How big of a difference do amps make?

Crucial.

No doubt tube amp maintenance and expense is a fact that tube amp owners must deal with.

Taking special care of anything requires some special love.

I really like my ARC tube pre-amp, which was my initial experiment with tube amplification. A fantastic piece of gear! Probably about as low maintenance as any piece of high performance tube amp gear. But frankly, I may still replace it someday or relegate it to less frequent use in my second system if I end having to replace tubes too often.

I've had it about 3 years now and am on my third set of tubes, though I have learned since that only the main tube in the phono section requires an extra costly tube tested for low noise. I cannot stand noise when I listen! WHen I hear it with certain tubes, my love of tube sound heads south.