My experience with tube amps is that they tend to sound better after some warm up...same with ss amps. One of the things that I always wandered about when I was using tube amps was where in the life of the tube ( power tube) was I listening. I had an ARC and then a Melos and with the Melos, the power tubes would fail often; Sometimes in spectacular fashion. The quality of the tube was a major factor as far as the life and sound of the tube was concerned. With some of the Chinese tubes, the lifespan was maybe a few days or less! One of the issues I still have with tube amps is the heat they tend to throw off, however, after having lived with ss now for more than ten years, I personally am willing to add a tube amp for the difference in performance they provide. But, I still will use ss for my peace of mind.
A question I suspect reveals a lot of ignorance...
Does the volume at which I listen affect the rate at which my tubes "age"? I'm thinking more volume requires more voltage and higher output voltage levels represent "wear" on the power tubes. Thanks in advance for your tolerance.