Are tubes psychological?

The endless tube debate.  Frankly, tables sound better and it is objective, not subjective.

The problem is with the physics equations and what is defined as "distortion".  What is defined as "distortion" by physicists is actually positive sound quality, esp, in the lower harmonics.  This "distortion" is what provides the warm, rich sound of tubes.

I still remember when I was having my dad's classic tube system being rebuilt by Audio Classics.  I was talking to the tech, an engineer who had retired from IBM.  He commented on how solid state sounds better than tubes.  He started talking about charts, graphs, and other stuff like that that proved he was right.  Interestingly, he never mentioned one recording or piece of equipment--just graphs.  I call this listening by equations.  He was a great technician, but had no understanding of music.

Here is an article that actually explains this.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-cool-sound-of tubes

(Hopefully the link survives the security on this site.)

This shows how things labeled as "distortion" in tube equipment is misleading.

You have to trust your ears and listen.

As MC suggested, we create our own reality. So are tubes psychological? It’s your world. Say they are, say they’re not, it’s all the same story. No story, no world. 
 

Still, the world is more pleasant with tubes. I can’t imagine audio without them. 

@oldhvymec - That's Quay Lewd, dude! Yeah, I've seen the Tubes loads of times here in San Francisco, especially during their earlier days in the 70's...  Got some great photos, too, but I don't know how to post them on here without a URL....