Lets talk tubes in Pharaoh Integrated

Are you sure it's fully broken in? You don't want to compensate for temporary sonic issues that may change in time. Assuming it is broken in, if you are seeking more midrange clarity, I would first try some cones or whatever gizmo you like under the Rogue and/or the Oppo. On some components, this can make more of a difference than you might imagine. IMO, cones tend to thin out the sound somewhat, which is NOT what most people around here are looking for - But it might be perfect for you. I would also check your speaker/floor interface. Spikes or disc footers may make a substantial difference in certain cases.

There are a lot of new production tubes (cheaper way to experiment than NOS) which will impart a different tone than the JJ802's, which BTW I suspect could be the cause of your impression of a mid range bloat. I used them in a couple of different amps and ultimately chose a different tube. They do have a mid-range emphasis I think. Although I don't use them, I did try some EH's and I found them fairly linear with good clarity. I do not recall any mid-range emphasis. You should hear a difference - if you don't then perhaps you should focus on other possibilities. If you do you can consider refining your search for an even better tube.

Thanks for the input, I do have brass spikes on the speakers, also ant vibration disks under the pharaoh and oppo alike. My best guess is tube rolling and/or speaker cables. I do have some room treatment in place also, home made base traps floor to ceiling in each corner as well as some acoustical foam on side walls, back wall and deflector on the ceiling (gearfoam and gearwedge) in the main reflection locations. Sometime I think it is recording related and then other time not so much. It is fairly minor bur highly annoying. again any suggestions will be very much appreciated, walter45.

Hi all, I did pull the trigger on a pair of Cifte/Mazda tubes from Upscale audio. I went for the platinum with cryo treatment. I now ask about break in, what should I expect?

How is the Pharaoh sounding with the new tubes?