Hey t-bon3 – Thanks
for replying to this thread with your experience in swapping out the 5AR4 with Upscale’s
Phillips 5R4GYS. Interesting feedback, and is consistent with most other
reviews I’ve read of the 5R4GYS.
What I find
especially interesting, is that according to what I’ve found online, the 5R4GYS
has more sag/voltage drop than the 5AR4, and yet many listeners prefer this
higher amount of voltage drop. Logically, this seems counterintuitive. You’d
think that a more consistent, and relatively higher, voltage level would
provide a more powerful and stable power supply and therefore better overall
sound. But, that does not seem to be popular opinion.
The Guitar
Player article I provided the link to above seems to have the best “electrical”
explanation for this. The writer is talking about guitar amps here, not hi-fi.
But the explanation seems to make sense nonetheless:
- From the
article: “…The slightly compressed feel that a tube rectifier produces when hit
hard can be a big part of the magic in some tube amps. It softens the front
edge of the player’s pick attack while producing an enticing, explosive swell
of notes just behind that attack, and can often make an amp feel more dynamic
and touch-sensitive. Players and philosophical amp designers alike will also
tell you that they sometimes hear more air and dimension in tube-rectified
amps; a sort of bloom and spaciousness in the notes that gives them depth and
texture.”
The only
“logical” explanation I can think of, is that what listeners might be hearing
when replacing their rectifier tubes is the “newness” of their newly installed
rectifier tubes vs. their older, possibly worn-out ones that they replaced. It
might be more a matter of tube age, usage, and wear-and-tear, and not inherent
differences between different rectifier tubes.
In any event, the magic and mystery of listening to music through vacuum tubes continues. ;-)
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