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I've been back and forth between transistors and tubes for listening a few times since the late '70s. Going back to tubes always yields surprises. What are the two or three things about your recent tube experiences that really left you grinning?
Follow Ups:
They were a revelation when I used them to replace the Winged C's in my ARC VM-220 (8 of them to a side). Gorgeous, liquid sound that smokes the Winged C's.
namely EL84 in SE pentode mode. Makes some fabled SE triode tubes sound unnaturally over-liquid and smooth.
I tried alot of tubes in my Audible Illusions L1 preamp. Tried Siemens and they went microphonic. Tried JJ but didn't like the one note bass. From a well known California audio salon which specializes in tubes I tried Sovteks which were inferior to the stock AI Sovteks. Tried $160/pr. new Amperex US white label PQ6922 which were absolutely wonderful; open, airy, clean, sweet, with a top end to die for and a sense of listening ease which was addictive! But, alas, after a few months they went noisy!To the rescue, cryo-treated EH6922 from ATSI in Florida. They are nearly (honest!) as good as the Amperex. They've been in the preamp for two years now and are still going strong!
GIVEN fer nowt, OLD oem tl12.1's and two mono pre's. carefully and very slowly reformed with no probs.I SOLD them, I think the pre's hid the magic!!!
Being lent, long term, a Radford SC22 pre and STA15 and STA25.
being almost given my first set of QUAD22 and two QUADII's!!!
Hearing acoutic music like you knew it could be. I'm an ex-chorister.
I was way into GOOD sounding SS, IE Luxman, or Sugden, or Audiocompianet, and then the Radfords came along .........
Night and day - on acoustic music.
Then I swappped the Quad set, for an Allen Wright FVP in the 22 box, to drive either of the Radfords!
Changed my wife's pleasure in audio into a passion, and helped ME just settle.
Given a Leak St60!
later swapped for a pair of Leak St20's ---- read more of THAT saga at Inm. Sys.
THEN I was given an old baby Simulcast Stereo rcvr - had it modded into a hi-fi AM and Stereo FM tuner. power amps OFF.
In FM mono, and in SS decoded stereo, and on AM, this 'tuna' just eats all previous tuners heard chez nous. All driven pretty hard signal wise.
My wife and I now listen - together to concerts - preferably live direct ones of acoustic music on a nation wide FM service that does not compress OR process. NB these are invariably simply miked/real stereo and are very affecting musically.
I now consider FM - of this quality - to be a serious high-end source up there with large format stereo half track analogue R2R's. ? Zero copies.
Despite the 'limited' bandwidth? YEP! here it is 20hz to 15khz, or better!
It isn't a recording, it's just the mike feed, from as few as just 2 mikes - multi miking is VERY rare.
We both agree that later 'repeats' - off DAT - are notably inferior, Musically / affectively. Same mikes though!
NB such repeats are still better than way too many classical CD's - for sheer transparency to the music being made.
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio ScroungerAnd gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
Was surprised at how different they are compared to several other pentodes.
BTA 6CM5's are just sooooooo numerous and cheap.are there really HEAPS of 6V6's and do they all perform well OR is it like the 6L6 story, where you have to search for truly good ones, and then give up and use Sovtek 5881's!
;-)!
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio ScroungerAnd gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
Some say Mazda is the best, others say it is RCA or Brimar.Of these, I had experience with RCAs and they are indeed great. I also tried different American brands, and they were all great. If I was to tell my preference, that would be hard.
Currently I am using NOS Russian 6P6S. They sound terrific, and price is such that you can buy them in bulk and do your own matching.
FWIW, the 6V6 is a beam power tetrode. No surprise about it being good sounding. Look at the triode wired curves. They are as linear as those of the REVERED 6SN7.The 6V6 and its close relatives make for good amps and they use less heater power than the EL84.
Eli D.
What a tone they have. So rich through the mids.
I was going to mention it but was not in the mood to get flamed at the time.
Good news and bad news. The combo sounds gorgeous at any price...BUTLots of stupid and/or careless construction mistakes that could easily have been avoided.
Replaced my rectifier on a whim...night and day difference. I went out and bought a back up...
