Valve Art 274B tube and other changes.....

[dubai2000]

I seem to remember that somebody on this board was looking for information on the Sophia 274B tube. Now when I checked the website of diyhifisupply in Hong Kong I noticed that they not only sold a TJ 274B, but also a Valve Art. Contacting them I was told that the Valve Art was a very good tube, the price of which (currently US $15.-) will go up at some time. Thinking to myself that this isn't a sum of money I couldn't afford to lose I ordered one of those tubes. By coincidence I had an acquaintance visiting me when the tube arrived yesterday. I had already changed the standard Chinese 5Z3 to a new Sovtek 5U4 and a NOS 5R4, but this baby seems to top them all: the sound strikes me as more transparent and especially the bass seems to be not only more pronounced, but also more detailed. My friend remarked that he finds the tube adds more coherence to the sound picture. The tube is still burning in, but until now I really like what I hear and for that price....

The next step I plan to undertake (well, somebody does it for me) is to replace some eternal parts with better components. It was suggested to use something called Audyn-Caps. Does anybody have experiences with these parts (they are not expensive - good for my budget- and I was told that they'll certainly be an improvement to the standard Chinese caps)? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

Wolfram

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System:

1973 Khorns with ALK crossovers

REL Stadium II sub

Cayin 743 D integrated tube amp (utilizing 300B tubes)

McIntosh MR 77

McIntosh MCD 7007

Thorens 520S

SME 3012-R

Ortofon SPU Classic GM E

Cyrus aEQ 7 phono stage with PSX-R power supply

Alternative system:

Quad ESL 63 (for sale)

McIntosh MC 2105

McIntosh C29