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Lon,
Sorry to hear the latest in your caregiving difficulties! Good luck sorting through that.
Digger,
Interestingly, 6N1Ps tend to have more subtle differences between tube vintage and factory, but they do vary from tube to tube, and depending on cryo treatment. I find that the other inputs can vary more, particularly 7DJ8s can sometimes sound like a different tube type altogether. Also, as you suggest, burn in does matter, more with some inputs than others. I suspect the one Sovtek 6DJ8 may or may not be a clear representation of the 6DJ8 type, but rather one option, and it could possibly be notably better in 50 or so hours..possibly. On the other hand, the tube type does tend toward a sound that is a bit less bassy and more open and textured...how it does this varies a lot though, and some 6DJ8s defy this altogether being very warm, with deep bass and pretty clear, articulate highs (a bit more like the 6922 tendency).
Admittedly, I love tube play, so have a lot to play with. And within this context, as much as I try to like the 6N1P, they always come up a bit short for me. It may be because my DAC and system/room is very good at spacial information, micro detail and textures, and finally the 6N1P just does not go as deeply into these areas as some tubes...so they end up sounding a little unrefined comparatively.
But as Lon says, it all depends on the system and tastes. The 6N1P can obviously be really satisfying for many folks, being very well liked by Decware folks with really good systems and ears, so if they work really well........Personally, I have enjoyed them in the output position of the CSP3, but at the moment I like some 6BQ7As better there.
I think the CSP3 is a great tool, and tubes show up very well in it, making the possibilities for different sound (at least within its basic signature) sort of vast. Different rectifiers, different inputs, and different outputs, added to teh input and output volumes....lots of room for refinement. But then, It sounds great right out of the box without tube rolling too.
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