RE: exactly!

Posted by immatthewj on December 10, 2020 at 19:54:14

In Reply to: RE: exactly! posted by LtMandella on December 10, 2020 at 19:33:47:

I still have my first tube amp. (Your first tube amp is like your first [fill in blank], right?)

Anyway, it is a Cary SLA70 Signature with two 6550s per-side that I bought in '94.
Being as it was my first, I truly didn't have a clue, & when the first set of outputs started losing their bloom, I felt it was just me, & I stayed in denial way too long. Back then I was in a life period where I was really mesmerized by the sound of Margo Timmin's voice (female vocalist for the Cowboy Junkies) & when it got to the point that I just could not bare to crank "Sweet Jane" up to bigger than life levels, I called Kirk Owens, from Cary Audio, & asked, "What's up? Do I need new output tubes? Don't they last forever?"

Probably, & no they don't, he replied. The amp came with Svetlanta 6550Bs & it must have been about at that time that the Svetlanta 6550c came out, as that is what Kirk sold me.

Anyhow, the new tubes came & I put in The Cowboy Junkies & things just didn't sound like I wanted them to. So I called Kirk back up & told him what I was hearing (or not hearing). He sounded a bit perplexed but The amp was still under warranty so he said, "send it to us." He called me after he had had the amp for a bit & told me that he had it on the scope & had been playing it all day & it sounded good & read good . . . . I asked, "Do tubes maybe need to break in?"

Haha.

But, you see, this was my first tube amp & when I fired it up the first time I had nothing to compare it to, & as it gradually got better by degrees, I didn't even realize what was happening.

So, as long as Kirk had the amp anyway, I had him put the oil filled caps that Cary & Cary dealers were always raving about.

So all was not lost.
Cary used to have great customer service back then.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Tube/Valve Lifespan - Duster 16:38:20 12/10/20 (21)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - trobbins 23:19:43 12/29/20 (0)

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RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - jaydacus 09:40:55 12/24/20 (0)

When people ask that question... - Victor Khomenko 11:05:09 12/21/20 (1)

RE: When people ask that question... - Duster 02:08:59 12/22/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - GreatSound 00:51:27 12/13/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - 91derlust 17:13:30 12/12/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - Bill Way 08:51:16 12/11/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - 6bq5 20:40:13 12/10/20 (3)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - immatthewj 20:42:00 12/10/20 (2)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - 6bq5 21:05:15 12/10/20 (1)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - immatthewj 21:35:15 12/10/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - immatthewj 20:35:38 12/10/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - Sondek 19:46:39 12/10/20 (0)

RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan - immatthewj 18:35:27 12/10/20 (4)

exactly! - LtMandella 18:55:43 12/10/20 (3)

RE: exactly! - immatthewj 19:08:17 12/10/20 (2)

RE: exactly! - LtMandella 19:33:47 12/10/20 (1)

RE: exactly! - immatthewj 19:54:14 12/10/20 (0)

You hit the nail on the head. - viridian 17:16:16 12/10/20 (1)

RE: You hit the nail on the head. - Duster 18:16:29 12/10/20 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: exactly! - immatthewj 19:54:14 12/10/20 (0)

RE: exactly!

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