That all sounds well and good Hunter, but there is only so much you can do with valves, resistors, capacitors and transformers. Once you get to a certain point I believe there can be no 'better', only 'different'. If you like it, then great, but I smell overpricing ;)
Having an amp tuned for an individual valve sounds like marketing rubbish as valves wear out and then need to replaced. I think it's a way to justify a crazy high price, with no real benefit to the end user.
100 hours for one off-the-shelf-amp???????
I didn't say it's tuned to the tubes, but to tolerances in parts.
But hey, I didn't make the pricing. If 100h is indeed the time he needs (as he is a perfectionist) then if you deduct the price of parts, there isn't a lot of profit. I would say he makes - what, 10-20€/hour?
The amps are no rip-off or do you think Tim Mills would have spent this kind of money for the Dino otherwise? He must have been really impressed with Schaffers amp. Also, listen to any Iced Earth album from the last 20 years and you hear the Dino939 on Schaffer's work.
By the way, Larry told me that Mike Fortin bought both, a BP and a Dino in early 2007/2008, without Larry knowing that Mike is a builder or would start his amp business. Rings any bells?
I have no intention to vouch for the amps, as I haven't played or heard one, but I want to find out myself soon.