I'm gettin' there, slowly but surely!
Two years ago I owned (for only a few months...long story) an AMC CVT 1030s tube preamp with my SS McIntosh MC7200 amp and loads of sources. For the short amount of time I owned this system I thoroughly enjoyed them, and even did some tube rolling, replacing the stock Chinese and Sovtek tubes with a pair of NOS JAN Philips 12AU7s and 12AX7WAs...what an improvement that was.
Since having to sell nearly everything I owned (was laid off/filed bankruptcy), my present system is straightforward and simple (see my sig). I wanted to break into tubes again, but my cash flow is nill. A month ago I saw on eBay this nifty lil' tube pre made in Hong Kong; a 6SN7 SRPP linestage with tube rectification and dual chokes, brand new for $245! I had a little cash set aside, so I bought it using the BIN feature, and am still waiting for it to arrive. Maybe next year I'll have a decent income tax refund and will be able to purchase a companion tube amplifier to mate with the new pre I'm getting...that's the plan anyway!