Hello Gang.I don't post very often, as I am a one fingered typer and it generally takes far too much of my time to respond.However: most veteran tubies know and understand that different tube types and brands do sound different in most audio circuits. The general consensus is that most of the nos tubes are supperior to what is currently being made today and I would agree in most cases.After all...tube manufactering reached its pinnicle in the late 50's.However....Most commercial equipment manufacturers cannot market their equipment with nos tubes for obvious reasons[cost]and therefore "voice" their designs with currently available tubes. What I found it most interesting is: that rb99 found a specific combination of driver tubes in the hurricane's that had the biggest influence on the overall performance of the amp.To qualify things here... I do not use the ASL hurricanes in my own system and have only heard them with stock tubes in a friends rig and was impressed with what I did hear.I use another ASL amp [1006 dt] that also use 3 6sn7's as drivers for the single ended 845 output tube.While I honestly believe the chineese 6sn7's are a very decent sounding "current" tube [they literally stomps on the sovtek]and in many respects better than "some" of the later nos GTA's and GTB's. HOWEVER:.....Almost all of the pre-60's versions of 6sn7GT's and WGT's are in a different league altogether and should transform "any" amp using that tube topology in the driver stage. A good analogy... would be like comparing a good siemen ecc83/12ax7 or telefunken e803cc to a currently made 12ax7 in a high resolution preamp. Anyone with a decent ear could never go back to using a sovtek in their preamp ever again!What I found most interesting about rb99's selection of drivers... was the order in which he combined them to "voice" his amps.Oddly enough...I use "exactly" the same tubes, and in "exactly" the same order in my amplifiers as well.What this combo did for my amps was simply sooooooo much better that it would just be impossible for me to go back to the stock tubes that came with the amp.I can only surmise,given that combination of driver tubes used in the Hurricanes would simply elevate them to a whole higher level altogether.The good thing is that the common RCA grey glass can be easily found for very little money with a little searching, Tungsol rounds will cost about twice the money of the rca's.Unfortunately..the Slvania wgt metals are a different story as they are quite rare and currently sell for too much money in my opinion.Try the tung sol gt's instead as they also work very well in that combination.One day I will get my buddies Hurricanes over and hear them in my rig and report back. cheers David.
