Morgan wrote:

Quote:


Morgan, thanks for this. Your post finally got me to pick up the phone and call Andy at VTS. Looking forward to my discussion. I just got done doing a bunch of rectifier swaps over the weekend. My Taboo still has its Mullard GZ-37, but the other equipment had all RCA with one old JAN Raytheon in the SE84ZS. Now, my Ultra has a 1960s Hammond-labeled RCA 5U4G (straight-sided, which is big change for me, since I tend to like the voluptuous big-bottle girls), and the Toriis are trying out some early RCA 5AS4A (again, straight-sided). These latter are some interesting rectifiers. Lots of muscle, but I cannot discern yet if they are having a negative impact on depth, maybe blackness.

Which leads me to my second question: anyone know of a method for tube burn in other than plopping them into the target amps and letting them run for about two weeks with a 5/5 on-off cycle? Other than simply playing them, of course. Here's whaT I have observed: even if I take detailed notes, by the time I start really hearing what I am looking for, the process of listening to the tubes change pretty much wreaks Heisenberg havoc.  Of course, once done, then it is easier to swap tubes and really listen. So maybe that's just the way it has to be done. But it makes honest tube comparison time-consuming and difficult.

Third, the Nationals are quite nice, I think better than the Ediswanns I had in the Toriis. So, when I replaced the Nationals I had in the Ultra with the Siemens-Halske 6922 tubes, I moved the Nationals to the Toriis. Too soon to tell how much a difference it makes, because I changed two things at the same time (not to mention the rectifiers).