I’ve 18 tubes in my three box phono-preamp chain and any barely-audible hiss is well worth the liquid black and dimensional sound. Add in another 10 tubes in the monoblocs and it’s tubes all the way. Second rig is tubes too. Admittedly, speakers are not efficient but are very transparent.
Can one have too many tube components in a system?
Especially if one has sensitive speakers? For myself with ZU Omen defs, I have to keep an eye on the gain of the amps I choose since my BHK runs tubes. If gain is too high, tube hiss becomes an issue. However, I see people with tubed amp, tube pre, tubed phono pre, tubed dac......doesn't the tube his (just like tape hiss every time you copy a tape over and over) intensify with every component? Or to pull this off one needs less efficient speakers?