Jyprez,
I guess my rambling can be compared to the one-hand-clapping koan, which I am still trying to fathom. Koans and mathematical puzzles have never been my strong suit, but neither has playing a musical instrument or a host of other endeavors, like choosing really musically satisfying components that play together in a very synergistic fashion.
I am still fumbling around trying to figure out whether the Supratek is right for me. There's no doubt that it's made a lot of people happy on this b-board. But there's the cost to consider, $5,000 for the Cortese, the hot ticket that has captured my fancy. And then there is the support and warranty issues. If Mick decides he has had enough with smelling solder all day and has grown weary of handling silver wires hour after hour, then what will someone like me do, a bloke who plans to keep his unit running until hell freezes over, when a wire falls out of position or a resister sheds its mortal coil? It's all ambiguous, if you know what I mean?
Then there is the issue of tube rolling. Like a koan in itself, the term still evades my full comprehension. (Thank god we don't have to roll capacitors!)
So you see it's a metal exercise for me as I try to figure out if the Cortese will find a new home in my small house. Until then, I feel a need to finish reading the rest of the postings here to better understand the Supratek, and maybe myself.