Been really busy and expect that to continue into May. I hope to finish up my Master's this semester. Meanwhile some of the grandchildren are visiting. I really enjoy both school and the grandkids, but the combination of the two is not optimal.

Oh, supposedly the blue halo is due to an imperfect vacuum in the tube, but it doesn't seem to affect performance. I hear it affects longevity. I haven't seem a post on the electro-harmonix before now, which shows you how out of it I've been.

I like to fall asleep to low-level classical on really quiet nights like during snowfalls. It used to be nice to wake up at the end of long passage and see those blue glows.

I still use a Valve art for testing my amps after mods. They used to be a pair of course, but during the last mod I kept restarting my system without proper cycling times in between. I kept the preamp out of the circuit for testing, going direct from my McIntosh MR71 tuner to the Paramours. Well, the stress blew a rectifier tube (a Mullard no less) in the Mac, sent a surge through the 'Mour and popped the Valve Art.

The Sophias are labeled 2.5V 300B's, as are the TJ's. I heard all the Asian meshplates are manufactured in the same factory, but different labels have differing Quality Control standards. Who knows.

Like both the 300B and the 2A3 they fit the UX4 socket. But unlike the 300B, they run at 2.5 volts, they only put out 3.5 watts and they follow all the 2A3 op points, so I would call them 2a3's. The bass is very nice in my modified Paramours, but again some people find them to have too much bass. The mesh also gives them great detail in my system. I think that will show up even more when I change the 'Mours to direct coupling.

I believe true 300B's run at 5V and put out 8 watts, so they won't run in Paramours. I guess these meshies have a similar internal structure and maybe a similar sound to 300B meshies. But since all these DHT's produced by different manufacturers sound different, I don't know what a "true" 2A3 or 300B should sound like :-)

My listening room is full of MDF for the Seven cornerhorns, almost completely cut to size (only the 45's on the doghouses left) stacked on the floor. As soon as I have a chance to breathe, they'll be built "on site". Then the direct coupling of the Paramours. Then the GM70 amps. Then...

Ah, so many passions, so little time.