Why don’t tube amps sound like tubes anymore?

Wima caps wee used in most of the Counterpoint power amps and preamps.  That being said, I would call those products not sounding like tubes even as hybrids.  The mosfets gave that warm sound.   Taking out the Wima for Nichicon and V-Caps retains the musical sound but more to what you are describing.  Replacing the mosfets with bi-polar transistors is another story.

Happy Listening.

Actually, it is more like modern SS amps are sounding more like Tube amps. Modern tubes are every bit as good as the NOS stuff. frequently better. NOS tubes are a seriously expensive joke. More like a rip off. 

I'm new to tubes and people have said (in forum posts and in articles) that tube gear sounds like solid state depending upon *which tubes* are used.

But the conversation above doesn't really talk about which tubes very much, and people are mentioning that the responsible differences involve "caps" or "resistors" etc. How much do the particular tubes used play into the final sound of the tube amp sound? 

Back in the days of yore Peter Walker (of Quad fame) arranged a comparative listening test of a tube vs. a transistor amp. Speakers were the Quad 57's. The amps were the Quad II mono's and the 303 (SS).. 15wpc and 35wpc, respectively. Signal source was 15 IPS copies of EMI master tapes. Listeners were members of the British audio press and HiFi industry. After extensive listening to both amps the general consensus was that no difference could be heard - both amps sounded the same!