Pardon me for poking fun at some of our high end friends. I can't help it... bricks on amps, gimme a break.

But I hear similar silliness, on Sax On The Web, where I am a columnist... "Paul, can you describe the difference in tone between a silver plated ligature and a gold plated one? Will the gold plated ligature give me a warmer tone?" (For non woodwind players... a ligature is that little part that holds a reed on a mouthpiece on the sax or clarinet)

So, I have trouble with terms like "warmth" or "sheen" or "gritty"... things we can't measure and I can't hear. Some of it is to convice guys to buy a new widget at a very high price. Personally, I like stuff that is measurably and audibly superior. And glitzy and pricey are not necessarily better. If I am going to lay out the long green, I want performance for my money.

Now I do understand that tubes, and the output transformers, have distortion characterists that differ from solid state in very audible and measurable ways. Guitarists depend on this "mellow tube distortion" as part of their sound. And I can understand guys using them for hi fi listening.

I just never figured out the granite block and bricks. Are imported Italian bricks better for listening to Opera on Japanese vinyl? LOL! We have to laugh at ourselves at times.

My brother and I are both in the planning stage of some serious thunderboomers. He asked me, will we survive when our wives figure out what we are doing? This from a cat with 8 midrange motors on each side... don't know about my wife, but YOUR wife is gonna kill you.