2. amps-preamps
  3. 156406-496

Better amp or better tubes?

With this lockdown I'm finding myself and I'm sure many others listening to music more often and with that my mind has gone into upgrade mode.
My amp is a rare Quickilver 300B that must be at least 25 years old using genalax gold lion  300b tubes.
Over a year ago I sent an email to Mike sanders asking him about suggesting upgrades to the unit and surprisingly he told me if the amp is working fine to just leave it alone. We ok then.
The genalax 300b are modest in price  costing about $300 a pair and have worked flawlessly. If I were to upgrade the tubes, what direction would you suggest? To be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive in spending a lot for tubes since they can fail at anytime. Am I being overly concerned?

So, do I upgrade the tubes or amp? Amp budget of under 4k.

Thanks


emil

Showing 2 responses by decooney

decooney
1,906 posts
 
@emil
decooney, 
Upgraditis. Too much free time on my hands. I can easily live with what I have now but isn't this the nature of the hobby?

Sure, it can be. Or, until you achieve the title of your post and what is most engaging for you by the way of "better amp" -and- "better tubes" :)  



decooney
1,906 posts
 
@emil emil,
What do you NOT like about the current sound -or- is it just curiosity / upgrade-itis?  

Other factors that impacted my QS amps negatively or positively, assuming your speakers are good, there  are other things to review too:
-Your preamp (done), LTA very capable. Check that box for yourself.
-What coupling caps, "shhh", did Mike keep in your amps (key)?  
-Your interconnects, are they veiled over or transparent type? 
-Your input tubes, which ones are you using, brand/type/year (key)?
-Your speaker cables, brand, type, length,std or bi-wire? 
-Source: vinyl or digital, DAC, type?
-Room, placement, surfaces... 

..other places to fine tune your amps if your 300B tubes tested out ok.  Once you reveal other details, others may chime in, good luck  :) 



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