If you do a search for tube rolling and Steelhead, you'll see a number of
good discussions on various tubes that replace the 6922 and their sonic
attributes. Here's my experience from the Steelhead, which i assume can
be extrapolated to the Chinook, although I'm not sure the circuit is the same
(I had the impression that in some ways it was like a Steelhead, without
the step-ups- which i never used anyway, ran at 47k through the MM input
for low output MC with gain at 55db, and avoided the variable output):
older Mullard gold pin- sweet, but too euphonic
NOS military grade Siemens- very linear, but less dimensionality than the
telefunken;
NOS Telefunken CCa- the best I had, very 3d quality.
Others- Valvo, Amperex pinched waist (unobtanium) I never tried.
Part of the process may also be the sound you like or system synergy.
PS I also never heard any real difference fooling around with the
capacitance settings using low out put moving coils.
Good luck, and enjoy your phono stage. Improving that part of the system
makes a real difference, and Manley's support is as good as it gets.
PPS: a third 6922 is used in the circuit for the chinook, the Steelhead used
4 7044's if I recall. I used NOS Raytheons for those, and replaced them
more frequently than the Teles. The Teles, while expensive, should last a
long time if they are truly low mileage tubes (NOS is a bit of a misnomer, as
you will find out, since the tubes may not be 'new' in the sense that they
have never been used; they may be old stock that tests well.) It pays to buy
from a reliable supplier, because some of
these tubes are now counterfeited. There are several third party vendors
who are reliable. You can probably find some recommendations by
searching the Gon for NOS tubes supplier or something like that.
