I´m tweaking my Rogue Audio Cronus.
Though good sounding, out of the box, anything can be tweaked for my personal preferred sound.
I am looking at tubes now, and don´t really know, how different EL34´s sound.
At this time i use Tungsram EL34´s, but i do need a little more "edgy" sound. Little more "bite". Little more transient sound.
Can anyone tell me what tube to go for?
Though good sounding, out of the box, anything can be tweaked for my personal preferred sound.
I am looking at tubes now, and don´t really know, how different EL34´s sound.
At this time i use Tungsram EL34´s, but i do need a little more "edgy" sound. Little more "bite". Little more transient sound.
Can anyone tell me what tube to go for?
There is nowhere the amount of difference between brands of tubes that meet spec as some people would have you believe.benelli said:
Enjoy your amp, buy Morgan Jones' Valve Amplifiers book, read Tubecad.com and listen to lots of music. Near when the warranty expires you'll know a lot more and can start to attack any mods you may decide to do with a better understanding of what's actually going on. Better to educate yourself than waste money on other tubes that will make a smaller difference.
Best of all would be, after you read and learn build an amp from scratch or rebuild something older. Then you can keep yours as a reference and sell it off unmodified when you've built something that is definitely (because you will have compared and know) better than what you have.
I also dont see how changing tubes can do anything to the 3 year warranty...
This is a DIY forum, still some members like to put the beginners off doing any mods, maybe they think they are the only ones capable...
On my Chinese amplifier, I tried EL34, SEB winged C and Siemens NOS, plus some substitutes, EH 6CA7, JJ KT77 and Shuguang KT66...
For a little more "edgy" sound. Little more "bite". Little more transient sound. I would pick the KT66 or the Siemens NOS, the KT77 sounds very good, but more body than liveliness, and it is very unstable...
This is a DIY forum, still some members like to put the beginners off doing any mods, maybe they think they are the only ones capable...
On my Chinese amplifier, I tried EL34, SEB winged C and Siemens NOS, plus some substitutes, EH 6CA7, JJ KT77 and Shuguang KT66...
For a little more "edgy" sound. Little more "bite". Little more transient sound. I would pick the KT66 or the Siemens NOS, the KT77 sounds very good, but more body than liveliness, and it is very unstable...
It shouldn't.Lowrider said:
Grow up. For an absolute beginner to start making circuit changes is very unwise and will definitely void the warranty. Enjoy the warranty, learn, THEN modify. Changing tubes to get anything but a tiny difference in sound (assuming same tube type - some amps cannot substitute other types without mods) is a waste of effort and money.Lowrider said:This is a DIY forum, still some members like to put the beginners off doing any mods, maybe they think they are the only ones capable...
For crying out loud, poor old Benelli just wanted people's opinions on the different sound of EL34s - what on earth is the matter with that?!? In stead he gets a load of elitist bullsh*t from people who have nothing better to do than put people off DIY.
As with everything in life there's different levels to DIY. Some just want to change tubes, some want to go a step further and experiment with 'better' components, and then there are those that change parts of the circuit or go the whole hog and build a design from scratch. There's space for everyone here... or at least I thought so...
Anyway, for what it's worth I second the recommendation for KT66s - the Golden Dragon ones are particularly well-balanced sonically, with plenty of bite/attack. I think they're about £100 for a matched quad. I've also heard very good things about the JJ KT77s, which - I believe - should be a drop-in replacement for the EL34s. With KT66s you may need to perform some tweaks.
Cheers,
- John
As with everything in life there's different levels to DIY. Some just want to change tubes, some want to go a step further and experiment with 'better' components, and then there are those that change parts of the circuit or go the whole hog and build a design from scratch. There's space for everyone here... or at least I thought so...
Anyway, for what it's worth I second the recommendation for KT66s - the Golden Dragon ones are particularly well-balanced sonically, with plenty of bite/attack. I think they're about £100 for a matched quad. I've also heard very good things about the JJ KT77s, which - I believe - should be a drop-in replacement for the EL34s. With KT66s you may need to perform some tweaks.
Cheers,
- John
Elitist BS?johnm said:
Your response is ignorant BS. I gave very good reasons based upon my education and experience. If that is elitist, you need a new dictionary. Telling someone that simply changing brands of tubes makes a big difference, when in my EXPERIENCE it doesn't in either a measured or sonic way is a waste of time and money. It was my intent that there was some LEARNING involved, but hey lets just spend money on stuff that doesn't make a whole lot of difference. That's great advice and you should be proud.
Indeed...
Forgot to mention Finn the new Mullard EL34 copies might be worth doing on online search for - I've heard they're up there with the originals, but - again - I'm afraid I haven't heard them. Personally I'd try the KT77s - the guys on the Dynaco forums are raving about them
Hope this is of some help.
- John
Forgot to mention Finn the new Mullard EL34 copies might be worth doing on online search for - I've heard they're up there with the originals, but - again - I'm afraid I haven't heard them. Personally I'd try the KT77s - the guys on the Dynaco forums are raving about them
Hope this is of some help.
- John
Nobody said anything about a big difference. He just said he was looking for a sound with a little more bite. I'm sure he can find what he's looking for with a simple tube swap. I'd look into playing around with the VA tubes as well. They can often have a bigger impact on the character of an amp than the output tubes.
John
Well, why bother? Seems like spending a decent amount of money for not much benefit which is where I've been coming from since my first post.jlsem said:
I agree that the VA and driver tubes can often have a larger impact in some designs, but not so much in terms of substituting different brands of the same types.
Brett said:
from wikipedia:
"Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite — a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most weight;"
I'd say your response qualifies as elitist BS.
Yours fits in the ignorant BS class. I have never once suggested I am superior, but I do have a fair bit of experience in designing and building tube amps. So if that is elitist, so be it.luvdunhill said:
I've given my advice based upon my experience, and that is substituting different brands of the same types of tubes has minor sonic effects. Effort and expense would be better served in other areas which I have already outlined.
I am terribly sorry that I have not simply followed the simple line of stating something like "brand Y EL34 gives wonderful bass and imaging that is so tactile I could reach out and touch the performers' sort of rubbish.
Wow, you can quote dictionaries. Your mother must be so proud.luvdunhill said:
It was ignorant because you ignored my statements based upon experience that it would not make much difference and then said I was elitist because I had experience in this area then posted it. Heaven forbid that should happen to a question asked on a public forum.
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