I really appreciate all the input and there are replies I want to write, but I just spent the evening in my listening room with a bottle of wine and (get this!) some more RCA Black Glass VT231s I just got!
(I type 'more' as I had had a pair of the Black Glass 231s in my balanced input sockets, and I liked them so much, I went on a search and filled all six sockets with them! It was amazing tonight!)
Anyway, given the events of the evening, I am in no condition to attempt typing or any truly coherent thinking, but I shall return.
Thanks again for all the input! Matt
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Cary could have made a removable access panel for the tube in the side of that power supply.
But, @rodman99999 I should have read your reply more carefully before I took it apart again and then put it back together. I seem to believe in measuring once & cutting twice.
However, if I counted correctly (& I did actually count twice) there appear to be ten total teeth in the top mica (so I am ASSUMING) that there are 5 per side). The top mica is a shiny silver like color. The bottom (mica?) is clear and has two semi circular notches in it. As does the top shiny mica, 2 notches with the teeth in between.
Does ten sound right? I was bitching about Cary not putting an access panel in it, but it's really not that hard to get down and remove the bottom, so I can easily look at it again. I've got the rectifier tube warming up right now, but I haven't lit all the other tubes yet.
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You've got it, @rodman99999 ! You should see all the "audiophile quality" CDs I have bought on ebay after a hard night in my listening room with a bottle of wine. I think I only have one more bid placed in an ongoing auction--this one is for a NIB NOS Mullard.
I remember reading about a serial killer who left a note at a murder scene that read, "Stop me before I kill again!"
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@russ69 oops, I forgot about the whole tube hoarding thing. And I wasn’t even thinking about it along those lines; ever since I bought that pre I’ve been considering tube upgrades and a spare rectifier in case the stock one takes a crap, so I wouldn’t be down, but I see what you mean.
@jackd okay, thank you for that, and I will consider Andy.
@jasonbourne52 I am confused on that; I understand that the rectifier tube is not in the signal path, but then I have read people talking how a different rectifier tube improved their unit’s sonic performance. As an example, I think I remember a blurb from Uncle Kevin talking about a rectifier tube upgrade for that tubed Prima Luna CD player he sells on his site. As I said, I am confused on that subject.
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@avanti1960
as in four notches (teeth?) per-side, or four notches/teeth total?
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I need to stop visiting ebay when I’ve been drinking; I just won a bid I placed on a Holland Amperex 5AR4. This one was not branded as a Bugle Boy.
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@avanti1960
I can't really see the notches from the pictures provided, am I missing something? Also, it the f31 or f32 on the glass somewhere? (That is a good price, going by the numerous others I have looked at.)
Thanks/Matt
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Thank you to all for suggestions and information. I have made some notes and I put some 5AR4s on my ebay watch list so that I can find them easier if I decide to pull the trigger. I also went back to upscale audio and I clicked on a 5AR4 to rad the blurb, and once again, all I got was Uncle Kevin's screaming face telling me not to buy tubes.
@whart I am about to do a search on that. Thanks.
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According to Cary Audio:
If you have not had it done to your favorite Cary Audio piece, the Hexfred option makes an awesome difference! Hexfreds are high speed low noise rectifiers and replace your existing standard rectifiers in the power supply. You will notice more speed, air, detail, imaging and tighter bass, yet a cleaner clearer sound quality. The Hexfreds help to provide a cleaner, faster DC voltage which shows up very noticeably in the sound quality. There is one more layer of hash and hardness (noise) that is removed so that you can just enjoy the music! Bass is faster with more details and the midrange and highs are cleaner and clearer. You will hear more detail with less bite.
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Bah, humbug, snake-oil!
I went ahead & pulled the trigger on a couple of vintage 5AR4s (a UK Amperex and a Hitachi) on ebay. I bid on a couple of Mullards as well, but I am not planning on going any higher and there are still a bunch of days left until those bids close, so I completely expect to be outbid.
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@rodman99999
the UK Bugle Boy arrived today. I can not find any actual ETCHING in the glass, just what is printed on the glass. It does state that it is a Bugle Boy "MADE IN GT. BRITAIN" and in very light, hard to read print, underneath the "5AR4-GZ34", it says "B5L2." In the approximate middle of the glass, underneath the "Amperex" logo, is a "66" with a "14" underneath it. And there is a hole in the guide pin.
I am going to install it right now.
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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:
The Mullard GZ34 has a hole in the guidepin and the upper micas have 5 teeth per side. On a new NOS Mullard the flashing extends down BEYOND the level of the mica.
so I am not sure what "the flashing" is referring to, but I am petty sure I must have 5 teeth per side. . . .
Some have four, some seven, but: forget the notches.
Not important!
How’s it sound?
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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Oops! I just checked ebay . . . bids in TWO more auctions--both on Mullards. LOL! I hope I don't win.
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@rodman99999 I may be beyond a therapist. But I have been outbid on one of the Mullards and so far I am restraining myself and not bidding any higher on it.
@jpmanomet I just did go to Ness Tone Tube Sales, and right now, if I did my search correctly, all he has is two NOS Mullards @ $199 each.
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