I'm always curious about this too. Is it all just different flavors of ice cream, or are there boutique brands that are making gear that is clearly better than more famous marques?
Boutique/custom vs production tube linestages
There are many boutique / small hand made tube audio companies (ie. Aric audio, supratek, Tube audio lab etc). Have you ever compared one of these devices to production gear (ARC, VAC, VTL, Atmasphere etc). And if so what were your findings? I suppose the idea with these more hand crafted creations is higher value but I am curious about your personal experiences.