All,
A little write up on my finding with the CBS/Hytron 5814 in the my Purity One. These have turned out to be a most excellent choice. The sound stage is wide and deep. With other tubes, on most recordings, the soundstage is behind the speakers, with the Hytron, a get an in front of the speaker effect. I have only gotten this from a set of NOS Tung-Sol 12AU7(nice tubes that crapped out around 100 or so hours
) An example of this is Sister Moon on Herbie Hancock, Possibilities. Percussion effects are clearly in front of the right speaker. Bass has depth and most importantly, accuracy. Please note, my speakers are stand mount Salk HT1s, so bass is not subterranean, but it is good. Midrange on the Hytrons is very good, vocals are clear and inflection is very nice. Piano is done very well. I was playing Keith Jarret - La Scala, and guests thought a real piano was playing in the living room over the holidays.
Next up is a pair of tests new, Raytheon Blackplate 12AU7, Baldwin organ stock. These are on the way from tctubes. I have a set of weak ones that sound pretty good, let's see how a "good" set stacks up.