[kiertijai]

@CeeTee :   I am also waiting for your impression of the HD800 with super 7 and of course for the
LCD3 esp. in comparison with the LCD2.  I am also one of the few who prefer LCD2 rev1 over LCD2 rev2
with the BA because I like its unique sweet mid.  So for me the LCD2 rev2 does not add much and that's
what I am afraid that the LCD3 will be the same with 2000-$ price tag.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

I didn't imply I use the S7 as a tube tester to give me accurate capacitance numbers and such.  Just that I sweep the pot after I replace tubes and listen for noise after they warm up.  Obviously if the 6 output power tubes produce no audible noise then using the driver as the variable makes sense.  Did I say something vague you might be misinterpreting?  I don't get what's complicated about hearing noise from a tube you just replaced?
 

Thanks for your answer.
 
I agree an amp is not and should not replace a tube tester.
What I would like to know is if a power tube goes bad how can you identify which one out of the 6 has gone bad.
Some brand new re-issues like the Tung Sol 6SN7 and Electro Harmonics 6SN7EH show shrots when tested and some have noise issues. 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Thanks for your answer.
 
I agree an amp is not and should not replace a tube tester.
What I would like to know is if a power tube goes bad how can you identify which one out of the 6 has gone bad.
Some brand new re-issues like the Tung Sol 6SN7 and Electro Harmonics 6SN7EH show shrots when tested and some have noise issues. 

You'll hear the bad ones. We used a process of elimination with IEMs (UERM) to identify the noiser (not defective) tubes.
 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

Sigh, too bad I am not on the list and thus probably have to back down my interest on the amp.

Maybe you can write him and beg?
 
Believe it or not, it was lack of interest in this amp that forced him to honor only the original people on the interest list and send off future production to a distributor who will probably mark it up 40%. It's really such a shame.

 

[CEE TEE]

Yep, after changing out a couple tubes that sounded like a tiny "air leak"...it wasn't an issue for me.
 
I mentioned it in case someone wants to exclusively use sensitive iems.  I plan on using HD800.
 
My HF2 will probably hit the FS board tomorrow night (hanging out with another Head-Fier tonight).
 
Quote:

You'll hear the bad ones. We used a process of elimination with IEMs (UERM) to identify the noisier (not defective) tubes.

 
There is a great Bay Area/SoCal crew-thing happening...I think that I might coordinate the purchase of a good tube tester and then we can ship it around CA.
 
(One of those things you mostly need when you buy a bunch of tubes or need to check a collection...)
 
Anyone have a suggestion for a good tester?

 

[IndieScent]

Quote:

 

Maybe you can write him and beg?
 
Believe it or not, it was lack of interest in this amp that forced him to honor only the original people on the interest list and send off future production to a distributor who will probably mark it up 40%. It's really such a shame.

while not exactly begging, I did write him email(since I am kinda have no idea which end of month he meant on his website). and he replied with the offer is expired

. well just my bad luck i guess.

 

[rosgr63]

I suggest Bob Putnak of tubesound.com he'll advise you what tester best fits your needs.

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

There is a great Bay Area/SoCal crew-thing happening...I think that I might coordinate the purchase of a good tube tester and then we can ship it around CA.
 
(One of those things you mostly need when you buy a bunch of tubes or need to check a collection...)
 
Anyone have a suggestion for a good tester?

I recently met a guy down in San Jose who is in the process of setting up a tube and vintage equipment business.  He has a warehouse full of vintage gear, as well as shelves and shelves full of old stock tubes.  He's considering having various tester services setup (including curve traces), and I've already tested a number of tubes with him.
 
He hasn't finished setting up his business yet so I'm going to refrain from advertising yet, but he's a stand-up guy, very nice, and quite knowledgeable.  He may be ready to go public before the end of this year.
 
Anyway, I wanted to put that out there since there are a lot of us down in the South Bay/Peninsula, and I spent several weeks calling and emailing many, many people (including attending meets) trying to find someone who did tube testing services.
 
Still can't find a tester repairperson in norcal, though, but there are a few Hickok repair folks on the west coast.  I personally don't recommend buying a tester, and would suggest finding someone with maintained and calibrated equipment instead.  Unless you plan on going into ham radio or have specialized needs (such as vintage TVs), owning a properly maintained and calibrated mutual transconductance tester is just not economical.
 
Even if you ship it around to timeshare a tester, it's not available for most people during those impulse purchase times, and the shipping alone (as well as potential damage from mishandled packages) costs more than what most people would charge for tube testing services, whether per hour or per tube.

 

[CEE TEE]

^Wow, wonderful post, Elysian!!
 
Thank you.  When can we go meet him??

 
I'll be sure to have a shopping list ready!
 
Maybe we can work something out and have member pricing...
 
Any idea how much the tester is though (we could keep it in a local spot and not ship it)?
 
I would like us to have those curve traces.
 
Just curious.

 

[Elysian]

I think he mentioned to me that he was hoping to have his business up and ready at the end of November, but he's got an awful lot to inventory, a website to setup, and had a lot to uncrate.  I hope he's successful as he has a lot of gear I haven't seen since I was a little kid.  He may go into selling new production tubes, too, so there will be more options for us North Americans than just Grant Fidelity   He's considering various lines and is assessing what's already out there to cut down on redundancy.  From my interactions with him, he's punctual and has integrity, so it's only a win for us consumer guys if he gets his business going.
 
