Supratek Tubes and Tube Swappin' for Everybody

Whoopadeedoo. The differences in sound are dramatic. I am not the only person who has heard the differences. If you have a the three sets (6SN7, VT-231, and NAVY versions) give each a listen and if you cannot hear a difference, I'd be quite surprised. It doesn't take any particular or special "auditory acuity" to hear.

I didn't want to get into it but your descriptions and sonic impressions of the other tubes (350B, 6F6G, KT66, Metal Base GZ34 and particularly the CV181) leave me puzzled too.

Whoopadeedoo - So tell me more about your impressions of the tung-sol 6SN7GT round-plates. How do they compare to the RCA grey-glass and Sylvania vt-231. I have a few pair lying around but I haven't had them in the system for a couple of years. So I can't really recall what they sounded like.

Fiddler,

Here it is http://www.tubeseller.com/index.html

Shoot Mr. Malecki (Bob) an e-mail and if he finds a pair, he will contact you right away. All tubes he sells are tested and has a 30 day warranty (see homepage). I bought tubes from him and if he states "NOS", it is really NOS unlike the Ebay stuff. An honest professional guy in my experience and I can truly recommend his services.

regards

Bwhite,

How many of each "type" of KR have you auditioned? How can you rule out it wasn't a build quality issue due to a small sampling size? I've handled over a hundred of each type (just sold about 30 pairs of the Navy type in the last half year) and they sound the same to me as the other prints.

Tell us how you feel about the 350B, 6F6, KT66, Metal Base GZ34 and CV181/ECC32. I think everyone would benefit from unique opinions.

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Jazzdude,

The Tung Sol round plate is something special in all my applications (I have five gear that uses 6SN7s: Supratek, Audio Note, Korneff, Cary, and a Wheatfield headamp). It's always very open and smooth, with good linearity from top to bottom (no particular spectral emphasis unlike, for example, Ken Rads that emphasis bass). The Sylvania VT-231 are a bit more airy in the treble, but it lacks bass performance compared to the Tung Sol. The Syl VT-231 mids are also not quite as solid, although some might prefer its more delicate presentation. The RCA grey glass is a lot more euphonic and full sounding compared to the Tung Sol. RCA always romantizes the music in my systems, and I love it for that specific reason.

I got the Bendix 6106 in the Cabernet. It is more than a little tipped-up. The bass is even less than that of the Sylvania Vt-231 with a gz34 or gz33 rectifier. And I have the Sylvania 6SN7GT 1952 tall-boys, which are well known for their bass, in the preamp right now.

For example, when playing "poco a poco" performed by fourplay the drums are normally featured prominantly and there is a tension in the music between the bass section and the melody. With the 6106 the bass and drums become an accompanyment to the melody.

What bass is present is at least well controlled but that has never been a problem in my system. I seem to have lost some pitch resolution in the bass also. For the rest of the audio spectrum the detail and resolution is very good, even excellent. There is a slight incoherence in the soundstage depth. Mainly due to the reduced bass output.

So does the bass ever get bigger with the 6106 as it breaks in?