Expanding questions about tubes in a preamp

If you’re selling tubes you have a commercial stake in this nonsense so it’s no wonder you’re a bit testy (accidental pun) as helping people be worried about non-issues is clearly part of your business model...ethics be damned! If I don’t hear something it doesn’t matter to me. Period. I’ve owned piles of not so "pedestrian" (and you’re also a tube amp elitist? yeah man...insecurities galore dude) tube amps since the mid 60s, microphonic tubes are so rare as to be irrelevant, and if they display an audible bit of microphony they’re gone (in my career as a professional musician I can’t afford risking a bad tube)...I don’t need to test tubes as I can hear them, and that’s all the qualification I need.

I'm absolutely right, but I do get that the insecure among us do get testy when somebody pokes holes in their silly paranoia driven tweaks...don't be sad "auddie"...again, dump audibly microphonic tubes...you won't regret it.

I've actually tried dampers and they provided zero improvement of the tonal aspects of any part of the performance of the tube amp and preamp, not unlike Kaitty's futile and irrelevant snarky posts. Microphonic tube paranoia is simply providing another tweak people can hang their hats on that has zero basis in sonic reality...if a tube seems microphonic, don't use it. Problem solved.

If a tube is microphonic simply replace it as dampers won't save it and are basically useless (and look silly)...note how many great tube amp designers don't bother with dampers...Shindo, Dennis Had, VTL, VAC, etc...they didn't get the memo? The myth that "all tubes are microphonic" is ridiculous and isolating everything is impossible and unnecessary...just listen to your amp and relax.