[Frederick Rea]

On the way to the perfect audition
To treat tubes and hum we could use metal stents around them (shielded)


Nonmagnetic metals, such as aluminum will not work at very low frequencies; a magnetic material; for example, Iron or Nickel is required

 

[mordy]

Hi FR,
 
Your methods sound interesting - did you try them all yourself yet? The ferrite core looks neater than the other solutions.
 
If you have tried all the things (tires, foam, stents and cores), could you comment on what works best and in which situations?
 
I came across a hum problem yesterday - please look at my post on the Euforia thread.

 

[Frederick Rea]

Yes I've tried everything I told you
I still use on my system those ferrite insulators (from 3 years till now) and sometimes those tires from my child RC car when I have problems with stability on tubes. The stent or tube web I used on a tube that behaves unstable (hum and so on)
It is a ever surch for controling electricity and magentism in audio aproach. As you know there are several good things already in the market for this, but since audio brands discover it or COPY they will use it as a new product and rise the price to stratosphere. It is an amateur work within my love for music
I use as well a small PLASTIC needle on tube sockets or a small fiber ring around central guide of the tube to self limit insertion and live a gap between socket and tube (for thermal reasons and to have already a gap to insert someting to remove the tube (EX new sockets)

 

[UntilThen]

  EL12N and Ken Rad VT-231  has turned out to be a surprisingly good combo. I thought the air of the KRs would tease out any sharpness from the EL12Ns, but quite the opposite seems to be the case. Wonderful clarity - not really the usual hole in the midrange that I associate with the KR VT231. Just loads of air, smoothness in the mids and very physical bass. I don't believe I've found a better combo for heavy dubby techno. You can really feel things hitting you in the stomach, yet at the same time everything sounds so sweet. 
 
I think I mentioned a while back, while trying individual EL3Ns as power tubes, that while they lacked an awful lot of slam they actually did a very good job of letting your driver tubes sing. I think that's true of all the EL family we are using as powers. No 6080 or 6AS7G that I could afford  ever came close in terms of its ability to clearly put forward the character of a driver tube. 
 

 
Hello Rich, glad you are enjoying the different tones with Elise.This is what makes tube rolling interesting. You will hear the different nuances of tone and our ears connects with our brains to pick that up very well.
 
Keep the feedback coming. 

 

[mordy]

Hi FR,
 
Tried to find these net like contraptions but could not find them on Amazon or eBay. Could you please tell me what name or search term to use to find these items, or maybe you have a link - thanks.

 

[Frederick Rea]

You could try search Google "Metal Mesh" or "Metal Mesh Tube" and Images
Here
http://perforatedmetalmesh.sell.everychina.com/p-104620282/showimage3.html
or here
http://www.kingdamesh.com/Deep-processing-Products/Metal-mesh-tube-filter-62963-1.htm
or else

 

[2359glenn]

You can go to a electrical supply and get a Kellems grip and cur the hangers off.
For large size wire!
Good luck getting it on the tube things things are tight.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HUBBELL-KELLEMS-022-02-005-CABLE-WIRE-GRIP-1-1-24-02202005-/182070835214?hash=item2a6444780emBUFVaxYISzElBvmT_Z2JfA

 

[Frederick Rea]

  Hi FR,
 
Tried to find these net like contraptions but could not find them on Amazon or eBay. Could you please tell me what name or search term to use to find these items, or maybe you have a link - thanks.

But before this you must clean your amp from statics
Seet your Amp on this and you will hear a deeper bass and a cleaner treble, with the center just on the point.
(Best with metal feet, to have the circuit closed)

Tubes are prone to catch all electricity (RF EMI) in the surroundings
and after this if your tube is very wild go to the mesh
 
Even looks like witches' things but it's what I found the best in these 45 years of experience listening to music through Tube Amps

 

[frederick-rea]

mordy
I read a post from you on the Euforia treath about the discharge of the capacitors and switch Off / On referring to the time needed to wait to change the tubes. The discharge time of the capacitors is exactly the same in the 2 amplifiers, but in the Euphoria Lucasz improved the On/Off system to avoid spikes when switching Off, since when swithing On the spikes exists as well but are not audible (transmitted to the Headphone) because it takes some time to recharge the capacitors

 

[richdytch]

Well I got my replacement Valvo EL12 tube yesterday and ran with EL12 as powers and EL12N as drivers for the whole day. While it's a combination which is capable of dizzying transparency, I'm afraid it just lacks body on my system. It was a bit more tolerable with my Quad amp than when using the 25 watt Temple, but still sounded rather thin. I've switched back to EL12 and EL3N today and it's a much happier combo. Just about right for my setup. 
 
From this experience, for me at least, I'd say that EL12N does a much better job as a power tube than it does as a driver. 

 

[mordy]

Hi FR and h1,
 
Thanks for clarifying - I guess I have to be patient when changing tubes. My usual rule is to wait until the tubes have cooled enough not to burn my fingers lol.

 

[mordy]

Hi rd,
 
Everybody has a different system, and what is important is that you have the set-up that you are happy with. The only thought that goes through my mind is if you gave the tubes enough time to burn in - usually 30-50 hours (and much more for some types).

 

[richdytch]

Hi rd,

Everybody has a different system, and what is important is that you have the set-up that you are happy with. The only thought that goes through my mind is if you gave the tubes enough time to burn in - usually 30-50 hours (and much more for some types).

Hi Mordy... yes, my EL12Ns have been used for probably 100 hours or so. I'm fairly sure that it's just down to my system sounding fairly lean - or neutral depending on your viewpoint.

 

[DecentLevi]

I got the Mazda EF86 tubes today with beautiful silver mesh plates. The size is surprisingly the exact same as my ECC88, 6N23p and 12AV7 tubes, so I would also consider EF86's to be "miniature tubes". The amount / size location of pins are also the same, so since my adapters didn't come in yet I'm wondering if it would be compatible with either of my ECC88 or 6CG7 to 6SN7 adapters? Of course I won't try it just based on 'fit', but just curious.

 

[DecentLevi]

Oh nevermind, I remember these are pentodes, so not likely compatible with normal sockets.
 

 
but wait... hmmm... maybe I'll try these new 'lamps' as 'bells', or with my 'lantern'.
     
 
  (my spin on a joke from earlier posts)