ThurstonX
Headphoneus Supremus
Are socket savers necessary - Like what's the disadvantage of not having them (minus the ease of removing tubes) ? Also, is this listing legitimate and will the tubes work as advertised ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEREX-ORANGE-GLOBE-6DJ8-ECC88-VACUUM-TUBE-1969-MATCH-PAIR-SWEET-WARM-TONE-A42L-/221968928493?hash=item33ae610eed:g3cAAOSwuWVWFCmN Thanks a ton, guys!
No, not necessary, but if you roll a lot, you'll thank yourself for buying a pair. While a lot of us use the nice Tubemonger savers, others have said the cheap ones you can find on eBay work fine. The theory goes that they'll save the sockets built into the Lyr. Not trying to be flippant. I'd be very interested to hear what Jason from Schiit has to say. I can imagine it being something like, We don't use schiit parts in Schiit amps. Our sockets can take your punishing rolling regimen. Or maybe he's down with the theory.
re: the tubes, mercedesman is a reputable dealer (I've bought at least three pairs from him). If you're referring to how they sound, you should believe only two things: your ears. That said, I have a pair of those "Orange Globe" Heerlens from 1967 (purchased from mercedesman), and they do have what I consider that nice Heerlen sound, as compared to other ECC88s made there.