The performance of an amplifier comes from the way all the components work in
conjunction. Just replacing one item with a 'better' one might simply make the
performance worse...

I think there's a difference between using better componants and 'voicing' an
amp. My experience has been that better componants - caps, resistors etc -
almost always improve the sound - better tone, detail, transparancy etc. Only
at the very end, when the componants are all audiophile quality, do you start
voicing by substituting different tubes, trying different coupling caps (oil v
teflon for instance) and juggling PSU values and componants. With a bit of DIY
experience you learn certain synergies, like using a tube with thin mids like
the 6N30 with a tube with fat mids like the 6N1P, or a warm round plate 6J5G
with a cooler 12B4. All being equal in terms of detail and transparancy, you
can then tune the 'tone' to your preference.

=== Andy Evans ===
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