[jdandy]

Bob.......Ron C is the same guy that said factory power cords were recommended and there was no reason to change them. Ron C says a lot of things. He preaches the factory mantra, you know, don't mess with what the factory is doing because we know more than you. Well, you can swallow that advice (blue pill) or you can enjoy the fruits available with high quality upgrades (red pill). Ron knows what side of his paycheck the authorized signature is on. He's not likely to jeopardize that income stream.

No offense intended. Ron C is a great guy and has helped many people, but he moves to the company drum beat and not likely to stray from the fold.

Those Shugaung small tubes he talked about may have measured well but they do not sound nearly as good as many other small tubes, not to mention they are noisy when compared to premium tubes. It didn't take McIntosh long to find a Russian manufacturer of small tubes once people started griping about finding $3.00 Shugaung - Made in China tubes in their expensive new amps and preamps. If they were that great, why did they move to McIntosh branded JJ Tubes? And that line about rolling tubes "that operate properly and will work in a McIntosh circuit", that gave me a chuckle. If the circuit is designed to use a KT88, a 12AT7, or a 12AX7, any manufacturer's tubes that are made to the respective tube specifications will operate just fine "in a McIntosh circuit". There's no magic there.