Hi there,

I am new to this list and have a question about microphonic tubes ? My
friend has a Musical Fidelity X-Cans V3 headphone amplifier with an ECC88
valve ( perhaps 2 of these ?) and it has recently begun to display a
'powdery, tinkly' sound in response to any nearby mechanical vibration. I
assume this indicates the tube(s) have gone microphonic. The unit still
performs flawlessly. Can any readers suggest a particular brand for
replacement of these (don't know what the stock originals are.....unit is
still un-opened) which might have : a) better sonic qualities and b) also be
less susceptible to microphony ? Is it worth getting a pair matched
(assuming there are 2 within the unit), and what characteristics are
significant here ? It uses a variation on the circuit employed in the
TriVista SACD player....but has the twin triode valve instead.
Finally, we live in Australia...so if there are any recommended Australian
(or Asian) suppliers that would be particularly helpful...otherwise any that
you can recommend would help us out.
Thank you very much for your advice,
Ray Thomas

Ray Thomas wrote:

Hi there,

I am new to this list and have a question about microphonic tubes ? My
friend has a Musical Fidelity X-Cans V3 headphone amplifier with an ECC88
valve ( perhaps 2 of these ?) and it has recently begun to display a
'powdery, tinkly' sound in response to any nearby mechanical vibration. I
assume this indicates the tube(s) have gone microphonic. The unit still
performs flawlessly. Can any readers suggest a particular brand for
replacement of these (don't know what the stock originals are.....unit is
still un-opened) which might have : a) better sonic qualities and b) also be
less susceptible to microphony ? Is it worth getting a pair matched
(assuming there are 2 within the unit), and what characteristics are
significant here ? It uses a variation on the circuit employed in the
TriVista SACD player....but has the twin triode valve instead.
Finally, we live in Australia...so if there are any recommended Australian
(or Asian) suppliers that would be particularly helpful...otherwise any that
you can recommend would help us out.
Thank you very much for your advice,
Ray Thomas

EVATCO in melbourne is a quite reliable tube supplier and
he does mail order OK.

Tubes do go noisy after time, some take 10,000 hrs, some 2,000 hrs.
Bst to at least have a few spares, and if the noise goes away after a tube
replacemet
then the tube was noisy. It may be some other problem if it persists.

Patrick Turner.

http://www.turneraudio.com.au