[Nazo]

A fair point. We'll see. They'll probably reject since that will be less than $20 counting the shipping, but an offer has been submitted.

EDIT: So as an update they did accept it and I did try that one. It is good. Definitely better than the stock NOS 6BZ7 and the ElectroHarmonix 6CG7 -- at least for me. However, I recently managed to go ahead and also order a modern Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB and, you know what? I actually think it suits me much better. So much so I kind of think this might be exactly the one I was looking for.

 

[Bobertsawesome]

Any updates on your testing? I have the same pile of Schiit and I'm looking to upgrade tubes. Which one did you like best and why?

 

[Nazo]

The Tung-Sol was probably my favorite of all I tried back then other than a very tiny bit of noise it would pick up on one side (which I could only hear in absolute silence anyway.) I, much later on, decided to try the Genalaex Gold Lion E88CC though and something about it seemed to suit me just a tiny bit better than that one. Obviously the actual gold plating is useless and drives up the cost (looking at their similar products for other form factors it seems it drives it up quite considerably in fact) but that was the only one that wouldn't require specialized adapters or something so I went ahead and went with it. I'm afraid it has been too long since I plugged it in and decided to stay with it for me to even remember specifics to describe the differences or anything, so I can't say much in that respect. I've been using the Genalaex since then without any desire to change since.

It's worth nothing the Vali 2 won't give really extreme tube differences regardless because of how it works, so don't expect really huge differences with any of them. (It's designed to amplify voltage and not current through the tube.)

 

[Nazo]

Bit of a delay, but coming back to this, I had some time and proper mindset and all to sit down and swap tubes for a bit out of curiosity. However, I have forgotten virtually everything I learned about how to properly analyze the sound, lol. What I can tell you in particular is the Golden Lion seemed to have more detail as in I could hear finer parts of several songs better with it. Probably emphasizing certain specific frequency ranges or something, but I couldn't tell you what specifically they are if it is (somewhere in the mids I guess?) I popped in the Tung Sol and the Magnavox and of the two the Tung Sol did seem to have a more enjoyable sound than the Magnavox, though the difference was a bit too subtle for me to describe as exactly as I would like. However, it's only fair to note that the Magnavox was very very used even at the time I got it and someday I probably need to track down a NOS or at least one in better shape (I'm pretty sure it was an extremely used tube before I got it which might partially explain why they accepted a low-ball offer.) It has a burn at the top (not the gas absorption material, but an actual burn) and the metals seem to have changed color a bit inside (a sign of reaching relatively high temperatures,) so clearly it was well used before I got it. (There is also a crack in the plastic, but not the glass, so that presumably doesn't matter.) It could be the Magnavox is actually a lot better if its condition is better. Someday I'll find out I guess, but sadly that's not today. I do think the Tung Sol probably still is overall better though.

Of course, it could be the biggest differences of those two really show up when there is also some current drain. It's too bad the Vali 2 doesn't simulate just a bit of current drain (a resistor or something maybe?) to bring their power profiles a bit closer to what they expect. I'd be curious to compare the difference with a setup that draws more like what is expected of a tube. Someday when money isn't so tight I may try going full tube amp and see first-hand. (But then with headphones like these a hybrid may still be the best compliment anyway.)