Well, I have "tested" tasted the new unit.
It is definetly better in my oppinion! (compared to the Uaudio unit)
Solo instruments (coming from samplers/romplers) like acoustic guitar/violin/viola flute all benefit from it. The difference is subtle but audible.
It is a tone? Perhaps.
It is more like a bit of compression and the hrashness is changed.
It seams to me also that acoustic guitar sits better in the mix.
Putting this unit after compression the bass is less good/bad, at least in the project on what I working right now.
Although I would generally agree, not all tubegear has a good tubesound, and also, it don't have to have a tube sound at all. Having tubes in a unit don't guarantee nothing. You could in fact have a digital unit built by tubes. They would be big and warm, but not sound big and warm.