There is no reason to feel pressure to continue to use tubes in order to attain premium sound. It is fallacy to think that one needs tubes for the best sound.
Remember: The quality of the system is not determined merely by the presence or absence of tubes. I have on numerous occasions replaced a review piece of gear implementing tubes with one completely SS, and the SS unit sounded more liquid, rich, etc. than the tubed component. I have on numerous occasions built systems with all SS gear that were, again, more liquid, rich, more "tube-like" if you will, than ones with tubes.
FORGET the supposed need to have tubes in order to attain SOTA sound! :)
If you like the look of the glowing orbs, then fine. But, it will likely continue to cost you in terms of maintenance and potential problems.
Having said all this, I am not anti-tube in my selection of gear, but merely dispelling the persistent misnomer about tube sound.
Remember: The quality of the system is not determined merely by the presence or absence of tubes. I have on numerous occasions replaced a review piece of gear implementing tubes with one completely SS, and the SS unit sounded more liquid, rich, etc. than the tubed component. I have on numerous occasions built systems with all SS gear that were, again, more liquid, rich, more "tube-like" if you will, than ones with tubes.
FORGET the supposed need to have tubes in order to attain SOTA sound! :)
If you like the look of the glowing orbs, then fine. But, it will likely continue to cost you in terms of maintenance and potential problems.
Having said all this, I am not anti-tube in my selection of gear, but merely dispelling the persistent misnomer about tube sound.