Options to replace Supratek Chennin Pre

The 6SN7 is such a great tube and there are so many flavors among the old NOS tubes. Be aware that this is definitely one of those where passions and opinions run high and there are definitely flavors of the month.

Here's a few sites that I have enjoyed to build on the excellent suggestions above:

http://6sn7.com/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=119638

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0304/6sn7.htm

Plus you can order a reprint or two from Charlie at Vacuum Tube Valley
http://www.vacuumtube.com/

Hey Ckorody. Nice post, haven't had the chance to read through it and digest it all but it should give the supratek crowd a little insight and direction into how they might find the right voice and synergy in their systems. The supratek preamps are a very high resolution, high gain preamplifier and choosing the right 6sn7 can have a profound effect in ones system. In my books: tonal balance is the main ingredient in any high resolution rig. Get the "tone thing" right and the other pieces in the puzzle become so much easier to put into perspective. There are so just many more flavours to be found in the 6sn7 family of dual triodes, far more diverse than any other tube type. Using the wrong spice can spoil a very fine meal. In my own experience, and as I mentioned in my previous post, the current crop of new 6sn7's are a far cry from a many of the better nos examples. That said: and not to complicate things even more here, there are also quite a few nos examples that are down right crappy in the supratek's as well. When employed in the Supratek, I am not a big fan of the Sylvania 6sn7 family nor the much sought after Rca redbase 5692. Go figure! the RCA 5692 is "far and away" the best of the best in my MFA Luminescence and the majority of nos Sylvania versions are superb in the Lumi as well. By contrast here, in the Supratek most of the sylvania examples can seem to be more extended up top but also tend to highlight this area in the mix. They can be a liabilty in many applications. When ones speaker system isn't tightly balanced "tone wise" in a given room, the utter clarity and resolution of the supratek will only serve as a magnifying glass, highlight and ultimately distort the perspective of the portrait. Braro: You have a very fine system to work with sir. The good thing here is the tonal balance aberration in your room is much simpler to to work with and far easier to get dialed in. The vast majority of rooms that many people have to deal with have the exact opposite effect, whereby too many of us have a big bump or boost in the upper bass/lower mid area. Usually a far more difficult exorcise to correct. Best of luck!

I got the RCA 6SN7GT VT-231s. Ahhh much better. These tubes have transformed my system. Ecclectique the RCAs did exactly what you said they would. After a few hrs I do not hear any negative attributes. Only improvements pretty much across the board. The biggest improvement I hear so far is in the upper bass/lower mids but to my delight the bottom octave is being rendered with more weight also. The presentation is overall lush and sweet but at the same time detailed and powerful. This is probably the best change I have made to my system with room treatment as a possible tie. I am going to pick up the Ken Rads and give them a whirl also but Im quite happy with the RCAs. Thanks again everyone.

You can always replace with SS Pre new P9 from Nuforce
should be considard as it could represent Great Sound and Value design by Damien Martin ex Spectral Fame.

Well after some more hrs and different music with the RCAs I have come to the conclusion that they are superior to the EH in all areas except 1. Acoustic bass lacks focus at the bottom of the register with the RCAs. The bass does have more weight but unfortunately its not controlled. So what to do? I suppose the Ken-Rads may be the panacea but the longer Im in this hobby the more I realize I may never get the "right" sound and that everything is a compromise. I really don’t want to just keep spending money and hope I find the right combination. BUMMER. I suppose I could just listen to music that doesn’t have acoustic bass :) HA.