Soundhound,

I have to agree with that Tube equipment does sound different to some people. Does it sound better than solid state, maybe so, maybe not. A side story on the difference in sound; For years most program audio, radio and television was transported from market to market on AT&T buried cables. The carrier was designated as K. All transmission equipment was vacuum tube. K-Carrier was a 1930's technology that had exceeded is life cycle in the 1960's, but the major networks would not let AT&T take it out of service because to station managers and program managers, K-Carrier had the sound they wanted, not microwave which was where the video was transported.. The carrier was finally retired in eary 1970s. The line amp tubes had AC filaments. Many line amp failures were fixed by removing the tube and giving it a firm pat into your open hand. Just watch out for that devil he may be in the most unlikely place.