So I received the replacement tube from Schiit yesterday and couldn't be happier.
Not that I'm any kind of tube connoisseur, but this one is (to my ears) radically different from the one I got for a song from some apartment this weekend. While that one was very neutral, detailed and revealing, the Schiit tube on the other hand (again, to my ears) is darker right out of the box, and works wonders with thin-sounding recordings. For instance, now playing Idil Biret's piano rendering of the Symphonie fantastique and wow, it's never been this meaty.
So for a mere $10 I may already have reached my tube endgame. I feel like I can swap anytime between a warm sound and a super detailed one at will.
Y'all agree this is endgame, right? No more spending for me? No clicking the Buy button on that 6SN7 adapter, huh?
Right?... Guys?
Bueller?