will
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Hey highstream,
I get your thoughts, and also tend to hope that little bursts of polarizing politics will settle if ignored. But since I have read similar here recently, I hoped experiential alternatives might help broaden the picture, while touching on how divisive talk can effect the health of the forum. Also, in my experience, a fair bit off forum, piezo tends to be quite receptive to interesting ideas.
Seems most of us comment in the context of the thread on this forum, but it is not uncommon for posts to broaden some with related discussion that can support better audio.... like the side tracks here into other rectifiers, or perhaps my recent post, a lot of it "off-topic" but responding to recent replies while trying to support forum health.
I think this points to part of the charm of this forum....unlike many administrators, Steve tends to being mostly hands off on thread and post guidance, presumably letting the tradition of helpful information and mostly friendly support guide the way. And I feel like part of that is all of us collectively encouraging each other (hopefully mostly by example) to be supportive of audio beauty and to avoid things that draw us away from that.
I had to look at my profile to see how long I have been active here, and was surprised to see it was late 2009 when I started posting. And since then, though I could easily have missed some, I can only recall one thread where Steve intervened in a notable way as administrator. And that thread had deteriorated quickly and deeply into rough political and personal discord, quickly turning audio friends into enemies, and probably causing real damage for some of us in terms of forum participation. So after a bit, when it did not seem to be losing steam or sorting itself out, Steve pulled it.
I guess the main thing for me, is trying help each other streamline our audio quest, supporting a deeper audio experience with less challenges and cost. So I was hoping to broaden the picture, while pointing to how special this forum is in its friendly and giving way, and how fragile that can become if we let over-simplified and polarizing cultural traps that plague our world leak into our forum.
On the Sophia 274B, from many posts on the forum, I don't think there is any question that their reliability with at least some Decware power supplies can be touch and go. I recall as I started looking at used ones, I went to the Sophia site and was relieved to see the rigid plate 274B was designed differently than traditional 274s, so it could work with 47uF power supply caps. I don't recall logging mA ratings, but the following from Chester's Reply #61 might describe the issue.
"Meanwhile, I called Sophia Electric to get a replacement for the 274B and they mentioned the max current load. Being new to all of this, I had no idea what they meant (and still don't). As far as I can tell, the Torii Jr. has a 280 mA demand (stated in the manual), Sue (from Sophia Electric) stated the max current for the 274B is either 90 mA (for the mesh plate) or 160 mA (for the rigid). Further searching found that many 274B rectifiers have a max current well below what the Torii Jr. wants."
I don't know enough about Decware specs to verify, but this post to me implies the possibility of the current specs perhaps being the culprit that causes them to be touch and go in our amps.... and maybe some are better than others at getting pushed beyond spec???
I feel fortunate that the ones I have are standing up to my Torii and CSP3 so far, but I can't seem to keep them in. I like them every time at first, but in my system, it usually does not take long before a slightly off-natural character shows up for me.... like they are intellectually correct, having most of what we might expect from a nice tube, but perhaps not quite flawless in how they blend those traits, so messing with engagement for me. I have been lucky, having come into a lot of nice rectifiers, and my system is particularly resolving, but still, with this tube so popular, I was surprised how many tubes I like better, and at much less cost. The most costly of some of my favorite tubes in recent years, RGN1064s (4 volt and need adapters), is a pair of mesh plate globes from the 30s, and the pair cost less than one new Aqua 274B without warranty. These tubes are also perhaps borderline electronically for most Decware amps, but several have been holding up here for years of serious play.
Lately, testing a bunch of 5U4GBs and a few 5U4G-STs for another forum member, I am reminded how good some of those can be, rekindling an old love for a late forties Raytheon fat bottle GB with two top/side horseshoe getters, and an unusual stepped base like a short version of a 5R4WGB "potato masher" base. It sounds really beautiful in my current system, nothing overstated, and nothing missing, great space and fine detail, and having a slight euphonic feel that I usually tire of, but with these really enjoy.
I do keep trying the Sophias as my system morphs, and hopefully, one day they might create beautiful synergy with my setup as they have with others.
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