Soundstage, layering and tube differences


Within tube types, say el34’s, can anyone explain why one brand of tube like SED C’s have deep layered soundstaging and another, such as the Mullard reissue el34’s ,are more 2D? I just replaced my 10 year old SED’s with the Mullards ( which still need burn-in), but they are not nearly as 3D in my amps and are reported to be such.
Do some tubes resolve the actual recorded room acoustics better or is it a matter of harmonic distortion giving the illusion of soundstaging and 3 dimensionality??
jim94025
Do some tubes resolve the actual recorded room acoustics better or is it a matter of harmonic distortion giving the illusion of soundstaging and 3 dimensionality??
Yes. They are lower distortion, sometimes due to geometry being a bit lower distortion on account of how the electrons flow within the tube, the amount of actual vacuum, how consistent the cathode coating is, stuff like that.

If you like how well EL34s do, triodes can do it even better as they are more linear.
You know that you need to burn in your tubes and make an evaluation ever 50 hours.  Around 200-400 hours you can then see what you system will sound like.  Take some time and evaluate your results..
Tubes need zero burn-in...zero.
Whether they need it or not, there is always an exception to the rule.
My new Psvane 6SN7 Globes absolutely needed at least 20 hours to go from bright and scratchy to trasparent and holophonic. Further my 4 pairs of new  Shuguang Black 12AX7LS were unremarkable until they opened up after 10-20 hours.