What makes certain tubes sound "better"?

invalid@example.com (beckstriad), beckstriad
Fri, 18 Jul 2025 02:51:48 +0000
Technical Discussion

I have zero knowledge of circuit design. This has always been a curiosity to me.

I seem to have always preferred, for instance, 6V6 to EL84 tubes and 6L6 to EL34 tubes. Others may be just the opposite. What is about circuit design that makes one favor one tube over the other, or certain builders favoring a specific preamp/power tube complement over others?

I acknowledge that this may also be the wrong question entirely, or a question to which a straightforward answer cannot be given. I...