Preamp Deal of the Century

I think there is a real synergy between the Solens in the PS and the 7193 tubes. Since I put the Solens in, the highs I'm hearing a really astounding - they seem to float out into the room with me; everything sounds much more 3-dimensional than before. I would suggest that anyone who does the 7193 mod also do the Solen mod, it's that good!

Any by the way, this is all with one of my backup sets of speakers, Dahlquist M905s. My Infinity RSIIb speakers are currently being completely re-worked by me, with outboard x-overs, internal bracing, etc. I can't wait to hear how they sound in this setup!

Hey Fiddler! Thanks for the caps they sound great! I bet your Supratek is sounding incredible. I will have to try the 7193 tube mod sometime. I actually think the stock EH 6sn7 tubes sound best most extended although the Tunsol Black Plates are a little more nuanced and tubbie sounding. Think I should sell these since they command a high price and are all but gone. I have 6f6 Sylvanias in the regulator position and the 6106 Bendix tube as recitfier. I wonder if a 5ar4 tube would give me a little more warmth in the mids and a little more snap (snare and the like) in dynamics. Not sure.
I still have a Modwright SWL 9.0 preamp which betters the Supratek in dynamics. Different sound. Gotta sell one preamp. I think I'm going to keep the Supratek can get them anymore! The Modwright is a great preamp also but they are selling for so cheap right now. I'll get killed on it! Everything is going cheap now!

I'm using a 5AR4 rectifier in my setup, but not the stock one. I'm using a NOS GE 5AR4, the one with the copper sides on the plates. I think it sounds excellent and it is nowhere near as expensive as the Mullard GZ34 (I haven't heard those, however). You can get the GEs for ~$50 at Antique Electronic Supply.

I have been playing around with the regulator tubes since I did the Solen mod. Here are my opinions:

Stock Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC: The worst of the bunch. Sounds glary and brittle, with deficient bass

NOS Tungsol 5881/6L6WGB: I picked up a used pair at a swap meet a year or so ago for ~$30, I think. They immediately replaced the Sovtek 5881 in my setup, and have been there ever since. They sound much better than the Sovtek 5881, with more bass and without the glare on the highs. They only read about 63 on my tube tester, barely in the "good" region, but they still sound very good.

New Sovtek KT-66: I picked up a matched pair of these a couple days ago from Parts Express for $50. I like them! They have a very full sound, with killer bass, yet still retain most of the high-end shimmer and detail. I can see why Mick recommended these to people who want to tube roll. They do not get very good reviews online as power tubes, but they seem to be excellent regulators. Very beefy construction, with copper grid posts and a larger plate structure than the Sovtek 5581/6L6WGC, so they are definitely not just re-badged versions of that tube in a different bottle. The metal base and coke-bottle shape look cool as well. I'm very pleased with this purchase.

Just checked with AES - they're out of the GE 5AR4s, even though they're listed on the website. Bummer. Glad mine still have many years of life in them...

PS cap replacement - anyone tried any other options - I have done the V caps and they were definitley an improvement so I am keen on upgrading power supply ( alps RK50 pot was also very good but pricy ) - another tweak I recomend is replacing the bottom plate in both pre and PS with something more rigid and using proprietry footers - I used symonite sandwich panel ( like alucabond ) - I drilled new vent holes of course

Cheers