[bside123]

Greetings everybody: At first I should introduce myself. My name is Din Dayemi, although it is an unusual spelling, my first name is actually pronounced "Dean." I live in Southern Illinois, just south of Carbondale. I've been reading the Gateway Circle topics from the sideline. Thanks to everyone for all of their posts. I hope to make an event one of these days. Perhaps the Zu party, if it ever happens. Been wanting to see that Zu stuff anyway.

Another reason that I am writing is to inquire if there are places in the St. Louis area that sell vintage or NOS tubes and tube accessories, i.e., dampeners, etc. Southern Illinois is a virtual desert for audio gear, accessories and quality electrical supplies. That's one of the reasons that I make it up to St. Louis often... well and to get a meal on the Hill. I just put together a little Eastern Electric MiniMax system for my office. Such is the reason that I want additional selections for rolling the tubes. This MiniMax gear rates very high on the "fun factor" meter.

Best regards to all,
Din Dayemi

[KenSeger]

Not local, but they do have a lot of tubes.

http://www.surplussales.com/Tubes-Sock-Acc/VacTubeIndex.html

Ken

[bside123]

Thanks link Ken:

Yeah, there are plenty of websites and places to order tubes. I was hoping that there was something more local or in striking distance - even used. I reread my last post and realized that I misspelled "damper." Anyway, the word "dampener" sounds much more authentic... like Southern Illinois dialect. Vehicle is a 3 syllable word down here.

[KenSeger]

Well I have an Eastern Nebraska dialect.  You can tell if a person is from eastern Nebraska if you ask, "How many 'R's in the word WASH?, and they reply, "How many you got?"

[sturgus]

This guy is local but I think he only does online sales. You don't have to wait for Zu. Most, if not all  of the guys would be glad to have you come take a listen.
http://www.vacuumtubes.com/
Sturgus

[Joe_K]

Hi Din,

Welcome aboard! For dampers you could get some o-rings from the local auto, hardware or plumbing supply store. 2 or 3 work well on the small signal tubes.

Joe

[bside123]

Hey Joe and Sturgus, thanks for the welcome. Sturgus, also thanks for the link and the invitation to connect. Would that be a 99.999% oxygen free, continuous crystal, multi-stranded copper inter-connect?

Joe, I guess the O ring concept makes perfect sense, so long as, the rings are temperature rated. I've either seen or visited the websites folks have recommended. My fantasy, given St. Louis is a major metro area, was being able to walk in to a shop, etc. and deal face-to-face with a real human being. I get to St. Louis often enough. And... I get on the internet too much!

I'd also like to return the invitation to any Audio Circle member that might be in this neck of the woods (Shawnee National Forest) or visiting Southern Illinois to contact me for a visit or listening session.

Best regards, Din

[Joe_K]

Joe, I guess the O ring concept makes perfect sense, so long as, the rings are temperature rated.
Best regards, Din

Hi Din,
Standard buna o-rings are spec'd at 300F, viton 500F ,vitons' a better all around o-ring, either will last a very long time on 12A*7s, 6922 etc. Power tubes will eventually bake either. It's still a cheap tweak!
Joe

[Scott F.]

Hiya Din,

Welcome aboard  Got your info BTW.

Like the other guys mentioned, unfortunately there aren't any shops here in town that have NOS tubes or dampers. As said before, there are a number of us that have some pretty nice stashes of NOS tubes that you could [at least] listen to help form an opinion. Me, I'm a tube hoarder. I've never got enough old stock tubes.

NOS tubes can make a tremendous difference in depending on the resolution of your system. Not sure if you are using a tube rectifier in your amp or pre but they can make a dramatic difference too. A while back MerRev was over and we rolled though about 10 or 12 rectifier tubes in my pre. It was pretty enlightening.

One of the times you make it into town, feel free to give me a buzz. I've got most all of the NOS tubes you read about. We can listen to some vinyl and do some tube rolling 

[bside123]

Thanks for the encouragement Scott. So, I'll really have to connect with the AC crew next time I am up your way. I am always up to hearing what a guy's got. Would love to hear some tube rolling and vinyl to boot. I love vinyl and have built a nice analog rig me-self.

A couple of days ago, I ordered a Blackburn Mullard 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier for my new, little power amp. I've been running a tube preamp with a SS power amp for years, in one of my systems. When ya hit the synergy right between the tubes and the SS, it can be a great hybrid. Sweet & Fast. Meanwhile, I picked up this Eastern Electric MiniMax combo for my office: Amp @ 8 watts, Linestage & CDP - all tube.

