A few basic tube questions

If you want to be successful and minimize your costs in finding the best tubes for your amp and pre-amp ity is recommended that you do nothing until you can answer the question "What sonically do you want to change about your system with your tube change'.

When you can answer that question you have a good chance of success. If you can't then your just going to be wasting a lot of time and effort. Remember, even the best and smartest tube vendor cannot tell you what tubes to use in your system without this information. But they will and do. And if you know what you want to change you will find there are a lot of tube folks on forums what have a broad knowledge of the generic sound of different tube types and brands and how to best use them.

FWIW.

The question regarding using the same tube driver tube in the amps as in the pre is my main concern right now . It is the same value in both the amp and pre . It seems like it would be a good idea to use the same manufacturer ?

There is no reason to use the same brand 6dj8 tube in the preamp as in the power amps. It just doesn't work that way with different manufacturers using different circuit designs.

You can spend from $20 to $250 on a good 6dj8/6922 tube. Let us know what you end up with.

You've asked good questions, but now it's time to listen to your system's synergy. Forget about that Russian tube; you've first got to hear the new preamp and amps with your speakers, cables, and source; then keep listening thruout the burn-in period. It should be an exciting and enjoyable experience. I'll bet it will continue to sound better each day.

Well, FWIW, while your assumption sounds logical, in practice it is meaningless, in your case especially.

The Quicksilver uses two small tubes, one 12AX7, and one 6922. The Dodd uses two 6922's (or 6h30's). So what you can conclude from that is that the Quicksilver will have a tone that is to some extent a composite of the two different tubes and how they interact, sonically, with the power tubes. Not so with the Dodd, which require two identical tubes.

Depending on how the Quicksilver tubes are used, one type will contribute the tone more than the other, they serve different purposes. Do you know which? In any event it will be a composite tone, not be the same tone as two 6922's in the Dodd, so what purpose would be served in making the 6922's identical?

FWIW, decisions about tube choice must be made on the sound they will produce. To see how complex this can become consider, the sound from any given tube unit, amp or pre-amp, or both combined, is the sum of the different component's tubes and the unit's design and the implementation of the tubes in the design.

It really isn't simple! Especially if you really have high expectations. It's fun to tune your own system to find the sound you want, but it ain't a walk in the park with your dog on a Sunday afternoon. Its a real commitment which requires both knowledge and patience.

But how you proceed is your choice. Good luck.