Preamp help please!

I never heard a 101 tube, but I really like My Cayin A88T that uses 2 6sl7, 2 6sn7, and either  6550 or KT88 power tubes. It sounds wonderful and I discovered the 6's make as much of a difference as the power tubes.

Changed/preferred KT88's over 6550, easy.

Mistakenly put 6sl7 in 6sn7 position, blew one,

The 'right' 6sl7 and 6sn7 is a wonderful thing. I tried some from Brent Jesse, hated them, waited till after burn-in, exchanged them for full refund for some that sound wonderful.

I would ask Brent what he thinks about the variety of sound you can expect among 101 choices.

btw, do you have a simple tube tester?

"you'll be happy for the rest of your life if you make an ugly tester your wife".

name that song!

the Psvane W.E. Replica 101D are a substantial upgrade in sound quality compared to the entry level standard Shuguang 101D in my Statement line stage. Others have reported excellent sound quality  the Linlai 101D tubes. If the original NOS W.E. are anywhere close to these two then you should be very  pleased.

Charles

I've had some very disappointing experiences with recently purchased Psvane WE101d, two failures, one after around 25 hours and other DOA. I no longer know of US or Canadian source for Psvane, both mine purchased from China, don't trust Chinese sources! Until Psvane has good source here I'm done. Perhaps Israel has source?

So, I've gone to Linlai Elite solid plate, this is very good tube, about on par overall to Psvane, Psvane a little lighter, airy in highs, Linlai more solid in middle. For a bit of time thought I liked Linlai mesh plate version, over time heard a bit of glare from mids. Should have listened to Israel on this, it was on Rachel's (Grant Fidelity) advice I purchased in first place. I have Shuguang standard, that tube not in same league as any of these, not ugly sound, just blah, lacking resolving, transparency.

The WE 101D tubes are an improvement but probably not what you are looking for. You can send it to me for a major upgrade and it will be a major upgrade. Tubes can change the flavor of the sound yes but for a bigger improvement, better capacitors and resistors will be more beneficial. My company builds 101D audio tube products as well as 6SN7 tube products so we are very familiar them. We can even improve your Supratec.

Happy Listening

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btw, do you have a simple tube tester?

"you'll be happy for the rest of your life if you make an ugly tester your wife".

name that song!

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"Get an Ugly Tester to Marry You."

ps I have 2 tube testers. For an old scope. I use solid state.