Can excellent tubes transcend modest amps?

That's kind of a good question... I think I'd rather have the better amp with the stock tubes.

I own both the ASL1003DT and a PrimaLuna Dialogue Two. I know, because I've made the comparison, that the Dialogue Two sounds better than the ASL amp when using the exact same tubes (mainly at the frequency extremes). It's more solid in the bass, a little more dynamic, and more detailed/extended in the treble.

That said, the ASL amp sounds very good in its own right. It seems to roll the upper treble a bit, which could be a blessing in systems that tend toward brightness. I don't have any experience with the Jolida amps.

Actually- The better and more resolving the equipment and system, the more you will be able to appreciate the difference NOS tubes make. I'm referring to some of the Holy Grails here(ie: Telefunken ECC801S, Siemens CCa, TungSol JAN CTL round plate, Sylvania JAN CHS/6SN7W tall bottle, etc.) and not just any NOS tube. The benefits of finding and installing a strong pair of NOS drivers/phase splitters in your amps will far outweigh the costs/time involved. The differences between these NOS and ANY new production tubes are NOT subtle either. Don't allow your ears to be ripped off by heeding the nay-sayers who, for the most part, have never listened to a system equipped with the best of the NOS valves. As far as output tubes: The prices of matched sets of NOS anything are now obscene(I WAS using matched octets of Phillips ECG 6550s in my monoblocks). I'll now only purchase outputs from Upscale Audio, as their screening/matching/burn-in procedures are second to none, and Kevin has always directed me to the right power tubes to suit my equipment and tastes in music reproduction. Happy listening!!

No.

You can put great tires on an Impala and it's still an Impala.

Not the expert, but you can put moderately priced NOS tubes in moderately priced well built amps and take the musical enjoyment up a seveal notches