? Tube Replacement Question ?

"Only an expert reseller can tell who actually made a tube, or its condition.”

That’s also my opinion. Bargain hunting for tubes by the inexperienced is likely to turn out less satisfying and more costly in the long run. In addition to the variety and quality of tubes that they have in their inventory, the advise and integrity of the best resellers make it well worth the premium you pay. In fact, I would suggest that if one has a well set-up, high quality tube system, a call to one of these experts is almost requisite.

I recently owned the power amp, VS55 that matches your preamp. When I bought it I emailed Jim McShane and was very pleased with his prompt reply and his knowledge. I took him up on one of his suggestions and was very pleased with the results. My trade is law. I do tinker, but I also respect expertise. Especially when the one providing it is willing to explain and offer alternatives.

Rodman99999 makes the point that replacing all the tubes with certified low-noise tubes is "well worth the cost". Since I do not use the phono stage, is there an obvious difference in sonic quality will all low-noise tubes?

"...the quiet ones were where they needed to be (phono input, Post RIAA amp, and line input).The not so quiet ones went where they didn't cause any problems (cathode followers and intermediate gain stages. By doing this we could use 95% of the tubes. You don't need a quiet tube everywhere and that is why RAM Tubes come in 4 grades." RM

The gain is not as high, in the other stages(compared to phono related) of your preamp, but noisy/microphonic tubes will still be audible. Upscale's graded tubes are tested for triode balance, as well as noise/microphony, which will also improve channel balance/imaging, in the SP-16. Everything hinges on how much you value performance.