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There is one major advantage to the loctal today compared to the octal for audio applications: price!
I don't claim to be able to hear the difference between different tubes of the same type, ie tube rolling, as I'm slowly going deaf in one ear. That said, I do know that my wallet much prefers spending $3 on a 7N7 vs $10 on a 6SN7. In particular, some Sylvania 6SN7s can fetch $100+ for a single NOS example on eBay, whereas literally the same exact tube, with the same exact internal construction, but on a loctal base will net $2 to $5...
I won't use any of the extremely expensive octals in a DIY setting anymore; only the loctal equivalent if it exists. Paying more when you don't have to for equivalent performance is downright insane.
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