I finally got my all-DHT amp built. This is a basic version with 3a5 into 30 into 2a3. Even so, it's a different world from all my previous amps. It's been a lot of work - finding and building filament supplies and all the rest of it. Microphonics seemed to have been cured by going all balanced right through. The delicacy and instrumental tone is in another universe - I'm over the moon. Plus, this is basic and I know I can build better still. Andy
... vinyl or cd with jazz, blues, etc. Very organic with excellent imaging and soundstage. I split the mono out to L and R. I often prefer it over stereo.
1. You can listen for hours and hours without listener fatigue.
2. The music isnt run togther and harsh as with solid state.
3. The depth extends as well as frequency response in a way that even a cheap speaker can sound expensive.
About 5 years ago I totally rebuilt my Dynaco ST-35. I was excited about the rebuild and wanted to get it back on line, so I used the old tubes when I was finished. These tubes finally crapped out this year and I put in a fresh set of JJ EL84s and some NOS Mullard 7427s. Man - what a difference! I just picked up another set of JJs and have a stash of Mullards so next time I'll be ready.
nightdoggy,This is an easy queston for me as four months ago upon receipt, I had to pick my jaw off the floor after five minutes with a McIntosh MR67 tuner (1965). And this MR67 has 10 of 12 tubes original plus I'm reasonably sure it's never been re-aligned. The soundstage was wider than the speakers and deeper than the room with a bass that is tranparent and detailed that absolutely shakes the floor, so smooth, articulate, and dynamic I only wish I could find a CD player that makes this sound. The MR67 actaully made me immediately dissapointed with the Cambridge Audio 640C- though I was listening to CD's on FM, the sound was vastly better than if I played the CD's directly. - An astounding device really and I never heard FM this way.
I use a tuner all the time on the office but in my main system - Audio REserach SP10 and D115, I used a 1965 McIntosh MX110 tuner preamp for 15 years- and that has tuner circuitry similar to the MR67. With prices for vintage tuners getting silly- though not as silly as 5751 and 6911 prices, I decided I should get settled with two good tuners and bought a Revox B160 (1988), the MR67, and an MR77 (1974) which I'm listening to again since about an hour ago. I can't decide which two of the thre to keep except the MR67 is so obvious ! Earlier, I thought th eMR77 was the clear loser, but today with a lot of sorting of the office system, it suddenly seems far better than I remember. I do also have a Scott 330C mono tube tuner and that one is so good it almost convinces me to stay with mono FM! Really, I think I like the MR67 sound more than Marantz 10B. The office system of an Audio Research LS3 and D130 solid state is wonderfully neutral to evaluate sources. With the MR67, I actually have what sounds like a fantastic tube system.
The MR67 is so amazing, I've gradually over 4 months bought the finest NOS tubes I can find as a gift to it for being so good!
For those interested, here are my tube choices for the MR67:
3- 6AU6 : 1st, 2nd IF / 1st limiter> Raytheon black plate 7543 > The 7543 is a special low noise, premium ruggedized 6AU6A
2- 6BL8: L&R audio amplifiers> Valvo E80CF pinched waist gold pin
12AU7 : MPX oscillator> Amperex Bugle Boy 7316
12AT7: 2nd RF amplifier,mixer > Valvo, Hamburg blue label 6201 gold pin
6DS4 : Nuvistor 1st RF amplifier > Amperex by RCA
6AB4 : Oscillator> Telefunken EC92- Germany
6CS6 /EH90: (GE) 4th IF, 2nd limiter> Telefunken EH90
6U8 / ECF82 : MPX amplifier> Amperex 6GHA- orange globe label- France- NOS > the MR67 designer Modaferri recommends the higher gain
6GH8A in place of the 6U8 in MR67.6AV6/EBC91 : Muting amplifier> Telefunken EBC91- Germany- NOS
- a nice thing by the way is that the less often used tuner types are very inexpensive- I bought 4 Telefunken ECB91s in sealed boxes for $2 each! The 7316 was a bit more- at $40 the most expensive single tube I've ever bought.
With new caps and alignment and the above tubes, I expect to be buried with the MR67!
I'm grinning just thinking about the MR67 !
Cheers,
Bambi B
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