Bob_reynolds, yes, my feathers were ruffled, but after a good preening, everything is smooth now :-)
As has been mentioned and implied by others, tech measurements don't always relate to actual listening experiences. Further, tonal balances can play tricks on your ears. I once tried a different isolation device on my CD player. Excellent bass improvement was my initial impression. After further listening, I realized why the bass sounded "so much better"...all the "air" of the high frequencies had been sucked out, tilting the tonal balance toward the bass end. Back went the original device, and the tonal balance returned to the proper presentation.
I have been to 3 CES shows. Other than on a VERY few occasions, I can walk into a room, not look at the preamp/amp and can tell whether it is a tube system or SS. I like a quote that I once heard, "Tubes are amplification devices while transistors are switching devices that can be configured for amplification."
