Tube Equipment: Gimmick?

My "revealing" B&W speakers with tubes? What about the nordost cables? The system is pursuing a blunt and revealing sound (although the 805's are the weak point). For me, a revealing sound seeks to replicate the presence or life of live music. Most music is concieved as performance art, not as dictation. I believe tubes, with that ever-so-slight nano-hesitation of signal, replicate sound traveling from a source across some distance in an atmosphere (sometimes smoke-filled) to my ears. I am not hard-wired to the microphone with .99999999999 silver cable.

That's what I was trying to say, Gunbei. What the hell difference does it make what somebody else listens to. What kind of amplification you use is no more important to the rest of the sane world than what kind of music you play or what you wear while listening. Christ, has there been a thread yet about what kind of chair you should sit in or the best sounding paint for your walls?
I've got two middle school boys who behave like you guys. No matter what one of them says, the other contradicts or otherwise challenges it. I'm hoping they will outgrow it but since I know many of you are at least middle aged, I am not so hopeful for you. Please try to see the light.
If you like tubes, use em. If you prefer SS, go for it. Try to concentrate on what you have in common and cherish and respect your differences. Obviously noone is going to win the argument. And there are so many other gimmicks to discuss.

This discussion is far from over. I still have unanswered questions. Please bear in mind, these are not rhetorical questions. Though I am biased towards solid state gear, I will appreciate any answers supporting tube gear.

1. I have seen the "guts" of tube equipment. It does not look extremely complicated or intricate (especially amplifiers). However, solid state equipment seems to be much more complicated. For instance, the FPB-300 has numerous massive circuit-boards, containing motorola processor chips. Why is highend tube gear priced comparably to solid state gear, if there isn't the research and development or the "stuff" going into it?

2. No one has answered my question about the speakers. Why wouldn't it be more reasonable to change the speakers than the electronics?

Thanks
jiwitn

In answer to Jitwitn's questions:

1. An 8X10 inch view camera consists of little more than a bellows, a metal (or wood) framework with some manual gears, a ground glass back and a lens. Whereas you break open an Nikon F5 and you will find all the neat little R&D wonderments of technology, jam packed into a state-of-the-art titanium body, sleak, streamlined and extremely ergonomic. Yet the 8X10 view camera costs just as much as the F5...some actually cost several times as much (though these days it is a dying format). Does one camera take "better" photographs???!!! Both are elegant and effective solutions. They are entirely different tools to accomplish a similar task in different ways. Use the tool you are most comfortable with to do the specific job you wish to achieve, just as you might choose a hammer at Home Depot. The hammer you choose may not be the one I prefer, but they'll both get the job done. The "better" part is entirely in the judgement of the beholder. Why does the tube gear cost as much as it does....cause it's all hand-made by elves in the Ukrane who need to support their very expensive cocaine habit. Those little fuckers got a union so solid it'd make Jimmy Hoffa rise from the dead!

2. Whether tube or SS, a SYSTEM should be carefully selected for the synergy between all of the components as well as the expectations of the individual who will be using the system. It all goes back to the original answer to the thread which I so liked....to paraphrase; different strokes for different folks. Presumably you'd change the speakers because you prefered the sound of one set of components over another. Since when does being "reasonable" have anything remotely to do with being an Audiophile?!

Marco

JAX2: You are absolutely wrong about 8X10 vs 35mm:the 8x10 will give higher resolution, more pixels per square inch. You can blow up an 8X10 much,much larger than the best of the best 35mm. That is not true of pricing either, a Zone VII 8x10, costs much less than a premium Canon or Nikon. 35mm is a journalist's camera, an 8x10 is an artist's camera. The Nikon F received its kudos from the Vietnam War more than any other camera, and took off from there. Take an 8X10 picture, then take a 35mm picture, then blow it up to 8X10, absolutely no comparison, all things being equal.

As far as tubes vs ss are concerned(and I have both): in less than 2 weeks time I can tell that the tubes are less than perfect, they have changed the sound, and the sound is not getting better. So do you all change tubes every two weeks, I think not! So after two weeks what do you all do? And to boot not all the tubes degrade at the same rate, which is even more a problem. So how often do you change them, once ever 6 months or a year. I change mine
every 90 days. the difference between new and 90 days is very striking!