Tube Cage On or Off. Does it Make any Difference?

Sometimes a tube cage is called a Faraday cage, but only by those that had college level physics. If the cage is metal and grounded to the chassis, it WILL act to block RFI from getting into the circuts, other than that, i see no reason why the sound should change.

Has anyone ever noticed if tube cages help with dust accumulation? My concern is having dust get into the gaps of where my preamp tube sockets are. The cage I saw for my Jolida cover the transformers and all the tubes so all will be protected from curious hands or paws. Seems like dust can still get in but not as much as if I left everything uncovered. Thanks

I would think there could be some level of "Micro-vibration"going on with the cages installed. Unless there are kids/pets/housemaids...etc...leaving them off adds the final benefit of tube amps (besides their sonic attributes): they are sooooo coooool in the dark or dim light....ssooooo coooool. I always leave them off and actually gravitate toward amps where they are in full view (all 'performance-else' being equal) just for "The View".
SSSSOOOOO CCCOOOOOL.

The biggest benefit of a tube cage is it can insure your tubes don't climb out and run away when you're not paying attention. I hate that. On a more accurate note, I think the dust that gets into the tube holes (I dust my cageless Jolida frequently and have thought about this) can be ignored for a couple of years and then removed by taking the amp apart and dusting the innards...being careful not to electrocute yourself...there's nothing cute about electrocute...

My only experience with a tube cage was with a Music Reference RM-9 many years ago. It came with a nice steel cage that not only protected the tubes but also looked nice. Unfortunately, it added a slight steely edge to the sound, something I did not pick up on right away but when I compared the sound with cage and without it was apparent. In my experience, once colorations like this are identified, it's hard to ignore them, so for me that meant the nice looking cage went into the closet.

One person's experience with a different model of amp doesn't really mean anything for your situation. The lesson, however, is pretty clear---try your amp both ways and see if you can tell a difference. If you can't, then leave the cage on. But if you can hear a difference, be prepared to put the cage into storage.