Premium tube sockets

[hilldweller]

I ran across these and really like the pins. Has anyone used these? Snake oil or practical?

http://www.thetubestore.com/Parts-Acces ... ube-Socket

http://www.thetubestore.com/lib/thetube ... iagram.jpg

[nyazzip]

i'm guessing that the first time you slide a tube in, the one-atom thick gold plating is worn through to the underplate....i wouldn't go for it, unless maybe i lived in a surfside cabana

[Geek]

I use the Woo Audio types on my high-end builds in positions that get "rolled" often. They are worth it because you can roll tubes to your heart's content and the socket will not wear out.

The 4-pin grips like no other socket I've used. I highly recommend those over the Shuguang or even Western Electric bakelite.

Now, the octal socket as I mentioned is GREAT for a tube roller. If you don't roll octals, the cheaper ceramic types will do just fine.

Cheers!

[Hotsauce]

I prefer sockets with looped connectors.

If available I'd pick silver or rhodium plating over gold, and teflon or bakelite over the more resonant ceramic.

John

[coolhandjjl]

The ones linked are akin to socket savers. They plug into a board with existing sockets to raise the level of tubes up higher. I bought three of those to elevate the tubes to mount above the chassis. It seemed like it would work. They get mounted under the chassis, then you fit your socketed board up underneath. Problem is, it was difficult for me to get them to fit snuggly into the sockets on the board. Even after I fiddled with the board for quite a while and believed I had positive contact in all three sockets, my preamp had intermittent issues. Trouble shooting led me to those things. I removed them and all is well.