Recent content by coots

Not in my experience. Maybe a bit after 15-30 min warmup. I have had plenty of tube amps annoy me with something or other than resolve themselves a couple of hours in, but that’s always like a funky solder or dirty switch/pot I have to deal with.

I lived with a few phono preamps in and around your budget. Ultimately my favorite and the one that stays put is a Decware ZP3. The first one I ever bought was a Tavish Adagio. It was awesome - no complaints or shortcomings. I got a Manley Chinook not too long after, which I also really liked...

Is the hiss consistent across input sources? It could be any number of things, tubes only one piece of the puzzle. I have Gold Lion and JJ 12AU7 (from eurotubes) new production tubes that come in handy as like a baseline if I’m tweaking a bit and trying to figure out if a particular NOS tube...

I’ll probably try it in a “burner” preamp I have. But 3 out of 4 for this specific tube plus the 6 other 12AU7 and 12AX7 (mix of Amperex, GE, and RCA) is enough to be grateful for and not press luck too much lol.

I recently pulled some great tubes from a pile of what I’m assuming was old lab or medical equipment sitting in a junk store. The cream of the crop is a quad of 1958 long plate D getter (I think) 12AU7 tubes branded Hewlett Packard, all white painted tips. The all have delta 8D etchings plus...

I have a LOT of tubes, the majority of which would be considered cheap/bargain/etc. Most of them were given to me or bought at thrift stores and flea markets or the likes. I couldn't agree more in terms of trying everything out and not letting the brand name overtake the satisfaction I hear. I...

I have matched pairs of E83CC I bought from eurotubes. I can honestly say I can’t hear a difference between both pairs - gold and standard - and a beautiful pair of telefunkens I got from Andy Bouman several years ago. They even best some of the more well worn teles I have. This holds across...

@gadget73 @Mr Boochie I spend most of my waking hours sleep deprived due to having kids later in life than most folks, so always figure it’s me not the equipment when things are sounding off. This time even my wife noticed. I have several 12au7 tubes. The only one that really makes this pre -...

I just drove myself crazy trying to figure out why my system sounded off - very dull and lifeless - for a few days. Turns out I’d absentmindedly put a 12ax7 into the 12au7 cathode follower spot on my phono pre.

I had 3 consecutive quads of EL84M fail over the past few yeas, all purchased from the great Jim McShane. It would be one tube out of the quad failing. The first quad lasted several years, at least 5. Then I got maybe a year out of another quad and just a few months out of the next one. None of...

I just finished building new cabs for my Flamencos, sort of the Shindo style. I didn’t add much more volume but just a bit. They’re 1” appleply, super stiff, etc. They sound much better than the original cabs, but it’s not a fair comparison considering the poor shape of the originals. I tell my...

I’ve had my Flamencos both on the floor and risers; they sound significantly better on risers. I have mine up 10”.

I’ve run my Flamencos with a 300b SET amp, 8WPC. Sounds excellent, to me the sort of essence of the 300b and Altec magic sound that mesmerizes so many folks. I’ve used the same amp on a friend’s Model 19s with the same results. I think the Model 19s sound better but probably due more to me...

I have an AU999 with all of the Kevzep mods as well as full recap/recondition - everything swapped for new. My unit doesn’t lack in high end, however it is significantly warmer than my AU11000, which was also fully reconditioned. Compared to several tube amplifiers, it isn’t lacking in high-end...

Posted this in another forum but figured I’d try here considering how helpful AK has been over the years. I’m stumped! Hi folks. I have a Zhili 834p clone with a separate PSU, the black and gold one. It’s been sounding pretty great. I upgraded the coupling caps a few months ago to VCAP ODAMs...