Well, I believe I'm finally nearing the end of the road in tube rolling everything I own.
ARC Ref 2 Mk II:
1 Gold Lion 5AR4
1 RCA black plate 6L6GC
ARC Ref 300 monoblocks:
8 Gold Lion KT-88's per side
original 3 Sovtek 6AS7G's per side (actually sound much better than NOS RCA's which I tried)
Manley Steelhead:
2 Siemens old version CCa's
4 Bendix 6900's
I tried Tung-Sol 5687's first in the Manley - the Bendix seem less "punchy" than the Tung Sols, but a little more accurate and extended. I'm still not sure if I prefer the CCa's over Mullard E88CC in the 6922 position - CCa's seem more accurate, but I think the Mullard is "sweeter." It's going to take some dedicated listening to get this sorted out.
I'm also playing with subbing power tubes (one per side at a time)in the monoblocks. Have just replaced one Gold Lion with a GE 6550A - noticeably brighter and more forward, which is kind of nice, but I already miss that MOV "ultimate smoothness." I'm ready to try subbing a Tung Sol 6550, a Svetlana Cryo-Valve, and maybe some others, to see what kind of effects they produce.
ARC Ref 2 Mk II:
1 Gold Lion 5AR4
1 RCA black plate 6L6GC
ARC Ref 300 monoblocks:
8 Gold Lion KT-88's per side
original 3 Sovtek 6AS7G's per side (actually sound much better than NOS RCA's which I tried)
Manley Steelhead:
2 Siemens old version CCa's
4 Bendix 6900's
I tried Tung-Sol 5687's first in the Manley - the Bendix seem less "punchy" than the Tung Sols, but a little more accurate and extended. I'm still not sure if I prefer the CCa's over Mullard E88CC in the 6922 position - CCa's seem more accurate, but I think the Mullard is "sweeter." It's going to take some dedicated listening to get this sorted out.
I'm also playing with subbing power tubes (one per side at a time)in the monoblocks. Have just replaced one Gold Lion with a GE 6550A - noticeably brighter and more forward, which is kind of nice, but I already miss that MOV "ultimate smoothness." I'm ready to try subbing a Tung Sol 6550, a Svetlana Cryo-Valve, and maybe some others, to see what kind of effects they produce.