The whys and wherefors are unimportant, the fact is the user ends up paying four times as much for the TVC. Comparison with an active tube stage c. $2950 new would be a better way of establishing the MFA's ranking - and my experience suggests you may well find a very different result.

I see a number of these MF units appearing on the used market already. Might be a bargain but I always wonder why they are being sold.