The tubes were installed moments after they arrived on a Friday morning, kept me engaged with my system all weekend. Having that initial time to indulge in all of the nuances and outright improvements was very enjoyable and ear-opening. I expected some difference, but not to the amount I heard.
One thing I noticed most was the increased volume and detail in the bass. I had to turn down the subwoofer to accommodate the improvements. The other big difference was how it handled the mid and upper midrange, making it far smoother and more listenable. It kind of removed a slightly shouty veil that the Tung Sol tubes presented.
Overall, the added smoothness makes it seem there is no limit to the volume; the music was very listenable at any setting, no fatigue. I'm using these on the right gain stage of the Schiit Freya+ with the standard Tung Sol tubes on the left. It is a substantial improvement I would recommend to any Freya+ owner.
I tried the PSVANE Horizons previously, they were an improvement over the Tung Sols. They added a little more bass definition and cleaner higher frequency sounds, but still had that similar mid range emphasis. The Crytone tubes are more like the Passive mode but with a lot more richness, the holographic magic and of course the +12dB Tube mode gain.
Delivery took some time, customer service is not perfect, but the product delivers, strongly recommended.
