Have to give my kudos to the Tube Store... Got shipped nearly immediately and arrived in about 5 days from Canada to Colorado.
Sound quality is improved in every parameter that I can perceive in my ARC RefCD9... I went with all 6 of their middle of the line upgrade and matched tubes and have been totally satisfied and amazed at the improvement over the ARC originals which to be fair may have simply been past their prime.
I also then ordered some tube dampers from Herbies, a tiny shop I'm sure, and that took about a month but yes they work amazingly well and the delay gave me chance to get the new tubes burnt in a bit as well as be able to compare the differences after installing the dampers... cleaned up the midrange and the bottom end in ways that added clarity without rough edges that can fatigue my ears.
Enjoy the music!
Sound quality is improved in every parameter that I can perceive in my ARC RefCD9... I went with all 6 of their middle of the line upgrade and matched tubes and have been totally satisfied and amazed at the improvement over the ARC originals which to be fair may have simply been past their prime.
I also then ordered some tube dampers from Herbies, a tiny shop I'm sure, and that took about a month but yes they work amazingly well and the delay gave me chance to get the new tubes burnt in a bit as well as be able to compare the differences after installing the dampers... cleaned up the midrange and the bottom end in ways that added clarity without rough edges that can fatigue my ears.
Enjoy the music!