Variacs: Can your ears detect a difference?

[talltxguy]

Normally the voltage running through the house is 123 to 124 volts (Central Texas). Yesterday I can home from work and discovered voltage was at 117 volts, which is what I'm supposed to be running my 295 & Studio Pre at; so I plug in and jam a while. We had the remnants of Hurricane Hermine come through Central Texas. We got over 10" of rain in 30 hours!

My ears could not tell a difference in tone between the 117 volts & the normal 123/124 volts. Dynamics didn't seem any different either.

Can any of you tell the difference (tone or dynamics) between such a small voltage drop? I understand that running a variac can allow your equipment to last longer, but I'm wondering about the whole tone/dynamics thing and if it's worth it.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[boogieman60]

I only notice a diff. in my MKV in 10 watt mode..more sag and brown tone. seems to have more affect when the rec. tube is on...

 

[fishyfishfish]

Thread dredge!!!
Try a Variac on a non-master volume amp with the master on 10. Makes a huge difference in tone. Not so much on a pre amp based amp.