[Hirsch]

I just went back to the JJ's. In so doing, I noticed something interesting...one of the pins on a tube I had removed appeared bent. I took a look at the pair I was about to put in, and saw that one was bent as well (it had been in the amp before. On close inspection, one of the sockets on a tube socket had closed. The pin was still making a connection, but I wanted to reopen the socket. Couldn't do it with a jeweler's screwdriver...couldn't get enough leverage. I finally managed to find something fine enough to do the job...a small pointed metal tool not unlike an ice pick. That socket was wedged tight...as I don't use force putting anything in, it most likely came that way from the factory

Oh well, it's fixed now.

Anyway, back to the topic, I put in the JJ's and started listening from the start. The JJ's produce less volume than the stock tubes. Since I had noticed a shrunken sound stage previously, I started wondering if the JJ's were bad. About 15 minutes later, I started noticing what people like about the JJ's. About 15 minutes after that, I can definitely state that there's nothing wrong with the tubes. Gorgeous midrange, and much better bass than the stock tubes (but takes time to tighten up). The only problem was a lack of highs...I was wondering why they were missing...and then it hit me. I use the TDS passive audiophile in that system, and usually leave it on and forget about it. I turned it off, had to adjust the gain up to compensate, and there were the highs. Still not as good as I've heard, but plenty good enough.

So, there was an equipment interaction going on all along. The TDS had a synergistic effect with the Jan Phillips tubes, and had been making them sound better than they were. However, the JJ's appear to have a different frequency response, that does not seem to combine well with the TDS. I'm going to do a bit of experimenting, and see if this holds up over time. If I can keep the JJ's sounding the way they did tonight on 30 min warmup, I'll keep the TDS out of the system (which will give me the chance to use it with my speakers...could be fun)

 

[chadbang]

Vn412, There really doesn't seem to be alot of dealers that sell tubes extra cheap (but some are really expensive). If I were back home in the US (I'm overseas) and I wanted to add a little excitement in my life I would (A) Read that article at AudioAsylum by Joe about which are good tubes to check out and how to recognise genuine tubes and then (B) hit Ebay! I see tubes going really cheap there - like about 30 percent of the price you'll pay from a dealer. I suppose its risky, though, and a lot of the tubes aren't NOS ("New old stock" meaning they might be 30 years old but they're unused). Still looks like you can get some great deals. If I could pick up a top rated set of tubes for 15 dollars, and even if I only get 5 or 6 months use out of it, I'd consider that a deal!. So the choice is pay alot and be safe or be adventurous for a little money. Go check out Ebay and you'll see what I mean.

 

[Hirsch]

Back to the drawing board. The JJ's keep getting better, but it's now about 14 hours of warmup. A whole new level of fine detail is opening up. I was hoping I could get away with 30 min, but it's not going to work.

Optimum strategy may eventually be to keep the X-Can on constantly, but get a second pair of JJ's, and rotate the tubes every couple of weeks, depending on whether or not the eventual deterioration of the focus keeps happening with the X-PSU in place.

 

[Tomcat]

An update on my Earmax warm-up troubles: I am a dunce.

I had the mains plug plugged in the wrong way, with wrong AC polarity. I don't know when this has happened, but it has obviously influenced the outcome of my little experiments. Now that I have correct AC polarity again (I always decide about optimal polarity for my components by ear - there will usually be more low-level linearity and detail, more air and soundstage depth), I can let the Earmax cook for at least a week, and it will start sounding really magical after maybe 48 or 72 hours.

As I said: I am a dunce.

In case anyone shouldn't know about AC polarity: it's crucial. And it might be the cheapest tweak of them all. If you have a symmetrical mains plug, simply try both possible ways of plugging it in. You will be rewarded instantaneously.