Are Tube Buffers for real or even worth it ?

You have to be careful using the inexpensive tube “buffer” preamps. Some are just straight wires input to output. The tubes only see filament voltage. I have one; only when I pulled off the covers, traced the circuit board, did I find that there was no “tube buffer”.  
 

Another one I have uses a unity gain opamp with only filament voltage to the tubes. 
 

Three times is the charm….The third one I bought actually uses the tubes for unity gain. 
 

And….The whole idea is to add tube harmonics to the sound! So yeah, they are distortion machines!!  LOL!!!!

Save your money for a proper piece of tube equipment...

The TFM-35 is an amazing sounding amp. I found one on eBay new in the box. Even today, its top end is astoundingly smooth even by today's standards.

I ran it through a Don Sachs preamp wih 6SN7s and it was heaven. Doing that and having a dedicated AC line put in helped bass output a good bit. 

Bass output on these amps is extremely flat. But, in many ways, this is a good thing because speaker position and treatment can fix that without things getting boomy.

As mentioned, no need to get tube buffers. Get the best front end you can afford. 

I tried a couple of those cheap Chinese tube buffers you find on eBay and they were no good.  They were starved plate designs - only about 12 volts or so on the plates and op-amps in the circuit doing the work.  Then I tried a Bellari PA555 tube preamp for only $300.  The single 12AX7 is actually functioning with high plate voltage followed by op-amps for a very low output impedance.  This is not a starved plate design.  Let the trolling begin but I am happy with the tube sound it adds.  

I have a Peachtree Audio Grand Integrated X1 amp driving Joseph Audio Profile speakers. The amp has a built in "Bascomb King"  dual tube buffer. The buffer is switch activated (on or off). It looks cool lit up but I can not perceive any sonic improvement to the music when its switched on.