Mr. Big,
Your points are well taken and forced me to reconsider my position. Thank you for that. I should have finished my first cup'o'joe before knee-jerk responding to the Mytek issues noted. I even felt that way while responding... I guess it's the audio pilgrim in me that decries the nature of fake. And when the designer admits the "tube" is not functional.... I appreciate and, even admire, aesthetics in build.. So Agostino's kit, while, like you, is not marketed to me, is lovely and beautifully executed. Nothing fake about it. It goes without saying that Mytek has every right to build/market any product they see fit to. My comments were not directed to its sound quality so no judgment there. And while aesthetics, I suppose, can somehow "inform" sonic perception (Is that true? I'm not certain that's a legitimate/valid statement but perhaps), I think I'm reacting to the combination of high price, admitted inclusion of non-functional (?) circuitry, and the trend to over-building where it has no discernable audio justification (again, if that's true). At some point, is overbuilt kit more a proxy of affluence than love of music? And I admit it's none of my damn business. Ultimately, and again, to each their own (as has been noted, even by me). This is just a hobby. Perhaps a new thread.