Tube gear has a fun factor, for sure, which (for those who are susceptible) can truly enhance the overall experience. I admit, I'm one of those. Perhaps my value here is as one who's gone down the rabbit hole so others don't have to. Still love me some tubes though.
I got into tube gear after hearing one and thinking, gee, that does indeed sound really nice. So, not in a quest for ultimate fidelity of signal, but rather exploring other options which tickle my particular perception as enjoyable/pleasant, it has lead me down a rather fun path. Those Decware amps actually can push something like a LaScala, I've heard it, but that's a 104db/w speaker. (Next up on the hobby to-do list is going fully active, four SET channels with restricted bandwidth feeding the mids and highs-they're all in the neighborhood of 115db/w, w/ ss control for the bass bins. I won't be inviting mtry over for beers and listening sessions, but this has been a total blast to play around with, lemme tell ya.)
I have one system which would meet Audioholics' standards of objective performance. It's the only system I have measured and can speak with authority about, and for a bunch of mid-fi level gear, it measures and performs remarkably well. How do my tube systems compare subjectively? Well, they're much more similar than different. Extremely similar. I suppose it makes sense since the measured system is the 'keep me honest' reference against which I guage. Tubes are easier on the ears long term, for sure. They seem to have more vitality, but that could be the jedi-mind tricks at work. Delusion or not, the end result is the perception of musicians in the room with you. It works, and it's pretty cool.
Experiencing music is ultimately an emotional thing, demonstrably involving more areas of the brain than language perception or vision. It's not an analytic thing. Everyone enjoys it in their own way. Tubes can add nostalgia factor that is not measured in any way, but positively impacts the actual perception of the subject. Their perception is real to them.
On the road to audio nirvana, the Jedi mind tricks work. Why not use them to your advantage? Some aversion to pleasure? That actually is in the DSM.
I'm not so sure why the objectivists care so strongly about how an end-user enjoys music in their own homes, but I fully understand their fight against folks preying on the gullible selling nonsense. But then experience confounds reasonable expectations. Logic infoms me that Decware amps are nonsense, but the ears say something else. When it comes to enjoying some relaxing music after work, I go with what the ears say.
