Tube Possibilities (yes, that's right)

[prepress]

The Gold Lions have 13:37 on them, and the last session (Wednesday) showed they're not kind to older material at this point. Most of my CDs aren't audiophile-approved, and with the 60's material I played last time, the sound was brighter than I'd like. I actually had to turn down the volume, the Chicago Transit Authority CD especially so; I never had to do that with the JJs. Perhaps I got used to the JJ tubes' warm character, and this GL thing is still new. They don't have enough hours on them yet, in addition. I know they need at least 30 hours on them before I can assess seriously, and I'm planning to give them at least that.

Many here have GLs. How has your experience with them been, start to current?

[krustycat]

Wait until they reach 100 hrs to get better, at 200 hrs will be fully settled.

I remember in the beginning, It lacked all bass and they sounded very bright too.

If by 200 hrs, you don't like them, go back to JJs.

[prepress]

Well, no hours on the GLs tonight. The 2300 quit on me about ten minutes ago. I have an e-mail in to Mcintosh.

[prepress]

I got the 2300 back on April 5. The microprocessor board was shot, the result of too many static charges, probably. So the preamp now has a new "brain."

Since its return, I'm up to 20:24 on the GLs, plus whatever time was burned on them during the repairs and testing. I'm thinking to replace the stock tubes in the phono section, since they're much older than the GLs. I don't play records much these days and I use the preamp as a line stage anyway, so I'm not that willing to put my "good" tubes in there. I'd consider buying some inexpensive placeholders (there are $10 JJs available, as well as $9 Sinos; I'm not familiar with the Sinos).

Next session I should pull out a CD or two that was bright-sounding before, such as Chicago Transit Authority, and see if things have mellowed any.

[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.
.
.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by 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.
.
.

I wouldn't expect them to be broken in completely yet, but would be curious if there was a difference in the sound based upon having played some other stuff a couple days ago that didn't sound bright. The CTA CD is somewhat bright anyway, which I never noticed with the warmer JJs. If I put CTA on again anytime soon and it sounds better, that means things are headed in the right direction and I have more to look forward to. Some of the time logged since the 2300's return was with blu-rays/DVDs, using some of my usual references. I didn't notice any brightness there. Alan White's cymbals on Yes: Live at Montreaux had a nice crispness to them. I agree there's a ways to go, however.

This raises another question. Technetronics kept the unit an extra week to run more tests. That means the unit was on for an unknown amount of time. I don't know what those tests were, but would those hours count toward break-in, or is break-in specific to musical signals only? My total is for only the time I log on the GLs in my setup.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by prepress

I played that Heart CD again, and "Magic Man" didn't sound as bright this time. That may be due to the new power cord on the 2300, a WW Electra. In limited use with the new cord, it looks as if I may have found my setup's sweet spot. Perhaps I'll want to avoid silver in my setup, at least on components.

Have "Heart" on both CD & vinyl and the CD is bright by comparison. Rolling tubes to tame a "hot" CD could be an expensive and time consuming pursuit.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by prepress

This raises another question. Technetronics kept the unit an extra week to run more tests. That means the unit was on for an unknown amount of time. I don't know what those tests were, but would those hours count toward break-in, or is break-in specific to musical signals only? My total is for only the time I log on the GLs in my setup.

Charles.......I would consider any time the C2300 was on during testing as break-in time. There's only one way to break-in tubes and gear.......play it.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Charles.......I would consider any time the C2300 was on during testing as break-in time. There's only one way to break-in tubes and gear.......play it.

You mean you wouldn't consider it so, correct? And I agree, unless they were playing music (which I don't know). Or did I misunderstand you completely?

I think breaking in a tube isn't the same as life/hours on the tube. Another 1:41 was put on them last night, watching more DVD/BD clips (21:54 total now). And unlike previously, when I stopped counting after 25 hours, I think I'll keep track of the hours on the GLs for longer. The general character of a tube is pretty much evident after 25 to 30 hours, but the tube's sound takes longer to develop; that's my takeaway from comments here and elsewhere on the forum.

[krustycat]

Why don't you just leave it running with the amplifiers turned off?

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado