Vinylistas and Tubers - One and the same?

Vinyl almost exclusively with tubes. Have heard some very good S.S. stuff but this gear is much more expensive than my tubed equipment. Only interested in digital for convenience. As my ears mature and my system improves the difference between digital and analog becomes more and more apparent. 

OP,

I have always considered the component first... what does it sound like, how will it fit in my audio chain. I would have purchased wax cylinders and networked organic amplifiers if they sounded better. I couldn’t care less about the technology. But, over fifty years I have more and more chosen tube equipment for the sound quality in the price category... and at this point I am in the $20K per component category. I could buy anything I wanted in that price category and I chose tube... not for the technology, but for the sound.

As far as vinyl. Same deal, I have always focused on the best sound source. It has always been vinyl. Still is, in the same price bracket. Finally after 30 years of digital, it can be similarly satisfying (although not quite as detailed) but I have over $10K extra invested in my digital end to get there ($46K digital vs $36K analog end).

I am pretty sure 90% of the people posting are primarily driven by best sound... and then secondary thinking the technology they chose was responsible for it (rightly or wrongly). Understanding the relationship of sound quality and the system that produced it is very difficult, it requires tremendous analytical ability, skill, and common sense. The people posting here are generally well meaning, however, at least half them have no idea what is going on, simply that they like their system and recommend what they bought. I have spent thousands of hours in pursuit of assembling a truly great system. Wonderful pursuit.,  

Vinylista,  tuber here but I do have a ss amp for streaming for background noise. 
 

My passion is Tubes and Vinyl. I do listen to the occasional CD.

Nothing like it vinyl and tubes that is. 

@ghdprentice - I think you are in the minority in terms of not being biased towards the technology among posters here (excluding @audition_audio . I guess when it comes to cost/value in tubes vs. SS it depends on the price point and perhaps at your level of investment, tubes are a better decision.

I know that in my experience when I was looking for my first phono stage when I was thinking about my system more and realized how much it could help versus the phono input of my amp (even thought that has a MC setting) when I had extra time during the outset of the pandemic, the SS one from Sutherland (Insight) could not be touched in a tube model for at least twice the price. I thought a tube phono stage would be a good combo with a SS integrated and because of the low current needed, the tubes would last a long time, even if it always left on.

We are in agreement with the vinyl/digital question although I have no investment in digital (the CD player is now broken and headed to the heap at Best Buy) and I have purchased most of the CDs on vinyl I like the best that were previously unavailble on vinyl, but have now been released. I was under the impression (as you say) that a similar digital set up from as SQ standpoint versus vinyl would cost a lot more.

I'd like to hear the thoughts of @mikelavigne on this subject as he knows these markets and has invested significantly in all of them, including reel to reel.  

I like a tube preamp and a SS power amp (tube all the way with headphones), and I listen to vinyl, CD's, DVD's, and TV through the system. As long as it sounds good to me, I don't care about being some kind of purist as to source material.