I’m about 3 months into my new SE84UFO25, learning about tubes, and thinking about rolling.  Which one first—the rectifier (I’m considering the Sophia Electric Aqua 274B), or the input tube (I’m thinking about the Genalex-Gold Lion E88CC/6922 or the Telefunken Blanc Diamond E88CC/6922)?  I have the sense (sans the experience) that the input and rectifier tubes must play together to make the good music, but which would produce the biggest bang for the buck?

Also, I notice that the Genalex-Gold Lion sold at Tube Depot offers several options for additional dollars: “Balanced Triods” ($2), “High Gain” ($2), “Low Noise & Microphonics ($4).  Do I want/need any of those for my SE84UFO25?  Thanks for your time.

I have to say I really really like the Sophia Electric Aqua 274B. Big and rich without being overly warm and obscuring. Powerful! I've had great reliability with them though others have had seemingly too early failures.

As you may have discovered there are many options for input tubes. I used to favor Amperex 6922 and 7308, but I also really like the 6N5P that Steve will test thoroughly and match and sells. And last year I went in a totally different direction using 6SN7 tubes with converter bases and finding my thrill in RCA gray glass versions. Full-bodied sound.