The nickle base 1578 Russian tubes are by far the best sounding in my opinion. They beat the pants off a set of 5692 Red October tubes I have. Even the cheaper 6N8S will kick the teeth out of the standard american 6SN7's in my opinion. Haven't conducted tests like SY would do to back up my claims that the 1578 is better.
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Given that 6CG7 are supposed to be "the same" as a 6sn7, just in a 9 pin package... How do they compare sound wise to you folks?
I'm just about to build an amp using 6cg7 as the input gain stage and concertina splitter. Only reason I went for them was the aesthetic issue of not having your output tubes in a smaller package than your input/split tubes. But I'm trying to optimise the circuit as best as I can, so aesthetics can go jump if the results will be markedly better with a 6sn7.
Course, going to 6sn7 it's simply a matter of enlarging the hole later one, so it's viable to try it with the 9 pin first and then retrofit...
destination: pidgeons
Given that 6CG7 are supposed to be "the same" as a 6sn7, just in a 9 pin package... How do they compare sound wise to you folks?
I'm just about to build an amp using 6cg7 as the input gain stage and concertina splitter. Only reason I went for them was the aesthetic issue of not having your output tubes in a smaller package than your input/split tubes. But I'm trying to optimise the circuit as best as I can, so aesthetics can go jump if the results will be markedly better with a 6sn7.
Course, going to 6sn7 it's simply a matter of enlarging the hole later one, so it's viable to try it with the 9 pin first and then retrofit...
Pretty useless comment from me, but I'm very much enjoying a simple grounded cathode amp as a linestage using 6cg7.
I just came up with a new and awesome 6SN7,surpassing every 6SN7 I have ever heard before:
That is none other than a USN Amperex Gold-Pinned 7308 in 6922 - 6SN7 adapter. I would categorize the resultant musical bliss as "Complete".
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That is none other than a USN Amperex Gold-Pinned 7308 in 6922 - 6SN7 adapter. I would categorize the resultant musical bliss as "Complete".
FWIW, I've had excellent results with the RCA red base 5692 in the ImPasse preamp and in the input stages of several power amps. The CV1988 are the very best I've tested for linearity. No perforations, though.
I thought you are a self-admitted cheapskate.
I compared some recently, at the far end of the Impasse excursion...I should have saved the charts! The NOS TungSol did nicely, but listening experience might differ from a chart of THD% vs output voltage.
6F8G is the one I like the most, just because top cap. That's kind of "ultimate" in my book...
Otherwise the Chinese and Russian's are pretty decent. If you want to go US old stock, then Sylvania VT-231 are good if you can find them for any decent price.
I think Morgan Jones showed that the smoked glass versions were typically lower on distortion in his book. Of course these are now getting quite pricy.
Otherwise the Chinese and Russian's are pretty decent. If you want to go US old stock, then Sylvania VT-231 are good if you can find them for any decent price.
I think Morgan Jones showed that the smoked glass versions were typically lower on distortion in his book. Of course these are now getting quite pricy.
I really liked those Russian MELZ 6N8S tubes too, very clean and detailed sounding, though it appears everybody else does too looking at the current prices.
The best tubes i have found are Gold Aero branded 6CG7s. They also sound very clean and using RMAA they measured very low distortion vs other 6CG7 and 6SN7 tubes, and very flat frequency response too. The really strange thing about them is they test super strong in my TV-7 tube tester. A 6CG7 has a minimum reading of 50, and a healthy tube will test in the high 60 to 70 range. All three of the Gold Aeros i have peg the meter off the scale past 120. Never seen anything do that before..
All i know about Gold Aero is they cherry picked the best tubes from various sources so its anybody guess who actually manufactured them.
The best tubes i have found are Gold Aero branded 6CG7s. They also sound very clean and using RMAA they measured very low distortion vs other 6CG7 and 6SN7 tubes, and very flat frequency response too. The really strange thing about them is they test super strong in my TV-7 tube tester. A 6CG7 has a minimum reading of 50, and a healthy tube will test in the high 60 to 70 range. All three of the Gold Aeros i have peg the meter off the scale past 120. Never seen anything do that before..
All i know about Gold Aero is they cherry picked the best tubes from various sources so its anybody guess who actually manufactured them.
Since we're opening this up to "better sounding alternatives" I'll toss in my own journey in 6SN7 territory. I once had boxes of these things at a time when I didn't know any better - I had about 12 collectible round plate versions, stacks of 7N7.... and so on. I also had a lot of 6J5 types, 6P5, 7A4 etc. They all went on ebay when I came across single triode 2C22s. Weirdo 2 top cap tubes with the best sound I managed to get out of this category of tubes. They all went when I replaced all the input tubes with 4P1L. Not looking back - much better results. A bit less gain, so a bit of a re-design, but a much better long-term solution IMO if you're building from new and not re-tubing an existing amp.
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I am indeed. I bought the 5692s long before fashion tube collecting was a thing. I might have paid $5 each for them. The CV1988 were free, I won a bet with Morgan Jones and that was his side of the stakes.
I almost forgot about the 6CG7. They can be a steal and the ones I had are every bit just as good as any octal *SN7. I might pay as much as $5 apiece for them too... but you can often get them cheaper.
Also.. 12SN7 is worth a buck or two if you have the right heater supply.
@Andyjevans - shame on you suggesting a DHP in this thread...
Did you ever run 4P1L as a pentode? it can be a pretty darn good driver... for another 4P1L
Also.. 12SN7 is worth a buck or two if you have the right heater supply.
@Andyjevans - shame on you suggesting a DHP in this thread...
Did you ever run 4P1L as a pentode? it can be a pretty darn good driver... for another 4P1L
@Ryssen if you want the 6P5's send me a pm. I have a matched quartet of identical Tungsol's new in original boxes and some identical strong testing (90% emission) used Raytheon's which I selected over the years one by one. I stopped collecting these because I decided to use other tubes.
Regarding the mod on your amp I would do as suggested at the beginning. Remove the cathode cap from the first stage. It's the most sensible thing to do.
If this is not enough then you might also evaluate a step-down high impedance input transformer. I know one that has reasonable price and excellent build (mu-metal core) and performance.
Regarding the mod on your amp I would do as suggested at the beginning. Remove the cathode cap from the first stage. It's the most sensible thing to do.
If this is not enough then you might also evaluate a step-down high impedance input transformer. I know one that has reasonable price and excellent build (mu-metal core) and performance.
The EH didn't perform quite as well as NOS Tung Sol at the very high end of the excursion range in the Impasse preamp.
To be fair, I don't know how many folks need to have a "pre" perform that well at 16 to 20 V output. The Impasse is SY's baby and designed to drive a pair of MOSFET monoblocks a la the Pass F4.
I have broken the locating pin/nipple on a couple of the EH tubes -- mbe Mr. Yaniger could advise them on a better choice of engineering resin.
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