@peter6- I’d never seen that site. More comprehensive/technical, than the ancient Chimera listening comparison. Thanks! Just fyi: I had long ago settled on Tung-Sol’s Round Plate & Sylvania’s W(tall bottle/metal base), for my input pairs(monoblocks/a pair per) and bought a few of each(back when they weren’t so salty). My backups are the bottom-gettered, early Fifties, Sylvanias and Ken-Rads, mentioned in both articles. I lose just a slight bit of stage depth, with those, in comparison to the RP’s & W’s. I’m partial to a very clean/uncolored sound and found most of the other tubes(on the Chimera list), to be too warm for my tastes, after trying the top 12 mentioned. As the second article states, changing the ID of a manufacturer’s tube(ie: whether VT-231, a JAN designation or a 6SN7 number), doesn’t change it’s internals. That’s why I’ve paired different brands, to assure the avoidance of reinforcing any weaknesses. Caveat: In the past two years, some of my Tung-Sols have exhibited intermittent, internal problems, crackling like crazy, until the amp’s top plate(or the tube) is tapped(less than optimum result, from so expensive an item). Haven’t heard anything, as to whether that’s endemic(RP, w/horizontal metal supports). Have fun/happy listening!
