I went through the same exercise with a Modwright Pre-Amp w/ outboard power supply. After listening to a number of NOS options I ended up with a metal base. It was expensive but had the most positive impact to SQ of any tweak i’ve done. I think it was a ‘56 or ‘57.
5AR4 rectifier tube question
I am sort of shopping for one or more 5AR4s for a Cary SLP05 power supply because I’d like to have at least one spare and because I’d maybe like to roll two or three ad see if I can hear an improvement or vice versa. I make no claims of knowing much about the vacuum tube game; occasionally I get lucky & stumble on something that really works for me. As far as the 5AR4, I did a hit at Uncle Kevin’s site, and there were some that looked interesting (I am thinking of one in particular, it had a Japanese sounding name that started with a ’M’) but when I click on it, all I get is a picture of Uncle Kevin’s screaming face telling me "not to buy tubes" (later, when I finally took time to read, apparently his tube tester is down).
So I started doing hits on Ebay, and oh my gosh! I was inundated with choices and the variation in prices! Which do I stay away from and which should I be interested in? Would a 5AR4 from Bugera also be suitable for what I’d want to use it for? Could a rectifier tube provide a big sonic upgrade if I spent enough money on it? Can I make a sonic upgrade from what I believe (I haven’t opened up the power supply yet) is the stock EH 5AR4 without breaking the bank? I would be totally good with the $50.00 range and picking up 2 or 3 different ones to play with if those with experience thought I could improve the power supply in that range. If I had to I guess I could go more (the $100.00 range) but I probably wouldn’t be buying too many of them, and I was kind of HOPING not to go much over that.
Anyway, thanks in advance for the input; I always consider it part of my education.
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@rodman99999 thanks! I did a quick skim of the URL you posted & I quickly caught this from one of the people who answered on one of the forums:
so I am not sure what "the flashing" is referring to, but I am petty sure I must have 5 teeth per side. . . .
Well, it sounded good tonight . . . but here is the thing--it was not sounding bad before, and I frequently confess to not possessing The Golden Ear (& I don’t intend any sarcasm whatsoever with that term). I seem to hear incremental changes when they get worse more than I do when they get better. When things get incrementally better, I seem to get more comfortable & relaxed . . . but the thing on that is: it takes a while for me to fully realize & appreciate that feeling. I am absolutely horrible at doing A/Bs (unless what I am comparing is just radically different), & therefore I hate doing A/Bs. It would be hard to A/B rectifier tubes in this pre, as it would require getting it down & then pulling the bottom cover off. But: I did like the way everything felt tonight.
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Just relax and enjoy the music. Its a lot easier to obfuscate issues with a quick A/B comparison, than over the long term. That, "comfortable and relaxed...feeling", in YOUR listening room, over the long term, is ALL that's important. Keep in mind: valves typically take something like 50 hrs of use, before they sound their best. Some will claim such is a result of ones ears adjusting. This is a verbatim quote, from a letter Brent Jessee sends, whenever one buys valves from him: "CARE AND FEEDING OF NEW TUBES: BREAK-IN Enjoy your jams! |
btw: That, "flashing" mentioned is the main component of a tube’s gettering system. Here’s some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getter
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