CE Distribution announced Apex Tube Matching - a new proprietary state-of-the art power tube matching system, designed to ensure the highest-quality matched tubes available. The company performs extensive testing and analysis on each tube that runs through the system to provide accurate and precision-matched tube sets.
Power tubes are electrically matched so each tube will have the same amount of “idle” plate current and amplification characteristics when plugged into an amplifier. This is done so the tubes can work together in any given circuit offering optimal sound quality and tube longevity.
Apex matched tubes are tested first for Emission Test Point and subsequently controlled for their baseline plate current value at a relatively high plate voltage and a mid-range grid voltage. The plate current measured at this test point will be later used for matching. Next the transconductance is measured for matching purposes. In the final test point, the expected slope of the plate current line is measured to make sure that the slope curve at this grid voltage is within expected values.
Once tubes reach the matching stage, the stored test data for each tube plate current, slope test and transconductance allows to pair tubes together which are very, very similar in their plate characteristics. The full measurement and matching process is detailed in the Apex Tube Matching website.
As the company explains, “Apex Tube Matching is performed entirely in-house on our brand new custom-built tube matching system using our custom-designed software testing and matching methodology. What this
means is we are not matching your tubes on inferior matching hardware or using outdated equipment. “Rather, we are using state-of-the-art equipment designed and built to our specifications using our years of experience in the music industry. Our systems are highly robust and extremely accurate, measuring current and voltage to provide the best possible matching for our tubes. These systems are a result of many, many years of experience and an incredible amount of planning, design, prototyping and testing, resulting in the best tube matching available in the entire industry.”Matched tubes also receive extra quality checks to reduce the possibility of getting a faulty power tube that may have slipped by the manufacturer. Apex Matched Tubes are a product of CE Distribution, LLC and are available exclusively through CE Distribution and its authorized retailers.
www.apexmatching.com | www.cedist.com
