Michaelkingdom, another data point for you. Ive always been curious but leery of tube stuff, so have always had SS. Its been a steady climb over several years to decent gear. Some changes brought immediate grins, some took a little time to internalize, like higher resolution/closer to the source isnt always more fun to me, but usually brings better imaging and space. Regardless, the sound eventually becomes de facto and I can appreciate it for what it is. Still, there was that nagging itch to try tubes.
Yes, this is another tube testimonial. I recently put together a second (cheap) system and decided it was the perfect time to take the plunge no worries if the things failed. Let me just say that the clichés about tubes are true. Im not saying this system is better than my SS gear, but even with older, lower level source components and speakers, way cheap cabling and no power conditioning, I can hear good things I dont with SS, including a quality to the imaging and sense of space. It comes down to instrument tone and the note-to-note flow. Someone said it similarly earlier, the instruments image and the space itself sound more real better tone and more gradual decay, more fun listening.
