Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site

Perhaps you are right. Buying out tubes from manufacture is a secure way to go. Still, I abandoned this practice in 2002 when Lamm sold me a pair of 12AX3 for his L2. When I got them one of the tubes was with paces of metal riddling inside. I figure out that it was probably damaged in shipping, although I very much doubt as was quite well packed. I send the tube back and Lamm sent me a replacement. The replacement tube did not go off. I send the tube back again. Lamm sent me another replacement but this time the new tube was heavily USED with the walls quite burned out. (On this type of tubes it is a very good indictor that the tube should be trashed – the 12AX3 in L2 has life-span less then 6 month). I disregarded the fact the I paid near $40 for the pair of tubes that somewhere else were $3.5 and decided juts discount the entire story, presuming that it would be too pathetic on my side sending the damn tubes back again. I bought the tubes elsewhere and forgot about it. Then, in a few days when I received from Lamm’s wife an email asking me to pay for the replacement shipment (!!!!!) I said to myself that it was it and it was the very last time when consider buying anything form Lamms.

I moral of the story for me was – whatever they (manufactures) do and whatever bogus assurances they provide – I do not care about them. It is my responsibility to keep my preamp operational. After all, their units serve them only once – when we pay for them. Since then, the units serves us and I need my tubes were driven by voltages instead of egos and by currents instead of “somebody’s reputation”.  BTW, the friend of your Dennis Boylev when we were exchanging insulting emails with him unambiguously implied that the only people who “reach the level of audio knowledge” are those who “listen to what I have to say”. It would not be too difficult to imagine the direction what I suggested him to go. Do you think it is only him?

In the end: if you but some very expensive and very rare tubes who specialize in digging out some rarities and see then at premium pries then you have a remote assurance that the tube would be what was promised (at least mutual conductance and cathode emission at cold, not pre-burned tubes). However, when you deal with “everyday tubes” no one will care to verify their usefulness. Perhaps I am wrong with my attitude but sine you got a good tube tester and very basic knowledge how to test tubes then whatever attitude you have because confidence deriving form your own practice instead of somebody’s else egomania. What? The $300 extra dollars for the tube tester? Another couple years of GOP’s “management” of this country and $300 will the price we will be paying for a slice of pizza… So presume that you exchange the tube tester today, the one that will be serving you all your life, to the slice of pizza in 2008….

Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site