Constant noisy tubes maybe go solid state?

nos small signal tubes are fine - they can sound excellent and are still worth it even at current prices, if your gear doesn't run them too close to the edge

playing with nos power tubes at current prices is not smart unless you truly have money to burn

otoh, i have gaggles of true uk gec kt77’s mullard el34’s hoarded from the 1980’s... they are fun to listen to and sound wonderful!

Called quicksilver and no one answered. Left message again. The replacement tube from Brent Jessee showed up though so we are back in business. Interestingly enough, the slight gain reduction from the Sys is as good on the RCA’s as it was in the Philips. So it’s a momentary fix. The Millard will be here Friday so that will be fun. I have a few preorders that finally showed up after months of delay. 

So are you saying the QS tube preamplifier is working reasonably for yournow paired with your Odyssey solid state amplifier?

Doing some research on this the past weekend having gotten lucky with prior tube pre and SS amp combos along with tube amp combos, wondering what you might be experiencing. And, back to what jackd said, as you already know.  

The QS preamp is a "low noise" line stage preamp with only 100 ohm output impedance, 18db gain.  Your Odyssey amp apparently is more favorable when matched with preamps with no more than 14db gain. A notable output/impedance mismatch more than voltage.  So, I guess I sorta see why you would be fishing for low gain tubes on the preamp side. Your preamp is more ideal for good low noise tube amps, single-ended or ultra linear. When ready, down the road, and pending on your speaker types and efficiency, maybe try a good pair of mono tube amps with your preamp. Its a lot of fun. Good luck.  Look up impedance, matching too, not just voltage, gain.  

https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/lowering-impedance/

I was just asking a general question about hiss/hum from speaker drivers either ear up to driver or 3 feet away. As one turns the volume up when should it be noticeable and then turning it down when should it not?  Thx !

It should not be noticeable AJ. I had a problem with minor buzz/hiss with the volume on at normal volume without music from a few feet away and it went away completely when I got a power conditioner.

Of course I use SS - not sure about tubes, but I know they can be noisy.