Conditioning completed, the tubes which were arcing before still arcs, with the exception of the GE, which is a G not a GA but I don't trust it so I retired it. Listening to it, I can't tell if the RCAs are better,
More powerful yes they are, I can run the middle switch on the MA-1s on the down position and this is with only 12 tubes
More transparent, could be but I can't confirm need to listen more
BUT highs seems to be recessed and veiled a little, less detail which is a big drawback IMO
I guess Svetlana vs RCA you have to compromise on something, and I also guess your "bias" is tailored to the Russian tube not the RCA
I really don't like to give up on things but in my case since I have high sensitivity impedance speakers it is not worth the trouble going with the RCAs, this is a preliminary conclusion, I do have to test more.