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Tube equipment reviews

After dabbling with tubed components for the first time, it becomes clear the impact of tube rolling is enormous. Therefore, it is interesting to consider reviews of such equipment: if the equipment is of a certain quality, is not the reviewer hearing the tube more than the support equipment? And if so, does that not bias the reviews?

I know my AES DJH preamp is a whole different beast depending on the tubes I've been rolling through it; it can range from respectable to outstanding.
mprime

Showing 2 responses by boa2

boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
You hit the nail on the head, Mprime. To draw conclusions about a $4000 amp with stock $20 tubes is unwittingly biased, IMO. It shortchanges the listener from what a particular component is truly capable of doing. Just read all of the reviews here about the Jolida JD-100A and you will see what a difference tube rolling can make. The same could be said regarding interconnects, power cords, isolation devices, etc.
For me, there is no dabbling in NOS tubes. The sonic variations and performance capabilities one finds there are absolutely addictive.
All the best,
Howard
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
No kidding, Unclejeff. We put a Siemens 6922 in our Audio Aero Prima hybrid amp, and my wife asked what happened that it sounds so good. We swapped the stock Edicron 6922's for NOS Siemens in our Audion amp, and the Siemens lent an immediacy and liveliness to the sound that gives me the chills.

You see, we don't have kids, so my Siemens has to serve an alterate role in the reproduction process.
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