[shwnwllms]

I would never spray Deoxit (or any other liquid) directly into a socket. There will be a lot of tiny metal particles in each contact that have been scraped off the tube pins as tubes are swapped, and spraying into the socket just washes all those little conductive bits right into the amp (or worse, all over the circuit board if that's how the tube sockets are connected). For octal sockets, I spray Deoxit D5 onto a pipe cleaner, and then insert that into the socket. Let it sit for 5 minutes after application, and then follow with isopropyl alcohol (pipe cleaner dipped in the bottle with excess squeezed off). This removes the crud the Deoxit loosened up, and also removes any residual Deoxit. If you try the pipe cleaner method, the first time you do it the end of that pipe cleaner will come back almost black. Probably some generic dirt there, but mostly comprised of those tiny metal particles.



Fo noval sockets, these work well with the same process:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073ZLNZ7G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The kit you linked has Deoxit D25 which is a 25% solution with a brush-on applicator. When using pipe cleaners, I prefer Deoxit D5 (5% solution) that comes in a spray can as it's fairly easy to get just the right amount on the end of the pipe cleaner. But that's just personal preference...

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-DeoxIT-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B00006LVEU/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1OC5NFPSIAWEM&keywords=deoxit&qid=1679092174&s=musical-instruments&sprefix=deoxit,mi,102&sr=1-2

Gave my Pendant SE a tune up (and both the amp and myself are alive and kicking)

Went with your method, except I only used 99.9% pure isopropyl to begin with (bought some of the 5% DeoxIT just to have on hand though). Sockets themselves were not that dirty, which is on par for what I expected from @Wes S

I did take the opportunity to re-tension the rectifier socket (which may have been the source of my noise after all since half of them were loose and required an adjustment)

Everything is clean, right & tight and I didn’t electrocute myself of blow a fuse or a NOS tube. I’ll count that as a win. (Hopefully I won’t need to mess with it for awhile now)

Thanks for the tip!

 

[haasaaroni]

Gave my Pendant SE a tune up (and both the amp and myself are alive and kicking)

Went with your method, except I only used 99.9% pure isopropyl to begin with (bought some of the 5% DeoxIT just to have on hand though). Sockets themselves were not that dirty, which is on par for what I expected from @Wes S

I did take the opportunity to re-tension the rectifier socket (which may have been the source of my noise after all since half of them were loose and required an adjustment)

Everything is clean, right & tight and I didn’t electrocute myself of blow a fuse or a NOS tube. I’ll count that as a win. (Hopefully I won’t need to mess with it for awhile now)

Thanks for the tip!

Nice! Did the Tungsrams finally start to behave again?

 

[shwnwllms]

Nice! Did the Tungsrams finally start to behave again?

So far no noise to speak of. I’m not sure if it was one of the Tungsrams (which I cleaned awhile ago and it seemed to help, one out of the two definitely had some crud on it) or the loose rectifier socket. At any rate the Tungsrams have some life left on them after all and everything is tuned up and running the way it should

 

[tholt]

At any rate the Tungsrams have some life left on them after all and everything is tuned up and running the way it should

Niiiiice

 

[haasaaroni]

So far no noise to speak of. I’m not sure if it was one of the Tungsrams (which I cleaned awhile ago and it seemed to help, one out of the two definitely had some crud on it) or the loose rectifier socket. At any rate the Tungsrams have some life left on them after all and everything is tuned up and running the way it should

Glad to hear it!

By the way, I recently got another pair of those early production Valvo EL84s which have more life left in them than my first pair (which are 84% each), so I'll be letting those go for a pretty cheap price if you or anyone else on this thread wants to try them out.

 

[4LoveOfSound]

Glad to hear it!

By the way, I recently got another pair of those early production Valvo EL84s which have more life left in them than my first pair (which are 84% each), so I'll be letting those go for a pretty cheap price if you or anyone else on this thread wants to try them out.

I’m interested

 

[Richardhoos]

Curious if anyone is using the ZMF Caldera’s with their pendant.

I see Rob (from this thread ) used the pendant with his calderas in the past, but I believe he stated he ended up preferring solid state with them. And in the Caldera thread I see Zach said the Pendant should drive them brilliantly.

But I haven’t seen too many people using the combo. Just curious anyone’s thoughts if they’ve heard the two together.

 

[robo24]

Curious if anyone is using the ZMF Caldera’s with their pendant.

I see Rob (from this thread ) used the pendant with his calderas in the past, but I believe he stated he ended up preferring solid state with them. And in the Caldera thread I see Zach said the Pendant should drive them brilliantly.

But I haven’t seen too many people using the combo. Just curious anyone’s thoughts if they’ve heard the two together.

Especially if you have the G73-R it's great with the Caldera. If I did say I preferred solid state that feeling didn't last long. I used them almost soley with the Pendant.

 

[Richardhoos]

Especially if you have the G73-R it's great with the Caldera. If I did say I preferred solid state that feeling didn't last long. I used them almost soley with the Pendant.

Thanks Rob. I just pulled the trigger on a used pair, white oak. I’m pumped.

 

[haasaaroni]

I’m interested

I already shipped them off to someone else! He jumped on them as soon as I wrote the post haha. But they’re a very cool tube to try out if you find a good deal.

 

[shwnwllms]

Thanks Rob. I just pulled the trigger on a used pair, white oak. I’m pumped.

I know the pair you got, I’m sure they were well cared fit and you’re in for a treat. Let us know how they sound on the Pendant

 

[Richardhoos]

I know the pair you got, I’m sure they were well cared fit and you’re in for a treat. Let us know how they sound on the Pendant

I’ll let you know, Shawn. Have you heard the Caldera with the Pendant? Definitely excited to hear it.

 

[shwnwllms]

I’ll let you know, Shawn. Have you heard the Caldera with the Pendant? Definitely excited to hear it.

I have not, for planars only my LCD-5. While it does alright with the LCD-5, it’s no match for my V550 Pro. I expect this to change with the Caldera though since it has higher impedance and isn’t your run of the mill power hungry planar

 

[shwnwllms]

Nice! Did the Tungsrams finally start to behave again?

Update, I do think one of my Tungsram EL84 (WPFDG) is slightly microphonic. It comes and goes and its less than before but definitely noticeable in the left channel. I pulled them and rolled the RFT EL84's (WPFDG) that @Wes S included with my Pendant SE. Everything sounds clean, bass is tight and articulated. These are very resolving, linear power tubes. I think I actually prefer the RFT's over the Tungsrams with the Atrium Closed (lambskin Caldera pads) to tighten up the bass.

 

[Wes S]

Update, I do think one of my Tungsram EL84 (WPFDG) is slightly microphonic. It comes and goes and its less than before but definitely noticeable in the left channel. I pulled them and rolled the RFT EL84's (WPFDG) that @Wes S included with my Pendant SE. Everything sounds clean, bass is tight and articulated. These are very resolving, linear power tubes. I think I actually prefer the RFT's over the Tungsrams with the Atrium Closed (lambskin Caldera pads) to tighten up the bass.

Yes sir! The resolving power of RFT is legit.