Maybe 800 pairs considering the GEs....Mrs. bcowen has already been properly educated. She still has no clue what a tube is or does, but she is aware that the stash could probably buy her 1k pairs of shoes. That she understands.
I bought a few tubes from eBay, all cheaper ones. I don't have much listening in yet due mostly using the amp for long burn in sessions. However, I am liking the inexpensive Russian tubes over the NOS American tubes. Particularly Foton 6N8S driver tube with Svetlana 6N5S power tube. Bargain tubes, yet very good sound. The eBay seller I purchased them from was hds-group just in case anyone was wondering. And, all of my purchased tubes except for one Russian tube have required burn in to get rid of buzzing. Anywhere from 5 hours to 78 hours of burn in to get rid of buzzing. Stock Chinese tubes came buzz free.
Encounter with angels is guaranteed if you buy those and we rat you to Mrs. Galapac
Unobtainium tube of the day goes to:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHED-PA...312114?hash=item2f539dc7b2:g:xNwAAOSwbhVgGOrs
A new high for this tube. The price would make you think it sounds like the angels of heaven are playing inside your ear.
Probably the $100 is due to the armed vehicle used for transportation by USPS...or $145 a month for 24 months on PayPal credit
...then the killer...$100 shipping because it comes to you via teleporter.
In case you show an interest in those at this price, am sure the seller can come up with an even more precious pair lolBummer. huh? If only he had 2 pairs for sale....
Are you referring to these two:
Those are exactly the ones! Great sound on the cheap.
Those particular tubes actually test pretty well *if* the seller's tester has been calibrated recently (like within the last couple years at minimum) and *if* his pictures are an honest representation. Not saying they aren't, but all you have to do with any of these testers is crank the line voltage pot up a bit and even nearly dead tubes can "show" that they test very high in GM. I looked though the seller's photos quite a bit and didn't see anything that looked suspicious, but again, when was his tester last calibrated? If it was more than a couple years ago, the readings are meaningless. TV-7's are a supreme PITA to fully calibrate and get dialed in correctly, and I speak from experience on that. There's also the fact that if I spent $3k on a pair of 6SN7's the real issue at hand would be that my brain was out of calibration even more than usual (which would be hard).
I may add that I have 6N5S Svetlanas from the 50s, 60s, and 70s and the 1950s Svetlanas do sound the best of the bunch. The 60s and 70s I have are about the same. Not a huge difference but the sound appears to be more lush and full in the 1950's versions I have.
Which cans are You pairing with the DV ?
6xx and T1.2 mostly. Perhaps I perceive more warmth based on comparisons to the amps I have/had (Hagerman Tuba and Feliks Echo)? I hear them as smooth/clear whereas with the DarkVoice I get smooth/warm. Is there one or two 6SN7s under, say, $75 you'd recommend? Let's shoot for double-wrapped in sleeping bags!
From my short experience I can recommend the RCA 6SN7 Grey Glass and Sylvania 6SN7 6SN7GT 2 Holes. Ordered the Raytheon JAN-CRP-6SN7GT VT231 T Plates as well (recommended by @bcowen ) and should be brilliant too.
Certainly nothing wrong with smooth/warm (that's usually my preference too), but if you want to liven things up a bit try a '50's Foton 6N8S (cheap) or an early '60's or '50's Melz 6N8S (good ones can be found for around $50). A true Melz 1578 is going to be closer to $100 so a bit above your budget. Both of those may require pin resoldering, so be aware of that up front. The Raytheon is a good bet too (T-plates are my preference). Lots of flavors, but if you're already on the warm side then some of the other highly regarded suspects (RCA and Ken-Rad black/gray glass from the '40's and '50's) might be too much of a good thing.
Thank you, this is informative......As a corollary, would your brain re-calibrate if enough voltage was applied to the carotid arteries a la Frankencowen?...Those particular tubes actually test pretty well *if* the seller's tester has been calibrated recently (like within the last couple years at minimum) and *if* his pictures are an honest representation. Not saying they aren't, but all you have to do with any of these testers is crank the line voltage pot up a bit and even nearly dead tubes can "show" that they test very high in GM. I looked though the seller's photos quite a bit and didn't see anything that looked suspicious, but again, when was his tester last calibrated? If it was more than a couple years ago, the readings are meaningless. TV-7's are a supreme PITA to fully calibrate and get dialed in correctly, and I speak from experience on that. There's also the fact that if I spent $3k on a pair of 6SN7's the real issue at hand would be that my brain was out of calibration even more than usual (which would be hard).
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