intrigued. I went back and forth between the 470-C and the 50/50 several times and it was undeniable. There was a clarity to the mid range with the 50/50 that was amazing! Noel Redding is playing a simple two note bass line mostly and I could hear so much more of the attack of each note. It sounded so much more like my bass player was sitting in the studio with his amp. There's a sound that fingers on bass strings make that's unmistakable. Never heard that on the 470-C. Really clear on the 50/50. Now the bass on the 50/50 was crap. No amount of tweakage between the preamp and the amp could keep it from distorting at good listening levels. But that mid range! Such clarity and depth.
I'm not an audiophile but I do a lot of critical listening and I'm suddenly wondering what I've been missing without a good tube power amp to drive my monitors. There are a lot of times I'm struggling to hear some difference between components. Not this time. Even my tired old ears could not deny it. So I guess the moral of the story is I'm looking for a decent tube amp to power my monitors now. Are 6L6 tubes just not up to the task or is it just the amp design?