Now then guys, I know this subject has been covered many times before, but here's a different slant on tube pin care.
We all know about making sure any corrosion whatsoever is removed and kept at bay by judicious use of a sharp - but not
too sharp - instrument...I personally also then like to make sure the surface is as smooth as possible, using fine emery paper, if necessary. The theory behind this is that the metal should then make fuller contact with the kind of socket used in Euforia, and the belief of a specialist in metallurgy that after a while, the two surfaces develop a special kind of bond that improves electron flow, which can only help in sound reproduction...but this only happens in the absence of air! You can believe this or not, depending on one's knowledge, point of view etc.!!
Anyway folks, something else I found with the NOS EL32s (CV1052) I received was that the pins were coated with a grease-like substance, that obviously protected the 80 year old pins admirably, as after cleaning this off with white spirit, they shone like new...no corrosion whatsoever. So the moral is watch out for this protective coating...which I haven't really noticed before, and which IMHO points to a
very well produced tube in the first place lol!!
And second, I must just mention that the Woo Audio WA33 'Elite' mentioned a while ago - $14,999! - uses single-crystal (OCC) silver wire, which I have been advocating for a while now. For Mr Woo to do this, there must indeed be something in this wire...he does undoubtedly make exceedingly good amps, and does nothing 'just for the sake of it' lol!
...CHEERS!...