6922 tube rolling recommendations

I don't have the same pre-amp (I have an Audible Illusions 3A), but when I pulled out the Russian tubes and put in some Volvo (1963 tubes)6DJ8/6922's from the Parts connection, it blew me away! I've tried several others, but these have been the best in my set up.

I own the Bel Canto sep 1 which came with amperex 6922's. I hated the sound of the pre-amp (harsh and shrilly) I decided to change to telefunken 6922's to give it one more chance to shine.(By the way Kevin Deal woundn't sell me the telefunken 6922's to me because I bought my pre-amp through Audiogon) With the telefunken in place the sound is richer with more resolution. The difference between the two tubes was astonishing. best of luck Harvey

Run a search in the archives of the "tubes" section of audioasylum.com and you'll have more opinions than you know what to do with. Also have a look at "Joe's Tube Lore" in the FAQ section. But it's all equipment/system sensitive, so ymmv with any of this. Personally, I like Tungsram E88cc's in my Melos MA-333. Have fun, Jim

The best place to find out more info about various 6DJ8/6922/7308 tubes is at www.audioasylum.com Check their FAQ section. There's an excellent post specifically comparing various 6DJ8 family tubes available. I find it excellent reading. But, of course, results will vary depending on equipment. Also, there are various vintage for each tube. That said, I ended up collecting about 300 tubes in this family within the past 3 years, and was able to test different ones in my system. I've just tried some Siemens CCa in my system, and found them to be too lean and dry for my system. Every other tubes has tradeoffs. For me, the best one so far seems to be the Mullard 10M 6DJ8s. Except, they are very, very rare. I've settled for Amperex 7308 PQ White label.

I agree Joe's tube lore is an interesting read. But bear in mind this is coming from a guy who thinks all 12AU7s and 12AX7s suck. He then goes on to sing the praises of the 5751 tube. The 5751 is a good tube...in the right application. It is NOT a drop in replacement for a 12AX7! Fact is, if you do use a 5751 instead of a X7, you run the risk of doing damage to your gear. I know Mike Sanders of Quicksilver says don't even think about itwith his gear. Granted in the majority of equipment you'll be fine. But myself and many other's will tell you we've never heard a 5751 sound better then a good 12AX7 where a 12AX7 was called for.I know a lot of CAL DAC users like the 5751, I use it on occasion when watching movies on my LD-DVD player. I think the reason people prefer a 5751 is because it will often give your gear a very hi-fi sound. But it is not very musical, and with the 30% loss of gain when using the 5751, dynamics and bass suffer. Always consult the manufacture before switching to see if it's kosher. I realize I got off topic here, but that's the way the pickle squirts. Concerning the 6922 post, others are correct when they say it is all system dependent. Just about any of these tubes made by Amperex and Siemens is going to sound good. Mullard, despite their ties to Amperex is more hit and miss, although the 10M and the A frame tubes are outstanding. With apologies to Rayhall, most of the Telefunkens won't feed the bulldog. Telefunkens are well built and last forever but they are way overated sound wise. Save for the 803s, which is a high spec 12AX7, I've never heard a Tele I thought sounded good...and I am not alone. But in certain systems it might be the best choice, as Rayhall clearly points out. And because of the Telefunken "mystique" they are selling for ungodly high prices. I believe someone here ay A-gon is selling a pair of Tele CCa for $350.00! Man, How does that cat dig himself? It seems to me a while back I saw a pair of Siemens CCa sell for $200.00 pr., no bargin, but more in line with the market. As I was telling Hi-db yesterday, load up on these tubes if you use them. Prices have more then doubled in the last year, and with supplies dwindling the future might be a lot of people forced to use Puketeks.