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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Re: Data Points posted by KT77 fan on April 28, 2006 at 11:50:03:
Okay, let me try to answer your questions. I'm sorry if I'm a bit irritable, I don't mean to be.I'm sending 12 of the 20 tubes back, so I'm doing nothing at all with them in terms of testing/measuring/etc.
Of the tubes left, they were electrically fine (with the one caveat of the higher grid current - which may or may not have any impact on their performance). The 8 tubes I kept are going to people (at a reduced rate and with full disclosure of course) that may be better able to speak to "real world" issues. I see one gentleman posted he was having some bias stability issues with the quad he got from me. He's going to report back on Monday after the tubes get some time on them. So that should help build the database some more. A second pair is just leaving today so I have no feedback at all on them; the final two tubes are still here.
Please understand that from my point of view, a tube needs to be "plug-and-play". I even worry about power tubes since I have to depend on the buyer to check/adjust the bias properly or the tubes will either sound bad or be damaged. So the idea of a tube that will need the socket to be tensioned, etc. is really scary!
The same holds true with the crooked bottles, loose material, misaligned pins, etc. All of those cause concern for many customers and I ultimately am the person who needs to make sure they are satisfied with their purchase. True, some of my guys are very knowledgeable and skilled in tube usage and application but most aren't. And I feel strongly that they are entitled to product they feel comfortable about, have faith in, and are 100% satisfied with.
As well, I confess to being extra picky about JJ stuff. I've been burned and been disappointed too many times on other JJ tubes (the 5AR4, the ECC83S, and the others I've mentioned previously) to cut them much slack. It's exactly the opposite of what I find with the Sovtek/EH/etc. family, where tubes have tended to improve over time. JJ tubes have gotten worse, and I'm down to the point where only a few of their tubes are up to my standards. I keep hoping that they'll turn around and get things right again, and I guess I really allowed myself to get my hopes up on the KT-77 - it was VERY disappointing when I started opening the boxes. And it's even more so now that I find all but two tubes of my JJ E34L stock have the undersize pins too.
BTW, my distributor says they are getting a bunch of complaint calls on the KT-77s. When I called in for return authorization this AM I was the third call just today! Oh, and even though I'll get my money back on the tubes I return I'm still out the shipping both ways. It ain't cheap to have to return tubes!
Anyway, once again I apologize for being grumpy. I just hope that this note gives you some feeling for why I felt that way.
Thanks for your indulgence.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Data Points - Jim McShane 12:28:38 04/28/06 (0)
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