Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Oct 5, 2013 8:31:28 GMT
I also keep wondering about the 12v tubes. Never tried any.
One thing about buying them is you just don't know the source and whether 'nos' are in fact 'pulls' and possibly getting tired.
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Post by itsalive on Oct 5, 2013 11:21:32 GMT
I also keep wondering about the 12v tubes. Never tried any. One thing about buying them is you just don't know the source and whether 'nos' are in fact 'pulls' and possibly getting tired. Try an E80CC TUNGSRAM a good 12V Tube and cheap (ask to jeremy i think it has it in stock) compared to it's sound, with the K601 it's great, very good vocals, great emphasis on the mediums |
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Oct 5, 2013 11:29:16 GMT
I also keep wondering about the 12v tubes. Never tried any. One thing about buying them is you just don't know the source and whether 'nos' are in fact 'pulls' and possibly getting tired. the only difference between 6V and 12V is a different heater arrangement to the pins. Both tubes actually have the same heaters (6V) and the same construction but in the 6V version they are always in parallel (pin4 and pin5) and in 12V versions they are in series (pin4 and pin5) but at the point they are connected this point is also connected to pin9. As pin 9 is only sometimes in use for certain specific tubes when connected to a shield between the 2 tube halves in 6V tubes this pin was 'available'. This way a 6V tube can only run on 6V and a 12V tube can run on 6V and 12V depending on how it is connected. In the Garage1217 amps it can either be set by jumper or is done automatically on Ember. In all cases all tubes always run on 6V (so even the 12V tubes) |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Oct 5, 2013 20:39:05 GMT
So no real advanatges as far as sound goes? I must say, I am quite happy with the one I have.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2013 18:36:53 GMT
i have 4 different tubes i can use in the Ember. as for "cleanness" 3 come out best, as the fourth one is old and covered in finger marks. for "clearness" its a photo finish, cos they are all made of glass. on a serious note, as far as audio goes i am struggling to hear any difference. i think it is due to the amount of time it takes to change the tubes. i know it dont take long but my ageing noggin forgets what it just heard. therefore they all sound great. i cant see me getting into "tube rolling". is it possible the differences would be more noticeable with orchestral/classic music? (not something i listen to) either way i am extremely happy with my purchase and my valve stock should outlive me. had a good couple of hours listening late last night, then realised at 1.30 am that it was actually friday morning and not saturday! oops. will be a late one tonight now. my ears have tuned to the Ember, with the stock tube now. i just tried a jan philips 6922 instead. the high end detail just disappeared. it did improve dramatically with the my correction active, but without the filter the 6h1n-bn is head and shoulders above the 6922. unless, of course, my 6922 is coming towards the end of its life. it came in an old MF x-can so not sure of its age. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 17:45:21 GMT
6n6p is a great budget tube (great all around budget or not!!!)as well as the 6n30p (expensive tube and one of my favorites - very very similar to the 6n6p) Both do have the highest draw I know of out of the tubes our amplifiers can support. 6n2p is pretty much a 6v 12ax7. Not exactly my taste but some love them. Jeremy if you had to pick one fave valve for the Ember, what would it be? listening to a 6n2p now, sounds damn good to me. i would like to buy just one expensive (within reason!) tube just to satisfy my curiosity, so as you have heard more than i will ever likely see i would like to know your top pick? if it aint silly money and you have one in stock i will treat myself. have been looking at this , in the meantime, they seem to hype it up. looking at list in manual it is compatible. www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1387 |
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Post by itsalive on Oct 12, 2013 19:55:24 GMT
i'm not Jeremy but i can give you my own opinion about tubes for Ember..
Mullard is not bad but "overrated" IMO, 12AT7/ECC81 TELEFUNKEN or SIEMENS are great, you should try E80CC TUNGSRAM and AMPEREX 6DJ8, no need to spend too much for a good tube...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 21:27:49 GMT
i'm not Jeremy but i can give you my own opinion about tubes for Ember.. Mullard is not bad but "overrated" IMO, 12AT7/ECC81 TELEFUNKEN or SIEMENS are great, you should try E80CC TUNGSRAM and AMPEREX 6DJ8, no need to spend too much for a good tube... yeah , sorry everyone's opinion is important. you mentioned the 6n2p and i too think its a cracking tube, in the Ember. Jeremy does not rate it as highly, so i am keen to try one of his favourites, just so i can arrive at my own conclusion. at first i did not think i could hear differences with the tubes i have, but now i can. i would have liked to try a 6h23n-eb. i had these in my old x-can v2 and x10-d but sold them in the units. i have 2 jan philips 6922 which the above replaced, tried one and did not like it as much as the 6h1n-bn (supplied in my Ember). i felt the high end detail disappeared, but the 6922's may be at the end of their lives. maybe this would be best moved to the tube discussion thread? my fault  |
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Post by razrr1275 on Oct 13, 2013 2:43:40 GMT
My favorites are as follows at the moment.
