Hi Gobble,
Just came across this thread. A few comments:
1) Unlike cats, you have to walk dogs daily !!
2) ALL of your posted tube testing and tube decisions are inappropriate and probably very much BOGUS !!!
WHY ?
A) It takes a bare MINIMUM of 75 to 100 hours of playing time, in the circuit, to properly break in any tube, and get a decent idea of what it can do.
No early initial judgement or impression is seldom valid....... at all !!!!! ....... The opposite of valid is bogus, is it not ??
B ) If the tube happens to be " NOS ", additional "extra" care MUST be applied, to get full performance.
A vintage NOS tube, unused for 30 to 60 years, needs to be REACTIVATED, or YOU will instantly degrade it permanently, during your FIRST few minutes of any " unthinking " turn on !!!
( It would be good to do this same proceedure, ......reactivation with brand new tubes, for a couple of hours, filament activation ONLY.)
You carefully break in a NOS tube, by applying the Filament voltage ONLY. Do this gradually, with a variac ..... and NO B+ at all - on the tube's plate. Sometimes you can remove the tube rectifiers to do this. IE, you MUST re-form the tube's Filament and cathode sleeve assembly ....fully, slowly, over several HOURS OF TIME. With NOS, your tube has been dormant.......... sometimes for several decades !!
So HOW do "I" break in a tube after the filament and it's cathode has been nicely reactivated ???
Easy, and silently.
I get a cheap ( Magnavox, etc ) used CD player , from a pawn shop, etc, one that has a REPEAT function on the front. I get a 10 to 20 Watt wirewound power resistor, in a 8 to 16 Ohm range and attach to amp's speaker output posts / or speaker terminals. Play the Amp / CD player / Resistor load ( no speaker hooked up !! ) combo, continuously for 3 or more days, on " REPEAT ". The power resistors are loading the Output transformers ( a proper load is being provided, which is a must for the operating the voltage - activated Output transformer. ).
Three to four days, and all silently - MULTIPLE shut down and full cool-off cycles, are best, not just running amp continuously with no thermal cycling !!!
3) There is one additional "low hanging fruit" that many audiophiles are mentally unaware of optimizing.
When you hear a tube stage, you are not just hearing the tube, the circuit, and coupling cap. YOU also very much hear the tube's PLATE and Cathode resistors !! Also, any " in - series" resistors, are audible, as they are interrupting the circuit.
Products such as a Elekit are built to a price point.
IF you can identify these key resistor positions and replace / upgrade them with ( same Ohmic value ) but PROVEN to be great sounding / and also cost-effective resistors,............... you can easily gain additional listening performance and listening pleasure, continuously and permanently !!!
Don't know which resistors to upgrade? That is OK.
HFV PM me, and let us exchange personal email addresses. Send me the Elekit Schematic and Parts list, and I will gladly guide you, for free, as to which , and what specifically to substitute.
You will be fully amazed, go bonkers initially, and more-so also after ten to thirty hours of break in time.
Have fun, I do !!
Jeff
