Has to be blue LEDs illuminating the tubes. Either that or a very serious gas problem / compromised vacuum in the tubes… 
It’s become a popular thing: LEDs under the tubes, particularly with Chi-Fi pieces. Red, green, orange, blue, white, etc.
I believe McIntosh has or had dual red/green LEDs under the tubes, red indicating a problem of some kind with the particular tube.
It is all so highly subjective. I’ll take a well recorded / mastered CD over any current medium. Yes I miss albums. More specifically the album covers! In the early days of digital the DACs were sh*te. Cold, thin and generally unpleasant to listen to. But today, they sound great. A great example is the ECM label. Their recordings are delightful; warm, smooth and open. Oh, and level of musicianship is humbling. For me, vinyl is just too much work. 
CD in. Press Play. Listen.
Full disclosure: been working as an “sound guy” ( a term, no sound guy likes ) since the mid 80s.
A great example of how good the new tech is, is listening to the remastered Pink Floyd, or Beatles catalogues.
It is always important, IMHO, to remember that it’s about the music. I have some really old recordings (on CD - stuff like music from the 1930’s Berlin Cabaret scene) that sounds dreadful (by modern standards), but the music…
@Barney When you have the cash, try out a pair of Beyerdymanic headphones. Audio_Technica makes some great products (I love their AT4040 microphone, I use it almost as often as my AKG414), but not a fan of their headphones.
That sounds like poor recording /mastering to me. Or an aesthetic choice by someone. Today’s pop music is too heavily compressed - to the point of “oh, man, why bother? You squashed the snot out of it!.” Especially the vocals! Come on boys and girls a) learn to sing, b) learn microphone technique. That said, a certain amount of compression is helpful for radio play. It sometimes makes the song “seem” louder, and will make the vocals “jump” out of the speakers. Which is why commercials sound so “loud”. Well, that used to be the theory at least.
McIntosh amps… 
Also $$$$$$$$$
But they sound a m a z i n g! I have always found them huge sounding without necessarily being perceived as overly loud. Even when cranked, you can, more or les, carry on a conversation.
My son, who just turned 13, once declared that he likes vinyl because “they’re cool and have cool designs.”
So yes, something to be said for album covers. But also yes, it’s all fairly high maintenance as well.
My daughter who is 16, when she was little, liked Sammy Hagar. Now, she listens to some kind of Japanese(?) techno that sounds like demented video game music.
Kids these days! Now Black Sabbath — that was music!
A local guy here builds some excellent quality clones. The Range Declaration is a Dallas Rangemaster and Cap’n Fuzz is a Analogman Sunface. I took off a Fulltone ‘69 Mk II and it won’t be going back on my board.
Very cool. I am a big fan of Radial Eng products. (Not familar with the other pedals.) The stuff sounds great, or better yet, when appropriate, has no “sound” at all. Damn close to completely transparent. Just does it’s job, and stays out of the way. And the gear is built to last! Which is something I really appreciate. I’d share my board, but I don’t have a dedicated board because, I don’t play live, and I’m always re-configuring the signal chain. And thats because, I have no sonic shame. 
I’ll put stuff anywhere ). And I’ve just torn the current rig apart. New project. New signal chain.
Edited for clarity. i.e. Really poor writing
I really appreciate Radial gear too. I was looking forever (Canada wide) for their cabinet switcher Cabbone but never saw one for sale. Ended up buying a similar from de Lisle. About a month later a Cabbone goes on Kijiji in my area.
I have three boards I use regularly. One for elec. guitar, acoustic and bass. All have a BigShot.
Never say never. 'Cause you never know… I have a couple of pedals that I deeply regret getting rid of.
Wade realized he was writing a long winded boring Asperger post about CD manufacturering regarding clock jitter in CD mastering LBR’s (laser beam recorders), re-clocking technology for LBR’s, jitter in replicated CD’s and how high out of spec jitter screws up digital audio quality very badly.
Plus a bonus diatribe on how very well designed and enginnered German/Dutch first generation LBR’s could run superior yeilds to the later generation LBR’s designed with 15 to 20+ years newer technology.
In short, an example of how older technology plus German/Dutch design excellence stood the test of time surprisingly well in an era of rapid technology change.
Very very boring stuff…realized that just before posting and deleted that post accordingly.
It was a fantastic industry, I greatly enjoyed my 30+ year career with Philips-Dupont Optical, Philips, PolyGram 
, Universal Music Group, EDC and later Sony. Sadly that industry died in North America thanks to technology advancing etc…so I build model tanks now after retirement.
That sounds absolutely fascinating!
I’ll lie awake tonight thinking about all the knowledge I have missed …
Dang! 
+1. I would have definitely loved reading all of that.
There are aspects I am trying to learn. Anything to improve playback, y’know.
Unfortunately, so much of it is crazy pseudoscience, snake oil such as $12,000 AC cables and so on.
Reminds me of the booming business back in the old times when a big multinational organisation was selling saints bones (relics) to the believers. The total weight of all the peddled pieces of wood from the original cross was probably ten times the original weight.
The true believers will buy into everything, whoever calls BS will be shunned by all the others.
Pieces of wood or a kings ransom for cables, same game just different merchandise.
They do say in the middle ages there were enough splinters from the True Cross and enough nails from the crucifixion in the churches of Europe to build the Ark…
Regarding cables, er, ‘scuse me, ahem, interconnects, I make my own from Canare Star Quad with telescoping grounds, shield grounded to source.
Got a nice deal on white Star Quad on eBay. I am told by an avid vinyl aficionado that white cable is more expensive to make. Maybe no one wants it? I use whatever gold-plated RCA plugs I have on hand, usually sourced from eBay.
But anyone who has spent any time on the audiophile forums knows that you could buy a Lamborghini or Bugatti on what some spend on “interconnects.”
No, I am not exaggerating.