Thanks for the responses so far. Is there a web site that I can look up the ones that I have so that I can look at Joe's T L and see what I really have? Where is the best place to buy a few different pairs without paying through the nose, ebay?
Peter |
Paying through the nose: If you pay through the nose for something, you pay a very high price for it.
There are a couple of competing folk derivations of this phrase, but they are regarded by philologists as somewhat far-fetched.
One derivation holds that it is a reference to the Danish poll tax on the Irish in the ninth century. The story goes that the Danes slit the noses of non-payers. However the phrase did not appear in print until 1672.
Annother possible explanation is placed on Viking raiders. Vikings would require the payment of tribute from cities they did not raid. If the king refused to pay tribute they would slit their noses. Hence, the king paid "through" the nose.
Another explanation relies on the use of rhino as a slang for money. Rhinos is the Greek word for nose, thus a rather loose connection is supposed to be set up between paying and noses. A nosebleed as a metaphor for being "bled dry" of money.
In sixteenth century English, Italian, Greek and Latin, however, there is found an already well established expression "to lead by the nose," which means to force or control someone's actions as a farmer would lead a bull by a ring through its nose. It also has connotations of making a fool of someone. ( 'led by the nose, as asses are' (Othello, Act I, Sc 3). Thus to pay through the nose could have originated as an extension of this to denote payment for something at a premium because of lack of alternative options. |
I,m waiting on deliver from Any Bowman, for a pair or of NOS Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8s. He swears by these. I will let you know. Should be nice snergy between the (4) NOS Amperex BB 12AX7 in my amp. Will let you know when I know. Gotta start somewhere being that my 4 Amperex in my amp were conterfeits. |
Couple things to remember, tubes can be very subjective to sound quality, what sounds great in one place can sound mediocre or crappy in another.
Equipment type and surrounding circuitry play a role even though tube types have inherent characters.
Manufacturing facilitys and lot runs (current and extinct) add to the variables.
So, when you find the magic bottle combo, better grab some extras, cause replacing expensive, rare, N.O.$.ers can be saddening when they're history ! |
Rx8man, good point. Hopefully it will be a fairly inexpensive road to finding tube nirvana. And if it so happens to be NOS nirvana, I better start stock piling them... |
