I got two sets of RCA red 5693 tubes. All from 1956-59 but they sound different!
One set of more relax + wider soundstage, and the other set is more punchy. Not sure it is because of their age or some other reasons. Anyone compares the red 5693 made by different manufacturers (GE/RCA/etc) or the different purposes (normal vs JAN/CRC)?
JKDjEdiI tried a few recently. I have better luck in early (1953 or 1956) pairs and pairs marked with JAN/CRC emblem. I have tried two NOS sets (1959 and 1961) but sound worse in bass (tested using 6xx). It might be the case that the NOS set needs break in.