tubes4hifi SP14 and Psvane CV181 Tii tubes

Hello,

Just a word of caution to those who may be considering the recommendation of many owners to consider upgrading their tubes4hifi SP14 tubes to the Psvane CV181T Mark II.  

The tubes received universal high marks from the reviews I have seen.  I gulped and opted for the top of the line, buying the Grade A quality from Grant Fidelity at $290 for the matched pair.

Sound is extraordinary.  Tubes appear to be of the highest quality.  However!!

Unfortunately, the tubes are too tall to fit in the standard chassis.  They will not clear the top lid.  

My research prior to purchase failed to reveal this as a problem and I am now faced with selling the tubes at a substantial loss, using the preamp without the lid, or drilling holes in it so the tubes will clear the lid.  None of those are considered satisfactory solutions.

Has anyone else had this experience, and if so how did you deal with it.

See the attached link for photo.  I have placed the chassis lid upside down behind the tubes so you can see the lack of clearance.


https://postimg.cc/XZjL4C50

http://www.apexjr.com/images/RtAngle9pin.jpg

Would there be clearance for a device such as the one linked?

Alternately, an Octal Relay socket mounted on-edge, hard-wired to the PCB? JB-Weld would handle the mounting nicely if there were enough space.

Not their fault in this case, but give Grant Fidelity a very wide berth. Ask around . . .

How short could the board stand-offs be?
Would this give you clearance? OR cause other issues?

As the CV181's appear to be only a couple of mm too tall you could add an extra nut or two as spacers when screwing the lid on or using shorter PCB stand-offs or making them shorter by sawing off bit of height, ensuring there is enough clearance from the base plate of course.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I have decided to opt for reducing the height of the stand-offs as the best solution. I have ordered 1/4 inch stand-offs from Mouser to be delivered tomorrow. Will post results once I see if that will do the job.

PeterW,
first, your post is totally irrelevant, as those are 9 pin sockets, and we are talking about octal tubes.
second, I'm pretty sure you don't have an SP14 (because I've seen you answer about 100 other posts about products or parts you don't have),
so why are you even trying to give advice about something you know nothing about?
Please reserve your comments and answers to questions and problems you are personally experienced with.

In Roy's defense, I have never received less than outstanding service from him on any number of issues encountered over the years.  On more than one occasion he has performed repair work at no cost, provided free replacement parts, and offered superb service and advise.

As for PeterW, I thank you for your suggestion. I am sure it was given with the best intentions.

As for my original problem with the Pvsane CV181 in my SP14, the shorter stand-offs (1/4") I ordered from Mouser worked to solve the problem.  The tubes have about an eighth of an inch clearance.  I will hope that the tubes will not suffer from being that close to the chassis lid.

Bruce

"your post is totally irrelevant, ( actually Roy, it isn't)
"as those are 9 pin sockets, and we are talking about octal tubes."

Explains a couple more things.....

Ernstmach wrote:"your post is totally irrelevant, ( actually it isn't)
"as those are 9 pin sockets, and we are talking about octal tubes."

Explains a couple more things.....

BUMP