My little Shindo Montille uses 2 tubes per channel and has a volume control for each channel to match the channels' output. I always have to turn the right channel down a little to get the image centered, using a Chesky test record as my reference. A couple of weeks ago I tested all the tubes on a basic tester and found that 2 of the higher reading tubes registered the same reading and the 2 lower reading tubes had the same value. I placed the 2 higher tubes in the right channel and the 2 lower in the left and listened for a couple of days - it sounded fine, but I still had to turn the right channel down a bit. On the Chesky recording, after the speaker says he is in the center, he then goes to mid-right, full right and then far right, also doing this on the left channel. In the far right and left position, his voice sounds as if it is outside the right or left speaker, creating a very wide soundstage. My system has always done well here, putting him beyond either side. A day or so ago I decided to test for this extreme left/right position and to my surprise his voice came from the middle now, not to the outside of the speakers. I then switched just 1 tube between the left and right channel and now his voice is again outside the speakers. WTF? Does this mean we need to test every tube in every position to get the best soundstage? This can lead to extreme audio nervosa.
