The only tube pre I have owned is 6SN7 tubes. I am happy enough to not look further. I have rolled tubes and right now nos Sylvania bad boys sound great. My holly grain is an old pair of telafunkins but not willing to pay $500 per tube right now. Hear a lot about mullards and will be trying them next. What I have noticed is after about two hours of warm up the sound stage opens up and it is total bliss!
What made you change to a 6SN7 preamp?
If you made an intentional shift toward a 6SN7-based tube preamp, what sonic characteristics motivated your move?
I have been doing some comparisons and think I have some reasons I like the 6SN7 better, but there are so many factors which could be at play, that I'm not sure what is responsible.
Rather than list my details for others to analyze, I'd rather hear your answer to the basic question.
Tell me about your path toward a 6SN7 preamp?
What did you change from and why?
Even if, overall, the change was worth it, did you lose anything in the transition? What?
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"Unrelated to the thread topic but important to those looking to optimize their purchases regarding NOS tubes, Andy @ Vintage Tube Services is the guy. Give him a call, you’ll be rest assured he knows his tubes and upon ordering you’ll also find yourself grinning from ear to ear. He’s a passionate and perfectionist audiophile." @tubegroover I did order some 12au7s and 6922s (Mullards and Amperexs) from Andy over 20 years ago and he did make me laugh. He had some strong opinions about manufacturers that wouldn’t be fair (to those manufacturers) to share. About 7 or 8 months ago I upgraded my 12AU7 pre to a 6sn7 pre, and I am about to upgrade the tubes. I have been putting off my decision of who to buy the tubes from, but I guess I’ll give Andy a call on Tuesday.
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I am running a Musical Design Chameleon preamp made by John Hillig. The same well known and respected person that has made many people ecstatic with their systems. The Chameleon has several daughter boards that snap onto the motherboard and provides an easy way to compare differences in tubes and tube types. I find the 6sn7 board with my Tung-Sol 6sn7GTB provides a good soundstage and a rich tone that you can listen to for hours. I swap different boards and tubes. Presently I am using a board with 2 Telefunken 12au7 tubes. I really enjoy the outstanding sound and flexibility this preamp provides. |
This is an interesting ability to compare the two tube types using the same preamp. Are you utilizing new "re-issue" TS 6SN7GTBs to compare to vintage Telefunken 12au7s? |
It was said that Vintage Tube carefully tests all tubes for microphonics. Testing equipment has no way to do this. The only way is to plug the tube into your component and wait a bit. Tube sellers cannot do this. Hoarders may have the best tubes. But even then, you need to buy more than you need just in case. I paid $750 for 4 Psvane 6SN7 Globes and they were all microphonic. |
- 65 posts total