Why tube rectification?

@willywonka I don't know why tube equipment manufacturers don't use rectifier tubes such as the 3b22 or 3b28, I have had no problems with these rectifier tubes even if I leave them on 24/7 for months at a time, plus they can be used for high  wattage power amps. These types of tubes also have very good regulation as they drop a constant 15 volts up to there operating limits, which are very high. I think the reason they are not used more often is the cost of the filament current that the transformer has to have.

I used a Lamm L2 line stage for a number of years--solid state audio path, separate tube rectified power supply. Gorgeous mids, a bit rolled off at the frequency extremes, but you could not say it sounded euphonic or analytical-- it sounded very much like music. That model has since been updated. I'm currently using the Veloce Lithio 2.0 with the updated batteries and some other changes. 

I do roll the rectifier in my Allnic H3000- have quite a few grails. My preference, which is based in part on how the overall system is voiced, is a GEC u-52 cup base. I have a Mullard metal base (really a Philips-Miniwatt). Bass is phenomenal, far better than the bakelite version that followed, but lacks the finesse and airiness of the GEC in my system. Some of this may be system dependent.

In our opinion, done correctly, tube rectification sounds better in our designs to our ears.  In repairing components, we find that not using tubes was a short cut and cost savings.  Once done right, it can be glorious. All designers who use tube rectification in our opinion, again, does not make the sound that we achieve in our designs, Lamm included.  Not to say they sound not as good, but you have to hear the differences when compared to each other.

@whart - agree with your findings, but those units can be upgraded to achieve the sound you prefer.
 

Happy Listening.

if you end up taking tube rectification, you may find that rolling tubes offers a very clearly different character and weight of presentation. The manufacturer installed NOS AZ4 tube in my 4w +4w SET from Japan sounds fine, yet a contemporary production AZ4 mesh plate from EML gives much greater scale and dynamics, totally transforming performance of the amplifier, and EML seem to last notably longer than expected. Others have reported on this. YMMV.

I will add something that has not yet been mentioned explicitly.
 

What you are listening to from an amp/pre-amp is the power supply - not the signal being sent to it.

It is a bit of a misnomer that we call these things amplifiers. It implies that the signal itself is being amplified, and the other stuff is just there to help.

What is in fact happening is that the voltage from the power supply is being modulated by the input signal, and the input signal itself is swallowed by the tube/transistor. So what happens is the voltage from the power supply is either directed to ground or to the speaker, and the input signal simply regulates how much of that goes where.

This is why power supplies, especially in preamps and DACs, are so critical. You are literally listening to the sound of the rectifier after is has been smoothed out by some capacitors.