Although I regret selling my McIntosh 240 tube amp (I sold it because I was hard press for cash at the time) I am not as taken in by the tube game as before. When I was in that zone I was prepared to spend good money on
tubes (KT66
) if in my mind that was required to make my unit sing.
Personally I have accepted the limitation of sound reproduction and find
myself enjoying sounds, from my computer, solid state receiver and
Grommes integrated EL84 tube amp.
Probably what could draw me back into the audio chase - a system which
can play Mahler to my satisfaction.
I hope your tube brings you a whole lot of happiness.