Do tubes matter beyond gain stage on preamp?

This may only have indirect relevance to your question,@emergingsoul, but I’ve been playing with different rectifiers for the power supply to my phono stage, an Allnic. Right now, I have a Mullard (really a Philips) metal base GZ 34 and a GEC u52 that I’ve been swapping in and out. Significant difference in sound between those two tubes. The metal base has incredible bass and dynamics but is slightly flat sounding in the high frequencies. The GEC (which I have used in the past) does not have the impact of the Mullard, but has far more finesse in the upper registers. I think the choice may come down to how the rest of the system is voiced. Given how my system is presently "tuned" the GEC is my preference.

I swapped out a neon voltage reference tube and it had a profound impact on the sound. So, yes, all tubes influence the sound.

Everything matters.

@ebm 

+1

“Everything matters”

True that!