@gochurchgo
It seems like you are asking if a home audio preamp, might behave somewhat like some guitar amps...where you can turn up the gain to increase distortion...some call it crunch?? I'm sure that there are people on this site ....like @atmasphere that can give you the answer you are looking for.
I suspect that the distortion component present as you turn up the volume increases minimally until you hit maximum gain...which 10db of attenuation is unlikely to allow the volume to be turned up to that level. Therefore, I'm thinking that the best way to add more tube coloration...as has been suggested, is to try different tubes until your acquaintance finds the one that best suits their preferences.
It seems like you are asking if a home audio preamp, might behave somewhat like some guitar amps...where you can turn up the gain to increase distortion...some call it crunch?? I'm sure that there are people on this site ....like @atmasphere that can give you the answer you are looking for.
I suspect that the distortion component present as you turn up the volume increases minimally until you hit maximum gain...which 10db of attenuation is unlikely to allow the volume to be turned up to that level. Therefore, I'm thinking that the best way to add more tube coloration...as has been suggested, is to try different tubes until your acquaintance finds the one that best suits their preferences.