Westinghouse 12AU7
Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8
Voshkod 6N2P
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Oct 13, 2013 6:12:30 GMT
I'm using the Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8 and it is extremely good. I always forget its number since most of the Orange writing is gone except the circle! Funny thing that tubes I used in the MF amps and became favourites aren't necessarily as good as I thought in the Ember and vice versa.
Also, tube difference are a bit more noticeable as well.
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Post by chinook9 on Oct 13, 2013 13:42:00 GMT
Anyone remember if the 6N2P changed after running for a 30+ hours "burn-in"?
I just received 4 Voskhod 1988 (eBay add showed picture of 74 year) and I'm wondering if they'll change much if I burn them in for a couple of days. I realize I could just do it, but I don't like to leave the setup running when I'm away from home and I'm not thrilled about sleeping with it on. I've tried 3 of the four so far just see if they work.
I'm using a Sunrise II.
Also, anyone know if the 60-70s Russian tubes are generally better than the later ones. I don't know what years the Russian military would have changed away from tubes to solid state equipment but I expect that the quality might have started to decline at that point.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Oct 13, 2013 14:23:15 GMT
The Russian tubes seem to sound quite robust to my ears, but that could be because of the word 'Russian'  I have some here. They have the letters 'eb' attached. I think they were originally designed for their space programmes and so should be robust. As far as burn in goes on an old tube .... I would imagine that they have been fully burned in since then, although they have sat quietly in something, not being used. Another guy on forums gave me a really good piece of advice regarding ebay tubes. Buy loads in a box rather than singles. His reason being that singles are much more likely to have been used and not actually what the adverts claim as NOS. He did make me quite wary of tubes and he measures them very carefully himself before he sells them on. Most of my valves came from him so I know that they are kosher but I am very wary of ebay tubes. Especially singles. If you can buy a big batch of them in one go, the chances are far greater that they are NOS tubes since the dates will be similar on all of them and they may well have been boxed up for years. This guys has a ton of them in boxes and if we were still speaking - I wouldn't have minded a box!!! He does test them all and so they are really good 'uns. He's the only person I've really trusted with tubes tbh, since there are a lot of naughty sellers who claim to be selling NOS that are not - they are 'pulls' from old gear, so burn in is academic. If you had a box of 'good' tubes, they'd be easy to sell on as well as keep quite a few for yourself. In fact, I may start looking for a box myself soon!! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 14:56:01 GMT
The Russian tubes seem to sound quite robust to my ears, but that could be because of the word 'Russian' I have some here. They have the letters 'eb' attached. I think they were originally designed for their space programmes and so should be robust. As far as burn in goes on an old tube .... I would imagine that they have been fully burned in since then, although they have sat quietly in something, not being used. Another guy on forums gave me a really good piece of advice regarding ebay tubes. Buy loads in a box rather than singles. His reason being that singles are much more likely to have been used and not actually what the adverts claim as NOS. He did make me quite wary of tubes and he measures them very carefully himself before he sells them on. Most of my valves came from him so I know that they are kosher but I am very wary of ebay tubes. Especially singles. If you can buy a big batch of them in one go, the chances are far greater that they are NOS tubes since the dates will be similar on all of them and they may well have been boxed up for years. This guys has a ton of them in boxes and if we were still speaking - I wouldn't have minded a box!!! He does test them all and so they are really good 'uns. He's the only person I've really trusted with tubes tbh, since there are a lot of naughty sellers who claim to be selling NOS that are not - they are 'pulls' from old gear, so burn in is academic. If you had a box of 'good' tubes, they'd be easy to sell on as well as keep quite a few for yourself. In fact, I may start looking for a box myself soon!! can you buy a box of these? then i will buy one off you  www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181196074316?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 15:10:29 GMT
My favorites are as follows at the moment. Westinghouse 12AU7 Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8 Voshkod 6N2P i think the 6n2p you mention is the one i am using at the moment, i do like it. as for the amperex, Ian also rates highly, so i will look out for one of those. will post any further questions/comments on the valve thread. cheers |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Oct 13, 2013 15:30:53 GMT
Truth is, I have a few of them here, but don't want to part with them, since my source has dried up if you see what I mean.
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I have some here. They have the letters 'eb' attached. I think they were originally designed for their space programmes and so should be robust.