Socket Savers

[KB24]

I need tube risers for my Schiit Lyr 2 (E88CC). I think they are called socket savers or tube risers. The tubes in the Lyr are hard to get out so I want to raise them. Where can I buy these?

 

[Guidostrunk]

These are pretty much the best on the market, and what most of us use on the Lyr tube rollers thread.
https://www.tubemonger.com/NOVIB_Socket_Saver_1960s_NOS_British_McMurdo_B9A_p/novib-mcmurdo.htm

Cheers!

I need tube risers for my Schiit Lyr 2 (E88CC). I think they are called socket savers or tube risers. The tubes in the Lyr are hard to get out so I want to raise them. Where can I buy these?

 

[KB24]

Thanks!

 

[tricolor]

hi there! waking up an old msg..... has anyone experienced cracking noises from the power tubes?
i’m using the socket savers with a valhallla 2 and maybe after 1 year or so..... the power tubes ones got crazy ´brown’ and i’m assuming have failed, as i’m getting crackling noises... but the front ones look like new...

any thoughts?
cheers!

 

[tomb]

IMHO, socket savers should never be used in an amplifier. Every one I've tested is way noisier than just the basic socket. You trade performance for physical convenience.

 

[tricolor]

Good morning @tomb, folks!

When the socket savers were "brand" new (NOVIB/tubemongers), I was quite content.... I didn't really notice any degradation... it just started a few weeks ago... I replaced the power tubes, it held OK for a bit, and started making weird noises after a short while... so decided to REMOVE the socket savers, and the noise is gone, which is awesome...

It's true, I think for me, aesthetics and drop in temperature are more convenient than "sound quality"... especially when the rest of my equipment (or maybe my ears, hehe might not resolve all the tiny details anyway... I never really had a chance to audition a crazy high end equipment... other than a quick "listen" at a few brick and mortar stores... but I am siper happy with my current setup!

Looking at the sockets, they look like they were "baked", so I am guessing probably because of "higher" temperatures of the power tubes, the "internal" ceramic/metalic components have some thermal expansion creating the crackling noise...

Cheers!

 

[tomb]

Just to be clear, I was talking about amplifier performance measurement noise increasing with socket savers. I guess mechanical noise might result under certain conditions, but that's not what I was talking about.

 

[tricolor]

Cool... I'll be honest, @tomb , I didn't really notice any differences in the sound quality other than the "crackling" that started just a few weeks ago...

So for me, the benefits of having the tubes sticking out of the chassis are still winning over the sound quality change...

I guess the "older" the sockets get, the ceramic started failing with the continuous thermal contraction/expansion... causing the cracklings... so, yeah, I would assume that because we are adding "something" in the chain.. Ie. Creating some sort of "resistance" in between components, there's gotta be changes and if we go deep into measuring with oscilloscopes and crap... I would probably SEE the difference... but for my "casual"/leisure... that's irrelevant! so I'll simply sit back and enjoy the music...

On a cool side, Tubemongers are sending me new ones with a significant discount rate...
cheers,
Ed