So, I rolled a lot of tubes through the Pendant (shameless plug: Tubes for sale here). It took a bit of effort to find the tubes that brought the life and excitement out of the the Pendant I was looking for - the energetic dynamics and impact that the Stratus just seems to do naturally. I think they are both excellent amps, but the Stratus just fits me better.
Maybe most of the difference is between triode 2a3 and pentode el84? Could be the circuit? Caps? I dunno.
Even though the Pendant is a more neutral sounding Amps&Sound design, I think it still has the warmer toob roots, and a bit more needs to be done to get it the rest of the way there when you’re rolling tubes. I hope that made sense.
And… of course… that’s all my preferences showing through. ymmv