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drdna wrote:

I built this amplifier more than ten years ago, before these other tube companies were in business. I know the Vaic tubes, which the EL tubes are related to. However, I have not tried either tube. Maybe it is a good idea (and I can always use some spares). I will order some of these tubes tomorrow, so I can compare side by side with the KR tubes. I will post the results here if anyone is interested.

This is the subject that I did not see covered anywhere but I have a resizable concern about it. There were mention in my DHT thread the good new production of Chinese, Czech and US made 2A3 tubes. I am sure that they are fine but there is a slippery moment in all of it. I spoke recently within a person who knows how properly vacuum tubes were manufactured and he explained to me that tubes making was amazingly “loaded” ceremony where each element of the tube was made from very specific, specially treated and specially made material. I mean this conversation was for hours but the idea was that the contemporary production of tubes MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT go into extend and the expense of proper metallurgy. For instance the 2A3 has no tungsten cathodes and therefore its cathode might be “poisoned” in time if it was not properly pre-burned and some other methods were not taken care.  Those methods are expensive but they have no impact to the sound of the tube when it is new and begin to make difference only in time after the tubes worked for a while.

So, I wonder, in the today world, when people look to sell merchandizes and to move forward would it be possible that the new production of tubes juts is not doen from a perspective of longetivety? Well all know that some old tube work for many years and do fine. We do not have the stats about stable sonic performance of the new production tubes. The manufacturers it looks like say nothing about it. Furthermore, I did read a number of comments on line by the looks like experienced with DHT people who bought new production tubes and very favorable comment about them. Then they admitted that in 6 moths or a year they changed their minds and went for other tubes. I read it a few times and I wonder if there is a pattern in all of it? Is it possible that the new production of DHT tubes juts are made from “wrong” material and “wrong” techniques and the new tubes on the fields get sonically degraded much more rapidly they need to? I spoke with one audio person a year ago who suggested me a specific MC cartridge  that he traded and he said that his cartridge in contrast to any other cartridge will maintain the very same sonic signature when it was new and when I ready to be trashed. Honestly, I did not happen to try that cartridge but this comment opened for me a whole new perspective…

I do not knock in a door of any specific current tube manufacture I just would like to hear from other who has more experience with DHT then I do. I would like to know if the SONIC life-expectancy of the new production of DHT tubes might be a factor.

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