Herron VTPH-2A vs ModWright PH 9.0

@three_easy_payments Thanks for your thoughts on the Luxman. You might have gotten bad or fake Tele’s, but I’ve heard them sound hot rides to the point that they almost distort. In full transparency, I love the Psvane 12AX7-s above any other 12AX7 tube I’ve ever heard (and I’ve heard a lot of them), and I would probably try those if I ever got the Luxman. I wouldn’t expect anyone to agree with me as audio is personal and we all have different ears. 
 

@coys21 I’ve never heard the H-5500 but I did have a shootout with an older Modwright phono and a few other stages (mentioned this above), and the H-1201 was one of them (I didn’t mention that previously). I also owned an L-3000 Mk II preamp for a short while. I would say that Allnic overall is very colored and bloomy, and with both units the top end was recessed regardless of tube rolling and recapping. They were very pleasing to listen to but cut into the amount of air and space that should have been projected by the music. I bet they would work more for higher efficiency speaker systems, which I have also played much with, but I would never consider them for anything else  

@thiefoflight Thanks for the suggestion on the Psvane 12AX7's....I've never tried them but really like all the other Psvane tubes I've used in other gear - ACME 300B and 274B.  I may buy a quad and see how it goes.

Absolutely love the ACME line myself. But the first Psvane I ever bought were the 12AX7 T-II, which got replaced by the S series, and that’s how I got into them in the first place. Psvane does make some subpar tubes in some variants and lines, but the 12AX7-S, the CV-181 T-II, the 6CA7 T-II and ACME 300B and 845 were the best of theirs that I tried. 
 

Oh yes I forgot, I also have a pair of the CV-181 T-II and the 6CA7 T-II - both excellent.  Just ordered a matched quad of the Psvane 12AX7-S ECC83 Art Series Gold Pins.

Thanks @thiefoflight - much appreciated.