TESTING PROCESSES FOR TUBES

PM Components has an extensive testing process for every tube depending on the application.  In order for a tube to be worthy of a PM Components name, they undergo thorough testing by Engineers trained on specialized test equipment, designed to test for output and measurement for each application.

PM Power and Preamp Tubes Testing Process

To obtain the ’punch’ required in Guitar amplification the input tubes need to have sufficient gain and the two triode sections need to be balanced. The internal structure must be tight to prevent rattle or microphony, while resisting resonance and vibration. The heaters must not produce hum, the output power tubes must be matched and the performance curves should peak at the same point so they clip together in overdrive. PM Engineers verify the tubes age together and the characteristics do not drift apart during usage. The PM engineering team have developed specific tests to analyse tubes for :

·         Noise

·         Shock

·         Microphony

·         Resonance

·         Fatigue

·         Gain

·         Heaters

·         Leakage

Every PM Power Tube is measured under full load extensively on a fully computerized and calibrated system, enabling specially trained PM Engineers to reject any tube that shows any sign of imbalance or early failure.

Golden Dragon Hi Fi Tubes Testing Process

The vast range of Hi Fi tubes are specifically designed to reproduce every detail of a recording without loss of detail.  Hi Fi Tubes of the finest quality should be neutral and not add any color or character to a recording, with no trace of noise or hum.  In order to achieve perfect sound quality, engineers extensively test each tube for perfect characteristics, along with perfect balance.  While these tubes go through the same testing processes as Guitar Tubes, they also require additional customized testing to carefully measure the additional characteristics.  The range includes many output triodes with an output in Watts much lower than the guitar output tubes, but with a  high efficiency enabling them to produce great detail at good volume.