These little components are more fun then a barrel monkeys. They're very responsive to tube rolling, and they keep changing their personalities, as I give them attention. I popped 2 Telefunken ECC88 (c.1968) into the CDP, and 2 RCA USAF Black Plate 12AU7 (c.1963) into the Linestage. Oh boy! Much more better than the stock Sovtek & EH. I am still waiting on a few other tubes to arrive in the mail, some rectifier. Most of my experience has been with SS in my home gear, with exception of the tubes in my preamp and Fender guitar amps.

I am going to follow up on Joe's suggestion for the viton O rings. I've heard that you St. Louis guys struggle with quality electric power and frequent storms. How do you all deal with that?

More later. Din 

[thunderbrick]

Not sure if they still have them, but Gateway Electronics and Electronics Exchange used to have tons of used tubes. Not many of the 12ax7s or other common tubes, but sometimes you get lucky.

[Scott F.]

When it comes to power conditioning I use Chris Hoff's BPT for my main system. In the other systems I  use passive filtration from Dezorel. It works OK but the BPT is a pretty phenominal upgrade over the other.

Don't be fooled about quality power out in the boonies. I live there too. In fact I am about 4 miles from the power plant and my power sucks. You need some sort of filtration no matter where you are IMO.

[KenSeger]

While this is a bit off of the topic of power conditioning for hi-fi, it is related.  I strongly suggest that everybody have a whole-house surge protection system.  It certainly does NOT substitute for either a noise and surge protector for your computer nor anything as sophisticated as the BPT.  Think of it as a course filter in a water supply, if filters out the big stuff which gives an easier job to your other filters, plus it might protect them.  Your better computer filters have warning lights on them that tell you when a surge has killed them and they will no longer protect anything - but will continue to pass power to your computer. The unit is typically about 2" x 3" x 4" and goes on or in your circuit breaker box.  PLEASE note that the connection leads from the whole-house filter to your bus straps should be as short and straight as possible since this little beauty will provide some protection from lightning strikes and lightning contains all frequencies from DC to light.  Typical wholesale cost of these units is around $200.  Needless to say that a qualified electrician should install this as it involves taking the cover off of your circuit breaker box and mucking around with the inards.
Please consider what a large line surge can kill in your house if they have electronic controls: microwave oven, wireless phone, furnace, air conditioner, TV, VCR, overhead fan controls, whole house fan, garage door opener, stove, oven, burglar alarm, door bell, dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, waterbed heater, anything with a remote control, electronic keyboard or MIDI instrument, et cetra.
It is cheap insurance.

[bside123]

Nobody here, least of all yours truly, is fooled by the quality greatness of country power, Scott. Between your post and Ken's, I've got myself worked up over the clean/safe power issue again. Naw, I ain't gonna freak, and it sure isn't your fault, but this power subject is a HUGE can of worms. You know what they say about opinions, and there is no shortage of opinions on this subject. Soon we'll have the clash of the engineers vs. the ear-gineers.

Our power down here comes from a rural electric coop. Lot's of fluctuations and temporary brown-outs. To make matters much more interesting, I've installed a massive, free-standing power station that is run by two inverters that convert DC to AC that is collected from either solar, a generator, wind or "the grid." (depending on what's needed and what's the cheapest at the time) Trying to determine the "best" approach to power, when it comes to my audio gear, has made me dizzy, dizzy so far.

I am never without power even when the rest of the down-state area goes down, but the quality of that power varies greatly. Just imagine: grid, batteries, generator, stops and starts. When in doubt, or when a storm comes, I unplug my gear. That's the best "surge" protection I know, and I really know that this isn't enough or even comes close to being the end of the story. I didn't really want to start a whole new thread on power, as the information on this subject is already out there and the amount is limitless... wish the good, clean power was too!

Anyway, I have been very curious about a couple of things: 1) BPT products - a MO company 2) the use of a high quality isolation transformer to completely isolate my dedicated line from the rest of the incoming AC and the other circuits in the house.

Currently, I use dedicated lines, cryo-treated Hubbell outlets and non-limiting, non-switched, no surge protection power strips with hospital grade outlets. My best sound (when it comes only to the sound) has been to plug high quality cords directly into the current. No filters. I have been suspicious of surge protectors, filters and conditioners when it comes to affecting the sound of the music... after having been through a few less than satisfactory experiences. But then again, I've never lost a piece of well loved gear to a freak power incident.

Well, there I go ranting and raving after having said I didn't want to start a thread on "power." Thunderbrick, thanks for the tip on tubes. More later, Din 

[electricbear]

Hey Din,
               Glad to see you posting. We are always happy to see new members.
Why don't you give Chris from BPT a call with your questions on power. We all know Chris very well , he's a really nice guy and a fellow member. He truly believes in what he does and will not steer you wrong.