[jdandy]

Charles.......Glad the new microprocessor got your C2300 up and running again. That's the first microprocessor failure I have heard about in a C2300. Might be time to consider installing a high grade whole home surge suppressor on your electrical service panel. It's a small price to pay for the protection it affords your audio components, as well as every other electronic and electrical appliance in your house.

At barely 20+ hours on your Gold Lion 12AX7 tubes I think you are being a bit over zealous thinking that they are anywhere near broken in and that somehow their sonic signature has permanently settled to a place where you can make a critical decision on their sound. Somewhere between 75 and 100 hours is more like it, and as Jerome suggested, 200 hours is a certainty that you are getting the best the Gold Lions have to offer. Hoping that an additional 7 hours on the tubes from your last report of being unenthused will somehow magically make everything better is premature at best. Play the C2300 as much as possible, log the hours necessary, then make your decision about the Gold Lion tube's performance. The C2300 has treble and bass controls that you can adjust during the break-in process to ease what ails your ears. Take advantage of them.
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