Quote: need to test 2 different sets each of 6V6's (Tung Sol & Svetlana), a pair of RFT EZ80's, a pair of RFT EZ81's, a pair of Brimar 12aT7's, a pair of russian OC2's and a pair of Amperex DA3's.
FB,
The thing is to get a sense of each tube's sound over time. Even then, it will sound different depending on what it is with, sometimes being sublime, and others not even so good. So don't rule anything out until you have them all burned in and have played with synergy. Even a least favorite can be a great tuning tool if its character fits the set you have in.
And burn in can be a big deal, or more subtle depending on the tube...but if these are all true NOS tubes, they will all take time to burn in. So Donnie's thought is not bad advice. You could just play around, one tube at a time...get a sense of it, and have fun.
But you have a lot of options all the sudden, and you have to be able to enjoy the sound.....waiting out burnin can be a drag if your sound is not what you like. So I might be a little more systematic at first, compensating for slight issues with one tube by adjusting with other tube(s).
If your Amperex OA3 is like mine, it will change a fair bit over the first 50 or more hours, slowly opening up. Even some OC2s can take time. Usually the obvious parts of the break in will go from dense with unresolved low-mid/bass to opener and more spacious for darker tubes, and from brittle and hard to smoother/ richer for brighter tubes. Actually, they will all act out both of these, but the more obvious stuff could be useful to know. My power tubes, EL34 tend to take the longest in my amp, especially the warmer ones. Seems like rectifiers and inputs are a little variable, but most of your non-power tubes might be somewhat ironed out in 50 or so hours...unless you are lucky and they are a little used!!!
Where to start...Obviously you need to get some rectifiers in there. So I would start with your favorite of those. Try one with your normal tubes, letting it get good and warmed up before evaluting, and then try the other. Then leave the fav in for a while to burn in...
I almost always end up playing with bass and treble on the torii with tube changes...sometimes a fair bit....that last refinement that could make a tube that sounds not-so good, sound great.
The 12AT7 likely will be a bigger change than any if you were using 12AU7s. It will punch things up. So it might be worth checking out next.
The Russian OA3s are typically very clear sounding....If this is true with the OC2, this will give another sound option for brightening/clarifying if this is appropriate to what you want with the other tubes.
This might be a good option when you check out the power tubes....if you like one or the other, but it is too heavy, play with the OC2s, OA3s, or rectifiers to open it up. Or just hang with your current power tubes for a while...
The main thing is to get to know your tubes and in time, you may well use all of them in different arrangements. And if yo are like me, this will be an organic process. I have no idea of my favorite tue sets...It is just the one that is in there. And I think it is fun to change things up discovering new synergy I did not know i had!
By the way...I have been pretty close to the holy grail by my tastes for quite a while...the cool thing is that I can vary it with tubes, caps and/or cable changes! The grail is flexible in my system/room.