1. Home
  2. amps-preamps
  3. 198967-77454

Do clothes make the man?

This post is directed at all you golden oldies out there who are old enough, or in a rare case, educated well enough to be aware of the question the title asks.

I bought a used set of Quicksilver Horn Mono amps looking for some tube magic for my efficient speakers.  I was less than impressed by what I heard.  Let's just say the sound was as flat as a day old Doctor Pepper.

I changed the clothes on these little amps by installing a new set of Chinese made Svetlana El34.  Omg, I now have a new man in front of me.  The sound is what I expected originally, but it was totally suppressed by the unbranded Viva Tubes it came with.

The moral of the story?  The tubes make the amp like the clothes make the man.  Be aware though that you can't get by with putting lipstick on a pig.

abnerjack
abnerjack OP
284 posts
 

Nice catch.  My bad. They are produced in the Reflektor factory in Saratov, Russia. Obvious Freudian slip.  Do you have anything else? Is it germane to the conversation? Would it change the conversation if it were made in Changsha?

dekay's avatar
dekay
6,221 posts
 

"Would it change the conversation if it were made in Changsha?"

No, but it would (for me) if they were made in St. Petersburg, Russia and I were using them in one of my old El34 amps.

 

DeKay

noromance's avatar
noromance
10,502 posts
 

You’d think Quicksilver would supply better-sounding tubes in their amps.

stuarthorowitz
4 posts
 

So...

How can one determine if swapping vacuum tubes results in better sound, without trying all sorts of alternatives? Beyond that, who seeks to buy Russian OR Chinese stuff? I prefer NOT to. This is not anything but a desire to not support them.

toro3's avatar
toro3
518 posts
 

How can one determine if swapping vacuum tubes results in better sound, without trying all sorts of alternatives?

For me at least, that’s the allure of tube rolling. I find it interesting to hear the variations. 
 

Beyond that, who seeks to buy Russian OR Chinese stuff? I prefer NOT to. This is not anything but a desire to not support them.

I hear you, but beyond Western Electric in the U.S. and JJ Tubes in Slovakia (if I remember correctly), what other major manufacturers are there outside of Russia and China? And even then, I would consider Western Electric boutique and far from a major manufacturer since the only tube they currently mass produce is the 300B. 

Or were you referring to NOS? But even then rectifiers that could be had for $12 pre-pandemic, are now running between $45 - $75 depending on condition and with no guarantees.

Personally, I can’t afford NOS power tubes whereas driver and rectifier tubes may be in reach given their general longevity. 

More to discover