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What's so bad about Sovtek 6922s?

I've seen lots of preamp reviews and remarks where people say they replaced their "hard sounding stock sovteks" with "brand X".

I have an Anthem Pre 2L, and the first thing I tried to do was get rid of the "nasty Sovtek 6922s". I tried the Teslas (new and cheap) and a used set of Amperex Bugleboys. I rotated between the two - very hard to A/B of course. Was not satisfied. The Amperex seem to be allergic to bass (I guess it's possible that these are forgeries - bought off ebay). The Teslas seem like "ok" replacements, but nothing special happens with them.

For the heck of it, I put back in the Sovteks (after many months), and abracadabra - the system sounds its best. Nice microdynamics. Very clean and not the least bit harsh. No unwanted noise. Just sounds very good.

Is anyone else living happily with the "hard sounding stock sovtek 6922s"? Just curious. I am not going to take a stab at some megabuck Telefunkens based on the lack of improvement trying more moderate tube "upgrades".

Are Sovteks underrated?
dozer
tireguy
1,964 posts
 
I had a set of Sovtek 6SN7 in my amp and replaced them with Raytheon's and the improvements were amazing, it brought new life to the entire system- more depth and feeling of being there, very impressive. I am not sure I would say the Sovteks are bad though I would say you can find a smoother sounding tube, that isn't to say that maybe you prefer the Sovtek sound, we all want different things from our systems maybe the Sovtek is for you. ~Tim
twl
3,251 posts
 
No air, lacking fine detail, very rugged.
vayasteve
171 posts
 
Price wise Sovteks are a bargain and youre the one who decides which tubes sound better.I feel that their KT-88 are good but folks rather go for the more pricey tube.you might want to try out the ELECTRO-HAROMINX tube too,they at the same price range as SOVTEKs
jcaudio's avatar
jcaudio
237 posts
 
Sometimes a manufacturer will "voice" a piece of equipment utilizing a certain tube. Which could explain part of the problem. Have found that the different tubes all tend to have different characteristics that may or may not react well with your equipment and musical tastes. If the Sovtek work well for you and you are happy with the sound ENJOY!
newbee
4,821 posts
 
tubes are very system dependent. if you can't hear a difference either your system doesn't resolve the difference or you are blessed. i suspect the latter. i use both the old sovteks (halo getter), the 6h23's, and the tesla's. the only ones i can't find a place for in my amp or pre-amp are the new sovteks (plate type getter) they are just to cold for my components. if you have components that are warmish in the first place, and i believe your preamp may just be so, they could be just your cup of tea if you like a more neutral sound.
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