Old iron IS better than new iron.
Not that it specs better or anything like that, you just can get old iron for a lot less than new iron and almost without exception transformers are well made. That's the most expensive part of an amp and manufacturers pretty much always made sure that if they were going to tool up a transformer, they did it right. Yes, good design is good design and transformer design has been optimized for years.
For what it's worth, Quad II sounds much better than Citation II.I have three Citation II here right now and that pentode input stage is for the birds. The Citation transformers though are sublime. Properly rebuilt they are a revelation. Bruce Moore for instance gutted many a Citation II with just that in mind.
Yes, tube rolling, just like cable rolling or fuse rolling is basically an exercise in the imaginary side of the hobby...
Not that it specs better or anything like that, you just can get old iron for a lot less than new iron and almost without exception transformers are well made. That's the most expensive part of an amp and manufacturers pretty much always made sure that if they were going to tool up a transformer, they did it right. Yes, good design is good design and transformer design has been optimized for years.
For what it's worth, Quad II sounds much better than Citation II.I have three Citation II here right now and that pentode input stage is for the birds. The Citation transformers though are sublime. Properly rebuilt they are a revelation. Bruce Moore for instance gutted many a Citation II with just that in mind.
Yes, tube rolling, just like cable rolling or fuse rolling is basically an exercise in the imaginary side of the hobby...