Tube cdp's and Tubed Output cdp's

Well, boa2 you are correct. Tubes do have a sound and magic about them that is quite their own. I do not think I ever implied or said that tubes and solid state sound the same. Please do not put words into my mouth.

I suppose I should have said that in my experience to my ears with some of the better digital gear in certain system contexts, I did not feel that adding tubes either to the output stage of the digital gear or to the system as a whole would have added anything for me. So, in these instances I felt tubes were unnecessary to add to system synergy or my enjoyment of music.

In contrast, with lesser digital I have heard, I did feel that adding tubes either to the output stage or somewhere in the system would have added to system synergy and my enjoyment of the music.

Audio is subjective. I feel like tubes are good some of the time and perhaps for some of the people. I'm not of the opinion that a system is required to have tubes to sound good or that tubes are ALWAYS beneficial. And, I would never say that tubes and solid state sound the same.

If you want the benefit of tubes, I would put a tube preamp in the system. The MF X10 is overrated and adds the expense of another pair of interconnects. If a CD player NEEDS the X10 to sound good, time to get a new CD player. It's really sub $1000 players that benefit from the x10. I'd say save the money and buy a better player.

For me, lots of average sounding players $1000 and under (used), some gems. Once you spend $1000+, things get interesting and tubes are not necessary. Tube output stages help the cheaper players, but somewhat unnecessary in better players.