So where should the tubes be?

For me as it stands now:

Tube DAC
Tube phono stage
Tube integrated amp (had a tube preamp AND tube amp)

Don't let anyone tell you that too many tubes makes a system too "tubey" or too "warm" or "too (insert negative adjective here).

If the components are chosen wisely, tubes can be just as revealing and transparent as any SS counterpart. And you get what most SS can't give you, the emotional connection to the music.

And before you solid state guys start jumping up and down, I said "most". Some are better than others.

So tubes everywhere is a good thing.


Oz

Tubes should go where they sound good to you and work well with your other components.  It's really about your listening priorities.  I personally enjoy tubes in all my components and have speakers that respond well to tubes.  Some people really like the dynamics of SS components while others enjoy a mix.  There is no "right" answer and it's a question mainly of personal taste once you get past some general compatibility questions.  Don't let anyone tell you that only tubes sound like music - there is an entire market who only enjoy SS components and they are not "wrong". Such blather is ridiculously off-putting.

If you want to get into tubes you should start with a tube phono preamp. That’s were the rubber meets the road. I have tube phono, tube preamp and tube amp. I have owned a lot of solid state gear but there is something about tube gear that just sounds right to me!

You might find this article interesting!
https://medium.com/collectors-weekly/could-an-old-school-tube-amp-make-the-music-you-love-sound-bett...

Never talk a man out of a tube phono stage. Especially not when Decware and Bottlehead make such excellent and reasonably priced tube phono stages.  

Yogiboy is right about they just sound right. I was at a show one time, the same system was being used to demo different tables, platters, and phono stages. They all sounded different but they all sounded great until one, it had this uncomfortable edge to it. Wasn't sure at first but after a couple minutes I turned to Chris and said what is this solid state? Yeah not completely but yeah not all tube.   

So there you go. Use tubes wherever you want music.

Preamp or phono stage.