I vote for 3.
Short "paths" can reduce RF pickup, but internal "paths" will normally be short anyway.
First decide what you want to do (including 'amplifier or FX box' choice). Then find or design a circuit which does it - this will include choosing appropriate valve types and, in some cases, passive component types (e.g capacitor dielectric). Finally, and optionally, play with different brands of valves and components. If these make more than a small difference then there is something wrong with your design, or some of the items are faulty.
Short "paths" can reduce RF pickup, but internal "paths" will normally be short anyway.
First decide what you want to do (including 'amplifier or FX box' choice). Then find or design a circuit which does it - this will include choosing appropriate valve types and, in some cases, passive component types (e.g capacitor dielectric). Finally, and optionally, play with different brands of valves and components. If these make more than a small difference then there is something wrong with your design, or some of the items are faulty.
I second that.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
For me #3 as well. Poor design.... it doesn't matter how good or bad the tubes or caps used happen to be.
IMLE the simplest circuit that gets the job done and sufficiently meets the design criteria (if reasonably thought out) is generally also the best sounding circuit too. IMHO and YMMV of course.
IMLE the simplest circuit that gets the job done and sufficiently meets the design criteria (if reasonably thought out) is generally also the best sounding circuit too. IMHO and YMMV of course.
resistance caused by bad solder connections and oxidized wire 
jokes .
just like what has been posted before . its the design that makes the sound . or the characteristics of the valves used ... capacitors sound like hocus- pocus to me . just like candy-houses and the old crone .
one important factor witch is overlooked more than once is tube life . this is defined by the past majors as the length of time a valve can operate till it reaches end of life value. .
some high quality tubes have this mentioned in their data sheets . commercial tubes DO not . so this means choosing a long life tube will mean it will change its characteristics at a slower phase . witch means steady performance over a long period .
what im aiming at is that a long life tube will definitely perform* better and more stable in a given circuit . what some would call better sounding .
( im saying perform because i don't want nothing to do whit the dark magic of tube sound ) and of course snake oil cables
at the end i thing long life will give you more bang for your buck"s and that if you don't like the sound of your gear use a equalizer or tone controls .
jokes .
just like what has been posted before . its the design that makes the sound . or the characteristics of the valves used ... capacitors sound like hocus- pocus to me . just like candy-houses and the old crone .
one important factor witch is overlooked more than once is tube life . this is defined by the past majors as the length of time a valve can operate till it reaches end of life value. .
some high quality tubes have this mentioned in their data sheets . commercial tubes DO not . so this means choosing a long life tube will mean it will change its characteristics at a slower phase . witch means steady performance over a long period .
what im aiming at is that a long life tube will definitely perform* better and more stable in a given circuit . what some would call better sounding .
( im saying perform because i don't want nothing to do whit the dark magic of tube sound ) and of course snake oil cables
at the end i thing long life will give you more bang for your buck"s and that if you don't like the sound of your gear use a equalizer or tone controls .
In the interest of simplicity I woud remove the valve.......
In this topic I added one more valve in order to minimize distortions caused by coupling cap loaded on non-linear input resistance of an output valve:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/183329-one-more-4p1l-se.html
In another topic I added one more cap to minimize non-linear variations of capacitance of another cap with current.
Means depend on target.
Ok, it would appear the question was a little vague?
I'll throw in an example.
Assume we have a tube circuit with a servo biasing the grid of the input tube.
We need to isolate this bias from the amp's input.
1. Use Caps
2. Do something clever with tubes to eliminate the input cap?
Iirc I think I've seen something like this in SY's "Heretical Unity Gain Line Stage"?
Transformer -> cap-> tube with servo grid bias.
I'll throw in an example.
Assume we have a tube circuit with a servo biasing the grid of the input tube.
We need to isolate this bias from the amp's input.
1. Use Caps
2. Do something clever with tubes to eliminate the input cap?
Iirc I think I've seen something like this in SY's "Heretical Unity Gain Line Stage"?
Transformer -> cap-> tube with servo grid bias.
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