Financial Limits of Tube and Op Amp Rolling

or spending that $500 for a linear power supply on a $300 DAC and then complaining and being all upset that you don't hear a difference... never considering that the weak spot wasn't the power supply, but the rest of the $300 DAC.  (Or that you are streaming mp3's from Spotify in the first place.)

Logical thinking and stating the obvious to the oblivious is always a losing battle.  

Heretics unite!  LOL

- Jeff

This is my experience.

when I had the Rogue Cronus Magnum I swapped out all the preamp tubes with the help of Brent at Brent Jessee Recording, look him up on line.  I spent $467 on 5 NOS tubes from the ‘50s and ‘60s. The sound of the amp changed to such a degree I believe I would have had to at least $3000 more on an amp to get to the same place.  
 

I change the 2 gain tubes in my PrimaLuma EVO 400 from the PrimaLuna branded Chinese tubes to a top end NOS Aperex 7316 and received better bass, expanded and smoother highs, a larger soundstage (both width and depth). I only spent $750.These were also a recommendation from Brent.  Again the benefits far exceeded the cost.

But there is no way the manufacturers can put these in from the factory.  One is cost the other is availability of NOS tubes, which get more scarce all the time.  But there is one advantage to old stock tubes and thats durability.  Reputable tube sellers have a reasonable return policy.

Thats been my experience, but I would not have attempted it with out expert advice and a reputable tube seller I could talk to.

I just spent $4k on 3 fishing rods and reels. The fishing line added another $600, and then there’s jigs , tungsten costs 3X but fishes better.  My point is I can buy a cheap rail rod AND reel for $700, or a nice rig for $2k. Does it get more bites, No but it lands more fish. I know this is somewhat obtuse but it demonstrates cost Vs enjoyment. I do a bit of tube rolling and most I purchased before prices went crazy. I have about 12 pairs of nos 12AU7’s. I just put 2 Tekefunken 12AX7’s curve traced matched and 4 Tekefunken G73R’s in my mono blocs. The current value of those 6 tubes is about $1500, I have $800 in them. I know bla bla bla , but bare with me. If I can afford the tube why not put it in something that costs significantly less. If you have a bare bones devise maybe that tube will make an incredible difference, maybe not. If I take the whole money BS out of my rant , the bottom line is we are curious and we find great joy in those moments. For me this is a huge thrill and I guess some sort of emotional high, and  I’ve had failures too, We experience those moments alone but  as an audio enthusiast immediately wish to share our new discovery. I say you go for it and when you have a win share with all. Please excuse my money rant , it was only meant to illustrate that the true joy of discovery can be expensive and for me having a modest income has to be limited. I was on the phone with a guy I just met and he explained gear to me for 2 hours. During the conversation he stated he had a $150K in his living room system, but he found his joy in the music and was just as happy with the $1000 rig he put at his girlfriends house as he has 4 systems at home. I commend you for asking , and I admire you for sharing, and I share your joy of discovery. And if I buy a lemon I can admit I screwed up move on. I wish we could establish a trusted friends group just to share tubes. There are a lot of people with some absolute treasure safety stores away. Much Respect, Mike B. 

After posting I began to think about the turds I bought. Klipsch Heresy II’s , reproduction Dynaco MK III’s, JBL 4312A’s, JJ small signal tubes. Then stuff that had no impact , cheaper aftermarket power cords, custom made walnut platforms for speaker bases. I don’t get a thrill spending as I worked for wages. And I don’t struggle with bias conformation and I don’t put lipstick on a pig. For me it’s finding an improvement and spending the rest of the day fixating on the new found sound. And I’m Done 😆