Hmmm, @james633 , I guess that could be part of the reason that I am finding the 126s more interesting with my amp switched to the ultralinear mode (versus triode). And what you typed just makes me wish even more that the 226s would have been marked down at the time I bought the 126s. However, I am in a small room and the thing that mostly sold me on the 126s was that all the reviews i read said they play well in small rooms, and that does seem to be the case with mine.
It's always interesting reading your posts--you have a lot of knowledge.