[jonathan c]

Wherever: make sure that you separate the NOS Tung-Sols from the designer tongue-soles ....

 

[corndog71]

Looks like the word got out.

 

[bevanc]

Asgard 2 for me (but I’ll locate an original sooner or later…).

I miss my Asgard 2, sold it to a friend when I got the Jotunheim 2.

 

[Ripper2860]

"Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

I believe that quote is from a remorseful audiophile after selling his gear.

 

[Slackaveli]

damn those are actually ridiculous prices.

 

[Ripper2860]

"You snooze - you lose."

Quote from the same audiophile.


** You know they don't make those anymore and haven't in years, right? Increased demand. Ever decreasing limited supply.

Try looking at Melz and Bendix 6SN7s.

 

[Slackaveli]

Yeah, of course. But, some of those ads are for used tubes, not even for NOS.
Single used tube that costs more than the amp does is out of whack. While obviously the supply of 396a, especially the preferred early 50s stock, will continue to decrease, the sound-quality-for-the-dollar should shift to similarly sweet sounding but in greater supply tubes- some of which are still produced or at least have large NOS supplies.

All that said my ears havent even come close to hearing enough tubes to have an opinion much beyond that.

 

[Ripper2860]

Finding true NOS now days is rare. Finding used but NOS measuring is getting harder.

I hear ya. One reason I've never owned a Vali is there's no way I could mentally get past paying more for a tube than my amp. That's why I own a Lyr 3 and an Incubus. More and higher priced tube options without being mentally conflicted.

I would not have been able to amass my hoard at these prices. Fortunately I got started years ago.

It's the new normal it seems.

 

[corndog71]

I got the 396 for only $65 and the pair of tested 5670’s for $50.

 

[Slackaveli]

Finding true NOS now days is rare. Finding used but NOS measuring is getting harder.

I hear ya. One reason I've never owned a Vali is there's no way I could mentally get past paying more for a tube than my amp. That's why I own a Lyr 3 and an Incubus. More and higher priced tube options without being mentally conflicted.

I would not have been able to amass my hoard at these prices. Fortunately I got started years ago.

It's s the new normal it seems.

It's a wee bit late to start. An Incubus with your tube collection is TOTL.

 

[Slackaveli]

I got the 396 for only $65 and the pair of tested 5670’s for $50.

And that seems a lil more reasonable. Good deals even.
I like the looks of those Raytheons.

 

[lemp]

Sigh.... you tube heads may have another convert. The Vali 3 showed up today. It's lovely. I'm going to have to do some serious listening to see how it compares with the Jot2 to try to qualify the sonic difference. Unfortunately, I can't find my TRS cable for the ZMF's so I'm listening with the Aeon RTs. I don't know if it was a volume thing or just buyer's expectation bias, but The Koln Concert sounded wonderful. Now I'm wondering "So if one tube sounds like this, what would four tubes sound like?" And down the slippery slope I go. Also started looking at tube prices which I had previously been immune to.

 

[Verde And Black]

Oh, you can bet your butt!



Not my actual Frühstück, sadly, mostly because I can’t get actually good soft pretzels or rolls to safe my life over here. But close enough for illustration purposes.

With that said, there’s a nice restaurant up in Sutter Creek, CA, the creatively named Sutter Creek Hotel, and they have pretty decent soft pretzels on the menu. They dowse them in butter, which I don’t love, but they’re better than most other soft pretzels I’ve ever had on the west coast. And there’s a German bakery in San Jose, CA, that’s got some pretty good stuff. But they’re both a bit too far away from where I live to go fetch some fresh baked goods for a proper breakfast.

Fingers crossed that this will change once I’m in Texas. The area that I’ll be moving to in a few weeks has a strong, active German background, and here’s hoping that there’s at least one solid bakery in driving distance.

Speaking of soft pretzels…
I don’t remember where exactly that was, but one of the best soft pretzels I’ve ever had was in Manhattan, somewhere around the Hell’s Kitchen area. Warm and crunchy and just the right amount of salt — and filled with marzipan!
Sounds like an abomination? Sounds like heresy? Oh, you’ve got no idea! The only heresy here is that it tasted like literal heaven on earth!

You’re moving to Corpus, right? There’s some damn fine German food/music (if you like accordions) in those parts… including this place. Can’t recall if they have pretzels, but the sausages and streudel are quite good.

 

[Verde And Black]

Love it.

Although, calling Kölsch a beer is taking some poetic license, for sure.

That said, once you move here, in the summer heat, Kölsch is pretty fine.

 

[Paladin79]

Sigh.... you tube heads may have another convert. The Vali 3 showed up today. It's lovely. I'm going to have to do some serious listening to see how it compares with the Jot2 to try to qualify the sonic difference. Unfortunately, I can't find my TRS cable for the ZMF's so I'm listening with the Aeon RTs. I don't know if it was a volume thing or just buyer's expectation bias, but The Koln Concert sounded wonderful. Now I'm wondering "So if one tube sounds like this, what would four tubes sound like?" And down the slippery slope I go. Also started looking at tube prices which I had previously been immune to.

Just remember there are adapters that can allow for other tubes to be used in a Vali 3, there are options.