Phono Preamp Tube Rush

I have never heard an ARC phonoamp with "tube rush." They do have noise way down which is not a factor up to 110 dB in my system. I do use super low noise 6922's from Roger Modjeski's tubeaudiostore.com. He measures every single tube and puts them into three categories, standard, low noise and super low noise. The super low noise tubes are said to be one in 100 tubes tested. I have purchased 6 tubes and they are all obviously quieter than the ones ARC supplies. From my experience NOS tubes are a rip off. I had NOS Telefunken 6922s and they were no where close to Roger's tubes as far as noise is concerned. With Roger you know exactly what you are getting which is very reassuring. If your phono amp is noisy with super low noise tubes then it is either defective or a bad design. 

I have used super low noise new stock tubes from Kevin at Upscale. I got a 10-20% improvement in noise and a -25% penalty in sound quality from the NOS smooth plate Telefunken 12ax7s and the Brimar 13D5s that I prefer. Lots of tradeoffs in this hobby!

All tube phono stages do not have tube rush.  Sounds like a poorly designed unit IMO.  While it may sounds excellent as you say, there is something not right about the design.

@dhcod - the original Telefunken factory in CT is back in operation!

Happy Listening. 

@bigkidz

I have to disagree that the VTPH-2A is a poorly designed unit as it’s incredibly musical, especially at it’s price point. I really love what it has done for my vinyl experience. With that said I do wonder why Keith didn’t use the 6922/6DJ8 in his phonostage which is what he uses in his linestage. It seems noise would be much less of an issue because the EH 6922 is one of the quietest tubes there is for this purpose with ample gain.

@edwyun 

What tubes are you using in the V1, V2, and V5 positions?