Is all the hype warranted

It depends..SET transformers matter. Alot.

Please elaborate.  No clue what SET is.   I've been on a 6 mo info gathering quest with respects to integrated tube amps but have not run across that term till this thread.  

SET = Single ended triode tube

   SET is an acronym for single-ended triode.  It is a very simple circuit that permits a single output tube per channel.  While simple might suggest low cost, this type of amp requires a special type of transformer that must be large, and therefore, expensive.  Most SET amps are very low in power output.  While I don’t agree that any one type of amp is superior to another, a lot of listeners think that SETs are the most natural and best sounding of amps if you can deal with the low output.
   There are SET amps that employ very high voltage transmitter tubes to achieve higher output, but they tend to be quite expensive, operate at high voltage that might be dangerous, and for my taste, they don’t sound as good as the flea-powered tube types like 45, 2a3, and 300B SETs.