tube rolling

First, have you confirmed that your phono amp will allow this? Secondly, the 6H23 tubes are a design that seems to have very love/hate opinions regarding. There are quite a few tube lovers who state that they do not like them as they do not produce enough of the tube sound they are seeking. Others like them for this same reason. The 6922/6DJ8 tubes are a good tube rolling tube as there are pretty substantial differences between different NOS types, allowing you to taylor your sound via the tubes to your tastes/goals/objectives. From what I understand the 6h23's do not allow for nearly as much rolling success. Personally, I have not rolled these tubes as I have avoided buying equipment with them installed as I am not crazy about their sound and this reduced flexibility. Others may have very different opinion (likely) on these tubes vs. other tubes in terms of results from rolling.

Not with 6922s but I can testify that the Tesla Crosswords lable made other tubes which I think are very good indeed. They are all too much money these days but you can always sell them to minimize any losses. The only person's opinion that counts is yours and you have to try a few others as well to know if these are optimal. If you have a deep pocketed budget. I use CV2943s AKA as a E88CC-01 which is a Mullard military issue tube which sounds more like Siemens than a Mullard. I don't know who has them now but I got mine from Sweden Tango Tubes.

FWIW, re 6h23's, a tube maven recently told me that the EH6922 and the new production Russian 6h23 sound alike. I have the current EH6922 and have used it in several different applications, amp, pre-amp and CDP. I have compared it with the NOS 6h23's. They do not sound the same at all. I found the old 6h23 to be cleaner, clearer, and perhaps to some more clinical in tone. I found the new EH to be a tad too warmish and unresolving in the bass BUT used in equipment which is not highly resolving or were bass warmth is preferred over clarity they can be very enjoyable. I really enjoyed them with jazz but on SOTA classical recordings the soundstage just got muddied up.

Re JJ's and old Tesla's - The tubes look identical but I find the old Tesla's to be a bit cleaner and more resolved, especially in the upper bass lower mid range. The new ones are IMHO a bit warmer in the upper bass and a bit less extended in the highs, but a nice tube none the less.

I found the EH's to be very quiet, the old 6h23's as well (and very rugged), and the JJ's and Tesla's to be less so.

I have not used the ARC PH, but the JJ's/Tesla's are just not quiet or rugged enuf for my ARC SP10 (I use old 6h23's). I tried EH 6922's in it and was very unempressed with the tone and bass clarity. I thought it was simply an interface problem but I had the same result when I used them in a CDP.

Don't know about the Tungram, I've never used them. FWIW, my favorite 6DJ8 for tone and clarity is the EI or older version "Yugo". If your unit is not too demanding on tube ruggedness these could be wonderful if you can find some. Or if you like a bit more warmth, some Amperex's like BugleBoys.

Hope that helps a bit.

Newbee, thanks for your response. I just want to ask a couple of questions? First what do you mean when you say rugged? and are you a saying that the tesla's are not quiet or not as quiet as the 6h23's?
Some have said that the tesla's are similar to the siemens which are considered to be quiet.
Just wondering...

Thanks for your responses.

Quietness/ruggedness depends on tube screening/selection. Ruggedness has a lot to do with how long they stay quiet in a given application.

For example, I have an ARC SP10 which is reknown for being 'tough' on tubes. NOS 6h23EB's selected for low noise last, in that pre-amp, thousands of hours. I have tried old and new low noise EI tubes which didn't last 100 hours, nor did old or new Tesla's. Both went from quiet to quite noisy in a short time. The same EI's and Tesla's have remained quiet in amps and other pre-amps, and one CDP that I have used them in. Another CDP I have eats those brands as well as the ARC. Audible Illusions has a similar demand for 'rugged' tubes and many folks use 6h23's there as well.

One of the reasons that ARC used Sovteks so long as OEM tubes in most all of their stuff had much less to do with sonics than just plain ruggedness. My old Sovteks seemed to last forever and sounded very similar to my NOS 6h23's. They were not euphonic but are much better than the later Sovteks and, in my humble opinion, far better than the steel pin EH's which I find unbalanced - too much bass, not enuf mid range etc.

FWIW, I like the old Tesla a lot and presently use them in two different amps. Nice combo of warmth, overall tone, and clarity. I find them a bit warmer than my fav's, the EI 6DJ8, and for a tube a lot warmer look at the Amperex Bugleboy (which my SP10 also eats!). Horses for courses.

Hope that helps a bit.