Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded
Amperex vs Sovtek impressions
208.212.169.2 |
||
Posted on March 29, 1999 at 09:33:20 | ||
I have a BAT VK-30 pre and a BAT VK-D5 CDP. Both come stock with Sovtek 6922 tubes. I thought they sounded great. I have to admit that because I'm basically a tube "newbie", I viewed most of the Sovtek tube bashing and NOS tube enthusiasm somewhat skeptically as a mild form of benign delusion and audiophile "cultism". After all, there are some who would say that you can't tell the difference between interconnects and speaker cables. And, no one has been able to really offer a plausible explanation of why a NOS tube should sound better than a current production Sovtek (or other East European/Chinese) tube. I thought it sounded a lot like "they don't build them like they used to" nostalgia. Well, I was WRONG! I put NOS Amperex 6922 PQs in the VK-30 and NOS Amperex 7308s in the VK-D5. For the first 15-20 hours, the system didn't sound too good. Substantial loss of bass and highs. But, the midrange lost graininess immediately. After break-in, I was WOWed! When the tubes opened up, it was like I had a new system. I'm trying not to exaggerate here, but the improvement was extraordinary. At best, I thought there might be a subtle improvement, like changing cables. Well, the improvement is dramatic! The highs (e.g. strings) no longer have any grain. Male and female vocals are full and rich. Timbre is much more realistic. The soundstage grew tremendously, both horizontally and vertically. Location and depth also improved substantially. The bass is tighter. Everything just sounds sooooo much better. More musical. More involving. Just wonderful! I didn't bother to open up my stuff again and reinsert the Sovteks for comparison purposes. After all, how legitimate a test is it if it takes a couple of hours to swap tubes and warm up the new tubes? Besides, I'm satisfied. Also, I didn't bother to just roll the tubes in the pre and CDP separately. I guess I'm too impatient. And, I'm not going to do any careful testing now. I'm too entralled by the sound to mess with it. By way of disclaimer, these are my humble impressions only. Testing was not preformed according to scientific methods and there was no ABX testing attempted. There is no guarantee that anyone else will experience these results. Well, that's my report for those who are interested. Now, I've gotta go and try to get my hands on a life time supply of NOS Amperex 7308s or 6922s.
|
Re: No one can tell you which one..., posted on March 30, 1999 at 09:51:38 | |
Yeah, I think I figured that out now. And I used to think it was just to show off the glow ;) |
Re: Amperex vs Sovtek impressions, posted on March 30, 1999 at 14:46:18 | |
Thanks for the update.I am now thinking I must try the amperex tube in my VK-D5.what is the going price for the 7308. |
Re: Amperex vs Sovtek impressions, posted on March 31, 1999 at 18:27:26 | |
I ordered a pair of Amperex 7308 today for my Melos sha-gold.I'll see how they sound in a week. THANKS GUYS |