Upgrade...Sounds great...Goes away

Samhar- YES, BUT: You're just imaging the improvement. You know: The (ubiquitous/inevitable/worthless) 'Placebo-Babble', er... I mean, 'Placebo-Effect'. KUDOS on your experimentation. Don't give up the Quest.

I know that, but I like to pretend that different tubes sound different and it makes me feel like I'm donating to a good cause when I give to the poor tube dealers. BTW I'm running Sieman El88CC's in my pre and loving them. My next fantasy CCa's, WOW this is as good as sand box therapy!!!!

Samhar- You must seek the same gratification as I, supporting those poor tube dealers, even buying the same tubes. Be certain the CCa's you purchase are pre-'68. Happy listening!! =8^)

Thanks you too!!!! [:^)

No. Never. Something is an improvement or it isn't. Improvements are hard to obtain above a modest investment - but you can easily get all kinds of coloration that will be pleasing or impressive and excitingly different. Added distortion and coloration inevitably become fatiguing after a while though. Even one note bass or boom boom tizz sounds really great until it dawns on you that every darn track sounds pretty much the same - all heard through the same pleasant but colored and distorted lens!

I'd suggest that if you have to change all the time then something is fatiguing you (it could simply be bad room acoustics,for example) and/or you hear with your eyes not your ears - meaning it only sounds good if you have a new toy on the rack rather then when your ears tell you it sounds good.