Ease of use vs performance has been with humans for a long time. Its still not a good excuse though. If the goal of this hobby is to get as close to the recorded sound as possible, then ease of use issues have to be tolerated in that quest, to some degree at least.
As reliable as the tubes I listen to are, fiddling is a non-issue. It simply not something I have to do. So I get the performance without any convenience issues. IMMV, but if the tube amp is properly built, this will always be the case.
I have yet to hear a transistor amp sound better, and the price/performance curves of the two technologies indicate that the same differences we discuss now will be discussed 2 generations from now.
The only thing that might change that would be the appearance of a new technology, which is not in the marketplace yet.
Conclusion: if you can't deal with tubes- don't. If you want performance like real music, tubes are the deal- so deal with it.
As reliable as the tubes I listen to are, fiddling is a non-issue. It simply not something I have to do. So I get the performance without any convenience issues. IMMV, but if the tube amp is properly built, this will always be the case.
I have yet to hear a transistor amp sound better, and the price/performance curves of the two technologies indicate that the same differences we discuss now will be discussed 2 generations from now.
The only thing that might change that would be the appearance of a new technology, which is not in the marketplace yet.
Conclusion: if you can't deal with tubes- don't. If you want performance like real music, tubes are the deal- so deal with it.