Embarrassing Tube Story


For tube geeks only this might be amusing. To most it’ll be pathetic.

I just looked inside a box of tubes I had removed from my preamp when I first got into tube gear a few years ago. I assumed they were junk. I’ve been using mostly sovteks since. Last night I went through the box for the first time after I originally put it away and inside I find a matched quad of RCA NOS brown base 5692’s and a matched pair of RCA NOS red based 6sn7’s. (drum in the background goes ‘ba-dum, bum.)

Thank you, thank you very much.

Next show starts in ten minutes.
kublakhan
1 of my friends called me asked if he could store a electric piano in my garage for a few weeks ,he never picked it up, told me to toss it .But when I turned it arround it was full of like new tubes .most tested fine .Sold the 1s I didnt need kept a few of the best .What a guy .JK
Reminds me that I need to have the Tung-Sol 6sn7GT's tested. From what I have read they are more forward sounding then the old RCA/Sylvania 5692's. Might be a good match/nice change if used in combination with the 5692's.

I will swing by Armetron when I drop off paperwork @ Social Security next week. They may have their new tester in by by now (was told that it was on order a few months ago).

I thought that I might also slip in a few tubes (that I know the readings of) to double check the tech's work (see if he's warming them up, etc.).
Newbee...put them back? HEY!

really here's the truth of it: in my upgraded sa-11 the audio section takes only two tubes and i did have the brown base RCA 5692's there and a pair of cheap sovteks in the other 6sn7/5692 section.

The sound was the best i'd had to date but i started to notice that the midrange was a bit analytical and once i did it really bothered me on some weaker recordings.

With four brown base tubes in my sa-11 the difference is major. soundstage larger, much better midrange, much less analytical, more bloom.

i now have to remove the amps from my rack and try switching things around along with the extra set of red base rca's. i 'am' very happy about the little treasure chest wellfed, and don't really feel the need to do the amps now but why not...

tough job but someone's got to do it.
Wow, what a discovery. Be of good cheer, God gives grace to the humble.

Supposedly the new Electro-Harmonix 6SN7 are similiar to the NOS RCA Red Base units, would you be interested in comparing the sonics of the two?
And now that you've put the NOS back into your pre amp which do you like better? :-)