Author Topic: power tubes (Read 10216 times)

Bunky · « **on:** February 10, 2007, 02:05:46 PM »

i just bought a new tube Amplifier and i know zero about power tubes. do they effect the sound if you switch out brands like the small signal tubes do with preamplifiers ? does Ei sound better than JJ/tesla or Svetlana Etc....? my Sonic Frontiers SFS 80 comes standard with KT90s as power tubes but you can substitute 6550s, KT88s, EL34s by adjusting the Bias . i believe that the KT90 makes the most power in this amp but is there any sonic advantage to running any of the other power tubes listed ? the input/driver tubes are 6DJ8s does rolling these tubes effect the sound ? can i substitute 6922s or 7308s or should i run strictly 6DJ8s ? thanks in advance for any help guys....WCW III

AcidJazz · « **Reply #1 on:** February 10, 2007, 02:35:30 PM »

I can say that power tube brands do make a difference, I switched TungSOls 6550's in place of the stock Sovteks 6550's in my amp and heard a difference, much tighter bass and detailed sound overall. I am not too well versed in tube lore to comment on the other questions however.

WEEZ · « **Reply #2 on:** February 10, 2007, 07:02:48 PM »

My suggestion would be to just let things be for a while. Get to know how your amp sounds with different music. You may like the tubes that are in the amp now. If so, just enjoy it for what it is.

I'm more familiar with EL-34 tubes. The midrange monsters.

The Svetlana/SED Winged "C"'s are pretty good in almost all applications.

The 6DJ8's generally sound a bit fuller than 6922's.

First and foremost, buying tubes from a reputable source is more important to me than the brand. I like to make sure they are gain matched and tested for low noise.

WEEZ

Response Audio · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2007, 01:56:31 PM »

I'm with Weez on this one. Let things be and let yourself become familiar with what you have. Down the road if you should decide to do some tube rolling, you will have a better grip on what you have and a better idea of which direction you would like to go in.

If you let it get to you, tube rolling can be and endless battle. Be careful, the desease has no cure

pacifico · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2007, 04:58:27 AM »

There's a guy in the decware form that has rolled probrably over 00 tubes in and out of his system...scary.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2007, 10:20:39 AM »

Quote from: "pacifico"

There's a guy in the decware form that has rolled probrably over 00 tubes in and out of his system...scary.

Thats a lot of tubes....

Mike L · « **Reply #6 on:** March 07, 2007, 04:27:53 PM »

Hello all,

I am new here but recognize a lot of names from the AC as well as Bunky from the Polk.

WEEZ are there a lot of differences in the different EL34/E34L tube types. I have just recently acquired a pair of Consonance Cyber 800 tube monoblocks and have 8 JJ E34L tubes (non blue glass) enroute from Parts Connexion.

I found this forum looking at the Black Sand Cable site. I guess I will be joining the group buy as well......there goes another 800 dollars or so...dammit

Thanks,
Mike

WEEZ · « **Reply #7 on:** March 07, 2007, 05:25:29 PM »

Welcome, Mike

Those look like fine amplifiers!

As to your question regarding different tube brands, I simply can't say- as every curcuit is a bit different. I've heard amps with JJ's that sound great and I've heard amps with SED's that sound great. It's a pretty subjective topic, anyway. For example, the Conrad Johnson I used to have sounded great with ElectoHarmonix tubes. My Quicksilver didn't.

I stand by my post above, however, regarding low noise tubes. (most important, in my mind...ymmv)

WEEZ

richidoo · « **Reply #8 on:** March 08, 2007, 05:43:18 AM »

Quote from: "WEEZ"

The Svetlana/SED Winged "C"'s are pretty good in almost all applications.
(snip)
I like to make sure they are gain matched and tested for low noise.
WEEZ

I have used Winged C 6550s in my Cary SLI-80 with good results. They are better than the Rubys that came with it. I think they are awesome. But I have read that the EH 6550s are good too. Maybe next time...

I bought them from Antique Electronic Supply. They have good service. 3 tubes were matched perfectly, all 4 within 10%. They still sound good though

Where do you buy new tubes WEEZ?
Rich

WEEZ · « **Reply #9 on:** March 08, 2007, 08:48:36 AM »

Rich,

Well, when I ran tubed amps, I used to buy tubes from Ram Labs and Upscale Audio. Paid a bit more, but I was never disappointed. I'm sure there are other good sources.

Now, the only tubes in my system are in my pre-amp, and I buy replacements direct from the builder of the preamp, Roger Hebert. It costs about $50 to re-tube my preamp. The tubes last a long time.

WEEZ

richidoo · « **Reply #10 on:** March 08, 2007, 01:57:20 PM »

Thanks WEEZ. I know Upscale has some wiz-bang super duper tube tester. Maybe it actually works OK! Denis is a major SLI-80 sucker like me... so he probably has some advice about what works best in it.

My amp is on 12-14 hours a day, so I think it will eat tubes a little faster than normal. So far after 8 months they still glow purple and sound good.

WEEZ · « **Reply #11 on:** March 08, 2007, 02:26:21 PM »

The Cary is a nice piece. Not known to be a tube eater..

If I'm not mistaken, it will run EL-34's with a bias change. If you can stand a bit less power, that would be my choice.

BTW, the EH 6550's are rumoured to sound killer in the Cary. Check with the Upscale guys about it. They are very honest.

WEEZ

richidoo · « **Reply #12 on:** March 11, 2007, 06:58:25 PM »

WEEZ I just saw your response right after I posted my "less shouting" post....

I need to check the existing threads more and write less.

I had a set of EL34s that came with the amp from audiogon. I think all the tubes he sent were crap though, since they have all failed shortly after using them, and none ever really sounded good, even the original Ruby 6550s. I did not like the EL34 sound, it was not ballsy like the 6550s I had gottne used to so I didn't keep them in there for very long. But I see a lot of amps that I really respect using them.

Thanks for your tip about Upscale. I will call them and ask about the shouting sound I am getting from the 6550s.

Rich

tanchiro58 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2008, 06:21:24 AM »

Quote

the input/driver tubes are 6DJ8s does rolling these tubes effect the sound ? can i substitute 6922s or 7308s or should i run strictly 6DJ8s ?

Bunky,

I found the Siemens Cca 6922s and the Amperex PQ white label 6922s are among the best 6922/6DG8/7308 tubes. But I will try the Siemens or Valvo PCC189s which are less microphonics. The only difference is PCC189 has 7.6V whereas 6922 has 6.3V heater voltage.

Tan