On the other hand it ALWAYS takes a few mods to get HF extension, bass tightness and dynamics out of tubes IMO, and some tubes just aren't capable.....
I use a Metronome C1A DAC and have just replaced the stock (Sovtek) tubes with 'better' ones from Mullard. The changes are huge in a positive way. The combination of 'modern' digital upsampling and 'old' analog tubes seems to be a very good one which leads to the holy grail of 'detail + warmth' (in my system). Hope this helps in this discussion.
I personally can't stand "warmth". I want it live and fast, and tubes can deliver this in spades if the circuits around them are designed right. There is no reason why tube designs cannot be fast, extended and with tight bass.
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