Tube sound with no tubes

I had a TVC using the S&B Mark I trannies. It sounded more like a tube preamp than a lot of tube preamps did. By that I mean it was full and rich, but with lots of transparency and resolution. I'm not sure how a TVC would work in your situation, but it's worth looking into. I would still have one in mine, but I changed amps and needed the extra gain.

Shakey

I've had my supratek Syrah on 24/7 for 4 years or so, and I've had to replace one tube. (the power supply tube)

Not really a whole lot of maintainence...

Plinius have a tube-like sound.

01-18-08: Lak
Plinius have a tube-like sound.

Lak, what does tube-like sound mean to you? Would you please describe it?

You may come close to "tube sound" with some of the brands mentioned but you will not achieve the dimensionality and soundstaging of a good tube preamp. For that, well, you need tubes, not transistors.