I've found with the Aegis, it's quite easy to go from a very dynamic, open, leaner transparent sound to a thicker more romantic type sound by switching between the many tube options. At one point I found the EL39 too thick for me but this was with a Brimar 5R4GY and 5691. Great texture etc but for my tastes was lacking some top end. I swapped the Brimar for the Elrog 274b and it made all the difference for me... the right balance for me of warmth and detail.
You don't need to spend silly money either, plenty of good options out there where you can buy NOS power tubes for less than £100 a pair. It's part of the fun playing around. One of my favourite rectifier tubes for bigger staging cost £15. One of the best rectifiers can be had for £70 or so.
There are so many combinations that are possible tweaking the sound to match preferences and chain it's easy to create different load outs for different genres and moods.
It's funny, when I see everyone mention clarity (without fatigue). I feel the same way but each time someone who's not into headphones etc listens to my system, the first thing they say is is sounds so clear it sounds real, in the room real.
I have to say, when I saw
@Wes S mention he was going to move on his 300b amp I was quite surprised. I know how much he loved that amp from his postings so that really does speak volumes of how well the Aegis performs. My wallet would also like to thank him for that as what little desire I had to buy a 300b amp has more or less vanished now
. I'm more focused on looking to try more tube options for the Aegis... just need a bigger storage case