Tube Life Artifacts
After swapping tubes around, the problem seems to have disappeared. I also tried the tap testing, with no obvious differences. Perhaps I should try cleaning all the pins. A friend of mine suggested that I bring him all the tubes and he'll test them on his Hickcock. I have to say that 12 years doesn't sound all that long to me for amps that only get used 2 to 3 times a week. Maybe 15-20 hours? I have radios with 50 year old tubes that sound great, but they don't get used much. |
I tend to "roll" signal tubes and preamp tubes more than the power tubes. This has made larger differences in my mind. But once I've got it sounding good, across different sources, I don’t want to mess with it. In any case, just shifting the tubes around and cleaning connectors seems to have solved the problem. But I'm going to find those damn Philips tubes in the basement. It's bugging the hell out of me. |
They are Philips brand tubes. The seller told me they were made by Mullard, but he was Chinese and I may have misunderstood. The amps were recapped in the 80s and may need it again, but for now, they seem to be working well. There's a little hissing when they power up, but it goes away pretty quick. Yes, tomorrow I will dig around again in the basement. I'll be mad if I don't have them anymore. I found all sorts of cool stuff down there including reel and Elcaset tapes, so I think I'm getting close. |
Ok, I found those NOS Philips and swapped them in. Maybe a slightly better treble, as the cymbals are louder and seem to fade slower. But the RCAs are back in. They have much better bass and mids. More balanced across the whole spectrum. I don't hear a difference in width or height. My girlfriend doesn't hear any difference, even though she's got better ears. She thinks I'm crazy. |
I haven't decided if the better cymbals with the Philips is real, or just a consequence of a suppressed and less liquid midrange. But it's true, the Philips only have about 12 hours on them. The Chinese guy raved about them, but then he was selling them, so... At any rate, I'm looking for more RCAs on the net. Then I find that there's at least 4 different kinds. It's never simple, is it? |
Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out. I've been looking at these, including Telefunkens at $190 per pair. Seems a bit high, no? http://www.audiotubes.com/6bq5.htm I have no relationship with this seller, and this link is not an endorsement. I posted it for information purposes only. (not sure what the rules are here). |
