Great Jazzdude! Yes, I would say that the Supra's err just a smidgen towards "clearness" as opposed to sterilty; because they are not hyper-detailed, are liquid and not upfront I don't think they could be characterized as analytic in any way. I love my Joule, but its lushness is not what I recommend for everyone. Personally, I love wallowing in lush-ness, but I know most people do not, especially people coming from SS systems, or even tube pre/SS amp systems. In this sense, the Supra's are perfect for most people, and given the cost/performance ratio, a real no-brainer for 90% of even the hard core people out there. As I said, perhaps an Aesthetix IO with dual PS's or an AN M8 can take it out, but below ten grand (or more...), and with systems of 50K or less (or more in some instances...), its really a foregone decision. And that's why I've been pushing this piece so hard. Not in an absolute sense, but in an absolutely wonderful sense that more people can really make a BIG jump in their systems for a minimum of scratch, and let them start putting the money into other parts of the system where the Supra's now let them hear what some people have been saying and they just didn't/couldn't believe it. Its a shame that, usually, those super magical systems cost the price of a Mercedes, but with the Supra more people will be that much closer - and that's a great thing... Happy for you.
BTW, NOS tubes sputter a bit now and then. Doesn't mean they are going out, just the way they are sometimes. The right channel Tung round plate 6SN7 in mine was whining at a very low level last night and gone today. Did it two months ago also, so who knows, still sounds great.