How important is it for you to attain a holographic image?

The cleartop RCA 12AU7 was made in abundance.  It was used in many electric organs in the 50's and 60's, often rebranded.  Great tube for cheap price.

fleschler, I didn't know they were in abundance; that explains the relatively cheap price. Since I have several pieces of equipment that can use them I will stock up.

We have a tendency to think more expensive things sound better; I needed a 12AU7 and found one that didn't have the brand on it; just 12AU7 made in the USA. I put it in and was shocked at how good it sounded, I believe it sounded as good as a NOS Mullard, which costs much more.

If we judge by the audio alone, as opposed to the name, we can save a lot of money.

Yes, and my large O getter and D getter Amperex 6DJ8s from the 50s were labeled Hewlitt Packard.  I bought them for $80/pair nearly NOS (measured new).  They are great tubes for the EAR Acute CD player.  Others prefer NOS old Siemens or pinch waist Amperex/Philips.  The latter tubes are a lot more expensive.  

@ orpheus10, yes there is a tendency to ubiquitously promote the idea that more expensive is necessarily better in all areas of life, not just audiophilia.

In my experience it's true but only to a point. I mean if someone can build a decent pair of speakers for $100 then what should we expect for $200, or $400, or $800 or even $1600 etc? I'd even argue that once you get past the optimum point of value you sometimes find the audio quality starting to rapidly decline as the manufacturer struggles to make their product sound unique - but usually in a worse way. I'm not sure if any loudspeaker sounds much better after about $4k, and that's buying new.

So I couldn't agree more that we should judge by the audio first and foremost, and only then decide if we wish to pay for extras such as fancy styling, product support, advertising, dealer markups etc.

Emotional satisfaction has obviously links with money, but once again, only to a point. 

Although there is no getting around the fact that at this level audio is expensive, I save when and where I can.

Sometime ago, I noted that the very well heeled who had pretty much perfected their rigs to their satisfaction, were into room treatment, and they claimed that's where they got their biggest improvement. What I have discovered confirmed that.

It's kind of funny how I got my biggest "holographic improvement" by insulating a sliding glass door from the elements; I charged myself a fortune, just to make it Kosher.