The cheapest tester I'd recommend getting is something along the lines of a B&K 747.  A used one will go for $200-300, followed by another $200-300 for refurbishing old parts and calibrating the tester.  If you want to go high-end, there are the Hickok 539B/C ($800-1100) models.  The vast majority of testers (especially out there on ePay) are inflated by 200-1000% what you will pay at a swap meet or an old shop, and most of the comments about 'worked when I last tried it' 'seems calibrated', etc., are outright lies.
 
Not only that, unless you have an adapter, you probably won't be able to test all the tubes you want (older WW2 models like the TV-2 will definitely need an adapter), and those era testers will not test something like a 300B properly because the tester won't be able to drive enough voltage.  The tester will not be able to simulate an equivalent setting as the demands of an actual audio rig.
 
If you want to do it right, you'd want an Amplitrex AT-1000, which is $2675 (http://www.amplitrex.com/about.html) or a cardmatic tube tester to do traces.  An Amplitrex will probably do everything an audiophile could possibly want, and will be more accurate than even the laboratory Hickoks/Western Electrics.  The 539B/C are legendary testers but are not really accurate compared to something like an Amplitrex.  The high-end Hickok reputation has far outsold the actual value at this point.  Conversely, you want to be careful about the low-end testers to do anything more than a gas emission short test.  Most are not that accurate and just not very good.  There's a reason why Hickok supposedly owned over 70% of the market.
 
I'd just recommend finding someone local like this guy to do a proper curve trace for you.

 

[purrin]

What about one of those ~ $400 testers from tubesound.com? I'm starting to have a large stash of tubes worth a lot. $400 would be reasonable - if it could help me resell the stuff I don't need anymore.
 

 

[Skylab]

First of all, Purrin and Anaxilus, very nice review, thank you for your efforts in conducting and posting it! I wish I had more experience with EC amps, but I certainly like my EC Transcription phono stage very much.
 
On the topic of tube testers, I think that owning a basic emissions tester is very valuable if one plans to bargain hunt for tubes either at hamfests or on EBay.  The purpose of such a tester in that case is not to do precise (or even approximate) matching, but rather to use the tester to test for leaks, shorts, or just dead tubes, prior to putting them in your amp and potentially causing some much bigger problem.  For this purpose, a basis tester like the B&K 606 I use is well worth the relatively small cost.
 
I also own a calibrated Mutual Transconductance tester, a B&K 650, but I confess I rarely use it anymore, because it is much bigger and heavier than the 606, and all I am really interested in knowing is that the tube is good and isn't going to be a problem in my amp.  Testers won't tell you if the tube is quiet or otherwise good sounding, but they will sure tell you when NOT to put the tube in the amp.

 

[Elysian]

I wouldn't recommend any of those testers on tubesound.com.  There are a few testers like the B&K 747 which are about as good as the Hickoks but sell for a lot less because the brand name is less sexy.  Some of the high-end Heathkit, Seco, Supreme, Triplett (3444) are good buys, but people have picked up on this and the prices have inflated by 100-300% in the last few years.  Not all mutual transcondutance testers are built the same.  Possibly something like a Hickok 600 or 6000 would be okay for casual use, but the radio sites are good to dig in deep on the deficiencies.  If all you're doing is testing for shorts, a cheap gas emissions tester is suitable for most cases.
 
Roger Kennedy's article is probably a good place to start if you want to own a tester:
http://www.alltubetesters.com/articles/tester_guide.htm
 
Roger's down in Socal and still does repairs, but he's getting up there in age and is not in the best of health, so any jobs you do through him will probably take 4-6+ months, conservatively speaking.  I've heard he has a very long waitlist because there just aren't a lot of guys around anymore who know this stuff, and the radio guys are very patient.  Kara up in Washington has a great reputation and is quicker, but only works on select Hickok models:
http://www.tubewizard.com/
 
It's safe to multiply whatever the website rate is by x2-x3 because you'll probably have to refurbish a bunch of parts which is not included in the base service fee.
 
Here are a few good places to read up on different models, but like Roger Kennedy wrote, your specific application can matter a lot, and some of the information might not necessarily be correct on these write-ups:
http://www.jacmusic.com/Tube-testers/index.html
http://www.tubewizard.com/recommended_Hickok_testers.htm
 
Tone Lizard had a good write-up, but it looks like Google cache isn't pulling up the old page anymore, and the current page is blank.
 
At least the market price for high-end tube testers is appreciating better than the interest in bank savings accounts.  I don't see prices decreasing on 539s anytime soon.  They shot up from free-$20 to $1000+ since the 80s.

 

[GWN]

 
Quote:

while not exactly begging, I did write him email(since I am kinda have no idea which end of month he meant on his website). and he replied with the offer is expired

. well just my bad luck i guess.

Same thing with me. I was told today that the pre-order ended at the end of Oct.  When I inquired about putting my name on a production unit I was told that these would be sold thru Jaben.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

What about one of those ~ $400 testers from tubesound.com? I'm starting to have a large stash of tubes worth a lot. $400 would be reasonable - if it could help me resell the stuff I don't need anymore.
 

I have bought a few testers from Bob pro rebuilt, really nice, first class after sales service.
He won't just sell you anything, but he'll take you through the steps to find out what you need.
 
He's just an email away, just tell him what you want.
If it doesn't work out, blame me.
 
I am not affiliated with him in away we are worlds apart.
 
Agree with Rob 100%, the tester will only tell you if it's safe to use a tube.
The best test is in circuit, in your amp provided it's safe to use.
Excellent testing tubes may be noisy etc, other low testing but safe tubes may sound great and last a long time.