Originally Posted by zslane

You are correct in that the physics of tube amp phenomena are highly complex, but computers are good a complex computation. Sampling is only one method of capturing and reproducing sounds. Modeling algorithms continue to improve, while raw computing power and digital storage gets faster, larger, and cheaper. The only thing preventing more authentic digital reproduction of tube amp tone is research time and cost. But as someone who has spent a lot of time in the world of computing, I assure you that the problem is not intractable.

I would think we've all been around long enough to have seen the stunningly rapid pace of technological advancement anywhere computing is involved, and to realize that what we have today is but a faint glimmer of what we're likely to achieve in the future.