NOS tubes for Sonic Frontiers Line 1

Jea,

I know this answer is late to your original question but I used to own a Line 1 which I purchased from Kevin at Upscale Audio. At that time I had asked Kevin for some NOS tube recommendations for it. He suggested an Ediswan 6922 from the 1960's and I purchased a pair. I tried tons of different tubes in my Line 1 but kept putting the Ediswan back in. Ediswan are hard to find on the used market but if you every get a chance, try a pair, they were very good IMO.

Good Luck and sorry for hear of the CCa failure, a hazard of the hobby.

Mike.

I just replaced the 6922's (all 6) in my Power 2 amp. I put EH 6922 Gold Pins in there, to replace Siemens NOS ECC88's. The EH tubes sound a bit darker, but the bass is much better. I miss some of the openness in the midrange and treble with the Siemens, but I'm very happy with the EH, nonetheless. It's good to find a tube you can be happy with that is also in abundant supply, IMHO.

Also, I can see unequivicolly that the EH Gold Pins are far superior to the standard EH 6922, which was the stock tube in my Blue Circle pre-amp.

Cheers.

I finally got around to buying a pair of early 60s USA made Amperex PQ 6922 tubes. Both tubes were made in 1961.

Another great tube. Not quite as warm as the early 60s Siemens CCa tube but still a very smooth sounding tube. The 6922 PQ is detailed, fast, lots of air, and liquid sounding. Imo the bass is deeper than the Siemens CCa tube. The sound stage is wide and multi layered.

In an earlier post I mentioned the early 60s USA Amperex 7308 tubes. Imo, in my system, the 6922 PQ is a better sounding tube. Vocals are more involving.

My present tube placement in my Line One

Back row early 60s Siemens CCa
Middle row early 60s 6922 PQ USA
Front row early 60s Siemens E88CC

Audio Research VT50 Amp
All "EH"

In my last post I forgot to mention I found the best position for the Herbies HAL-O damper was near the top of the 6922 PQ tubes.. In fact I run the HAL-O dampers near the top on all the tubes in the Line One.

Just an update. I have been running early 60s Amperex PQ white label USA made tubes in my Line One preamp for the last few months. I pulled the two pairs of early 60s Siemens CCa tubes I was running in the middle and back rows mainly because of their value, worth. Can you guys believe what a pair of them are selling for now? I managed to buy three pairs before the price went through the roof.
I have been buying early 60s Amperex PQ tubes on Ebay with pretty good luck. I picked up a nice pair a couple of weeks ago for $87.59. They were made in 1961. They tested close to new. I am running them in row two of the Line One at the present time.

About a month ago I picked up another tube tester. If you are buying NOS tubes used or new, you need a tube tester. I bought a Hickok 6000A for a hundred bucks, what a buy.
Jim