its not just true of tubes...its true with all high end equipment(especially tube amps)...it simply is not built to be used for years and years..hell, most audiophiles look at'months'like a longterm investment
NOS tubes, why can't modern tubes sound better?
Perhaps this is a useless thread, but why can't currently manufactured tubes at least equal the sound quality of NOS? With the advances in science, why is it that a modern factory cannot exceed the sound quality of the past? Perhaps for the same unexplained reasons that modern violin manufacturers cannot attain the 'Strats'.