Are the better $$$ 845 tubes worth it sonically??

Jcb- longetivity??!! I had heard that this is where the 845's are NOT as good as some other tubes- i.e. KR themselves just this afternoon quoted me ~ 3,000 hours max for the 845 tube... That is a big concern as the system is used for HT & 2-ch, and I often have the amps on like 6-7 hours per day.

Remember the KR 845 tubes use an oxide-coated filament, not thoriated tungsten, which is what vintage 845s and chinese ones use. (Bright emitter vs. dull emitter)...

personally, yes - I think the vintage ones are worth the $. Let us know your impression of the KR ones if you get a chance,
-Ed

Hi Sutts. I have both the ASL-1009dt and the 1006dt and have the amperex 845's,rca 845's,centron 845's,and the chineese valve art 845's.My overall preference was the amperex copper based 845... however I did not find them significantly better than the valve art. The chineese 845 is a very good sounding valve by comparison and an extrordinary value when you take the cost into consideration.Regarding their life expectancy...I am not sure? However the NOS 845's should last you a life time....I can tell you that I have over 1000 hours on a pair of chineese valve arts without a single hiccup.Perhaps the other contributer was using them in a different 845 based amp.In the ASL 1009 amps...just stick with the chineese 845's and enjoy, as they are simply "fabulous" sounding amps with most speakers. Further more:the driver tubes have a way bigger influence on the overall performance! Cheers David

Ecclectique- thanks for the response- the biggest influence I have found so far is the input/phase split tube upgrade- went with a quad matched pair of Mullard 12au7's- fantastic! OK, I will stick with the stock 845's- my guru buddy (Israel Blume at Coincident) concurs, saying that the 845 upgrade will not prove all that substantial of a change, and is cost prohibitive...

Hey Sutts.Which vintage mullard? I found all the mullards great..but my favorite mullard is the box plate 8139.Retains that mullard tone in the mids with better resolution in the bass.If you are into tube rolling...you have to try a 60's Mazda chrome plate 12au7.They can be a little hard to find but there are lots out there with a little searching and usually quite reasonable to boot.They are easily identified by their silver plates,a lot of them are labelled GE made in France.In the 1009...they have all the body of the mullards with better top to bottom balance.I found the mullards a little rolled on the top when compared to the telefunkens,siemens or mazdas.The chrome plates have that beautiful soul of the mullards with the top end air and resolution of the teles.Really opens up the window on the stage! A great compliment for the 845. Cheers David.