rtsyrtsy wrote:jadis,
what are your tube installation practices before you take it for a serious listen?
i remember some chatter before about dirty pins and sockets contributing to a certain sound or another.
ditto for the gear itself, given that there is no 100% "neutral" gear, what precautions do you take before coming to your own conclusions about a particular tube? or would you caveat your thoughts with the usual "in my experience, in my system, etc.?"
i guess what i'm driving at is what are the other points for consideration (especially for tube newbies like me) in evaluating one tube vs. another?
thanks in advance.
rtsyrtsy,
Well, for NOS tubes, I do not do anything if the pins are spotlessly
clean. And for the last 7 years or so, I have always bought NOS tubes
from reputable dealers like Andy Bouwman of Vintage Tube Services.
And since they look clean, I just stick it in and evaluate. Prior to these,
I had bought tubes whose pins were so terrible they were 'filed' by
kikil. And the pins looked really rough. These, I believe, are common
practices to clean a corroded tube pin but I do not like it.
Re your second Q, I guess the 'usual' in-my-system bit is not
to play safe, but it is "reality'. No two systems sounds identical unless
they are identical, and that has to include that both room conditions
ARE identical too. But the beauty about tubes is that there are many
brands that will 'fit' into your system and you can even tune it to your
very taste. I have heard from most tube rollers that Teles, Mullards,
and Amperex Bugle Boys sound lush, bodiful and smooth. This was
the description from Andy Bouwman too. So there is a bit of a 'standard'
as to their sound quality. They will ultimately differ in other parameters,
like sounstage width and depth, or in dynamics. And some would
say that Siemens and EI provide a more 'neutral' (less lush but
more detailed) sound. Things like that. This basic approach will
have its exception, but I believe my other friends have the same
findings even if their systems are totally different from each other.
And the bottom line for you is still YOUR system. There is
nothing like testing or auditioning a tube in your system. A tube
may fit your system in terms of analytical demonstration but in the
end, it has to suit your music. And I believe there are tubes to suit
vocals, and tubes to suit fast moving music, things like that. But as
I would always like to say....you can't go wrong with these good
vintage tubes.