Don Sachs Owners Thread

@wag12wag12 I agree the Shunguang cv-181 are good tubes.  I could have left my setup with the 4 in my DS but that’s the not reason why I got a tube preamp.  I wanted to roll some tubes. 
 

The combo I’ve settled on so far 

input Ken Rad vt231 black glass

output Raytheon vt231 t-plates

rectifier Raytheon brown base

I found the KR to be similar to the Shunguang but more extended on the bottom and little more on top.  The Raytheon add a little “sweetness” to the top end that made the whole setup more musical where it gets tour toe tapping and gives a you sense of a little boogie in your seat.  The Raytheon brown base rectifier replace the Sylvania v126 and it smoothed the presentation.  The Sylvania made me “anxious” and Raytheon calms everything down to enjoy the music. 
 

For fun, I rolled in some RCA (orange letter) in the output.  Good tubes.  Added some texture where is more velvet like smooth.  Had more lower mid and upper bass.  I didn’t find it as musical as the Raytheon and went back to the Raytheon a short time after. 

Are there any Sachs preamp owners in the San Diego area?

Anyone with experience changing the 6sn7 tubes on the kootenay amp? Are they as important for sound as the input tubes on the DS pre? Toob Noob here, happy to get any input on the question. 

In my experience, yes.  The center/input tube seemed to impact the sound as much as the gain tubes on the pre.  I would run the nicest tubes you have in these positions.