So where should the tubes be?

making who has the most tubes in their system, as if it were some kind of competition for the best system, is utterly ignorant and foolish

I'm one of the guilty ones. We are just having some fun and enjoying all the tubes. No one is intending any oneupmanship. We are past all that.

Listening to The Tubes - White Punks on Dope ( tubes ), counting my tubes… Just kidding. I do lust after the Brinkmann RonT tube power supply for my Bardo direct drive turntable…..

For grins have a look at the Audio Research 750 power amp, a tube salesman wet dream… but i have heard it and wouldn’t trade it fir my hybrid tube / SS amplifiers….

fun…

No one is intending any oneupmanship. We are past all that.

You are being sarcastic right? No way in hades are all of us past oneupmanship. We have egos and exaggerated self worths on this forum that can be seen from space … and space like the space around Pluto.

I don’t think one can really experience what is special about tubes if the amp is not a tube amp.  But, it is critical to audition the candidates and to choose the right amp for the particular speaker, room conditions, volume requirement, etc.  It is far easier to end up with the wrong tube amp than a wrong line stage or source component.