@quincy that’s good to know. My tubes say "Svetlana Electron Devices Inc". 6550c. Made in Russia, 9746. They look like the tubes being sold on this website. :
Went to buy Vandersteen 2C speakers and came home with a conrad-johnson Premier 11A.
I found a great deal on a pair of Vandersteen 2C speakers with Sound Anchor stands. I didn’t need them, but they are identical to a pair that I had back in the 90s. While I was there, the seller mentioned that he had an amp that he wanted to sell. It was on a shelf in a basement collecting dust. The price was right, so I bought it. He said there are about 40 hours on the tubes. Hopefully, the caps are ok. I’m thinking I’ll try a Wiim Ultra streamer with volume control just to see if everything works. I have old preamps by NAD and Rotel, but they aren't good ones.
Is there anything special that I should do before firing up the old girl? This is my first tube amplifier.
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Hang on to those puppies! Tube's can stay static, power off, for a hundred years! Once those Svetlana tubes warm up, at night time, the plasma created inside due to electrons moving in the vacuum will emit a beautiful purple lavender glow, and actually swirl slowly like a mini tornado. No other 6550 I've found does that. Buried in some back up hard drive I have flip phone camera shots of them in action. They don't do them justice! Let me know if you wish to sell those rare vintage tubes!! |
@quincy thanks for the information! I guess I got lucky. The seller estimated that he'd put about 40 hours on those tubes. |
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