I wish I had a chance to listen to the alpha dogs at the meet in Charlotte with my Lyr. Fortunately though, Dan had a Gungnir/ Mjolnir setup with the Mad Dogs and Alpha Dogs and that combination sounded absolutely fantastic with EDM and rock.
Presenting: Sylvania 7963 subminiature frame grid double triode
Shown next to a 6N23P for scale
From: http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/thread/9798/sylvania-7963-best-e88cc-planet?page=1&scrollTo=134293
"The 7963..... can trace its ancestry to the 6DJ8 family. In fact, with regard to audio applications, the 7963 offers performance in low level audio applications that is superior to all 6DJ8 variants, and to all other subminiature twin triodes as well."
The easiest way to use this tube in the Lyr is to solder the wire leads into the corresponding pin-holes of a 9-pin socket saver. Check the Rock Grotto thread for more info, but certainly not at all difficult for anyone comfortable with a soldering iron.
They can be purchased for about $25 on eBay, so not expensive. I have tested this tube in another amp, and while I do not have a lot of ear time with it, I do believe it is good enough and cheap enough to be well worth trying in the Lyr.
Cheers
"Must" is a very strong word! lol
Since I tested mine with the wires screwed into a breadboard socket, I wasn't able to AB this tube against others, such as VR 6N23P, and I really can't say how good I think it is. Since I already have the tube, I do plan to solder it into an adapter so that I can more easily make comparisons. And I am also hoping that some of the more adventurous folks here in the Lyr thread will be curious enough to try it and post their results so we can compare our impressions.
So unless you are feeling adventurous and curious, and have the time, it might be prudent to wait until others have tried it to see if it is worth the trouble.
