Thanks John.

Certainly worth a try in my Taboo MK1V down the road.

I have this tube and agree with Joman. Well worth the price!

Definitely not a good time to order tubes from overseas.
I have 4 acquisitions that are not moving due to flight restrictions.

+1. Great budget tube, sleeper... got a set of 4 for 30 bucks shipped. Sounds better every day...

I started off with the yellow label Tesla when I had my SE84UFO2 because they were supposed to be the sought after tube.  I didn’t like them.  I came across an ad for the white label 37.  In the ad it was claimed that the 37 white label were military grade and sought after.  At $8.00 ea., I gave them a try and found that I preferred the 37 white label by a long shot.

Now, after I got my UFO25, I use the PCC88 Tesla as back up in my CSP3 input.  Sometimes I put them in and I have a tendency to leave them in,  nice change of pace.  I consider the Tesla PCC88 37 white label as an excellent budget tube, not a giant killer, a bit of a sleeper.

So which is the Tesla sought after PCC88?  I have not come across a definitive, proven statement one way or the other.  For me, based on my experience, it’s the 37 white.

I am now using the TF PCC189 in the input section of my UFO25, and I have three spares.  The TF has been in the input position of my UFO25 for quite some time and I have no desire to change it.  It doesn’t have the typical TF or German tube sound.  I bought a pair in much the same manner as the Tesla PCC88, the price was good especially for a genuine TF, so I thought “why not”.  After getting it and spending some time with it I picked up two more.

I would like to add that it’s not just one tube it’s the synergy between all in the amp and the other components.  The CSP3, the ZROCK2 and the UFO25, all have to synergize.  The real game changer for me was the Miniwatt GZ34 Metal base.    It just seems to be the conductor that brought it all together.  But the Metal Base is not the point that I’m trying to make.  For others it may be another configuration.  Regardless, I believe it’s about all the tubes getting along with each other without any one trying to dominate or be the superstar.    

The TF has been in the input position of my UFO25 for quite some time and I have no desire to change it.  It doesn’t have the typical TF or German tube sound.

Interesting, thanks for that info. I assume by "German sound" you mean something like detailed and transparent rather than lush and liquid. I tend to lean more towards the German, so this makes it easier to resist buying the TFKs.

Thanks, appreciate the advice.  :)

My 25th Anniversary modded components have really shown me another level of tube-rolling processes. Like John, I have come to realize that an entire tube complement is the sound and each tube matters.

With the myriad of tube types and brands to play with there are so so many "sounds" (or as I think of them "amplifiers") possible. I've gone through many in the last two years and there are many to enjoy.

I find I need to have an anchor or two or I fly wildly through the sonic universes potentially there. I have one voltage regulator for the input tube I consistently use as to roll these I need to take the amp chassis off the amp case, not an 'on the fly' task. And I have never found a better power tube to use than Steve's carefully tested and matched and so that is another anchor. And in general I use a particular pair of Arcturus 0B3 as the voltuage regulator for the power tubes--they just give me a super quiet and a tad romantic sound I can't seem to do without.

Then what I do next depends on the rectifier. Lately I shifted to using the excellent Sophia Electric 274B Aquas again in the SE84UFO3s with the 25th mods and a Cunningham Type 80 Globe in the CSP3-25th modded. And with these rectifiers I have decided that Steve's carefully selected, tested and matched 6N5P just have the right stuff for almost all the material I listen to. I have these in the ZTPRE, the CSP3 and the Monoblocks. That complete chain has a certain magic to it!

The final icing on the sonic cake is the tube in the ZROCK2. I have been alternating between an Amperez 12AU7 and a National 5963 that Steve sent me with this ZROCK2.  Both are different windows into the sound and bothI really love and so I seem to pop one in and out every week or so.

And then there's gain riding. FInding just the right levels between the ZTPRE, the ZBIT, the ZROCK2, the CSP3, and the Monoblocks is fun and instructive to how the complements work.

I will never be able to be bored with thise components. Adding in the different settings and modes of my PS Audio P15 power regenerator. . . there is so much to tinker with. . .and be fascinated with the resulting sounds. And the music. . . comes alive.

Perhaps they do effect the rectifiers in that manner and then allow the rectifier to reveal other characteristics?

It's just one of those things that lead me to toss out a lot of preconceptions or "institutional knowledge" about audio. For instance power cords. One would think if you have a great balanced isolation transformer or a power regenerator then a cord to the amp wouldn't make much difference, the noise is reduced, the power cleaned. But my experience is that cable characteristics are even more pronounced after the conditioner or regenerator, and also the contitioner or regenerator is more than subtly influenced by the cable between it and the wall.

The one thing I have come to know with certainty is: Decware products allow you to hear so much. The 25th Anniversary mods give that much a little boost. You often find yourself inspired to reach the next audio plateau. . . .