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BAT Toobs

I just aquired a BAT VK-300x with the 6922 tube input and would like to try some other tubes for the heck of it, I'm happy with the way it sounds now but it's not the nature of this hobby to leave well enough alone.

I haven't had the cover off to check but I think the stock Sovtek's are inside. I have some 6h23n-eb which I intend to try when I get a chance. I'm also thinking about some Amperex white labels or would that be overkill for this amp or would something less expensive work as well?

And as a side note, I enjoy this amp so much that I'm wondering what Bat separates might sound like. Any suggestions for future upgrading? Thanks to all here at A'gon and remember listening saves gas!
garyb6
aball
2,016 posts
 
I tried some 1980 Brimars, 1976 Telefunkens and 1973 Amperex orange label tubes (all of them 6DJ8) in my VK-3i and liked the latter the best: clear and open but with a slight "hifi" character in the highs that some people won't care for. The Teles were softer top to bottom but have a nice midrange, and the Brimars are cooler and more analytical than either and seem to lack microdynamics.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I don't think that Amperex white labels would be overkill. That's the great thing about tube equipment, you can make it sound better by changing the tubes. I have my BAT VK-P5 phono preamp loaded with Amperex 7308 PQ's (white label) and love it. It was a tremendous improvement over the stock Sovteks. I would say that the difference between the stock tubes and the Amperex tubes was bigger than a $1200 mod that was performed by GNSC, thereby being more cost effective.

Soup that baby up and kick back and enjoy!
FWIW, I'm running BAT seperates, and though they are definitely better than the integrated, you have to pay a lot more $$$. Whether it's worth it or not is a personal decision. My seperates run almost 4X the price of the integrated, they are definitely not 4X's as good. The law of diminishing returns are alive and well, just like with other products.

Cheers,
John
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