Conrad Johnson Premier 140 6922 tube swapping

I think you might like the Genalex Gold Lion 6922 in your CJ. I use them in my
CJ preamps. Get your 6922 first then decide on the 6550's.

Agathe79, This is starting to spin out of control. Your original problem was a noisy 6922. If you are happy with the sound of your amp except for the noise, get a new 6922 and see if that takes care of your problems.

If you can talk to the person you bought the amp from, find out how many hours the power tubes have on them. They may have plenty of hours left on them and you can take your time getting familiar with your amp and opinions on tubes before you start replacing them.

Also find out if the amp was left on all the time and how many hours it has on it. When you have that information call or email c-j customer service and find out what they think about replacing any parts before you do something like that. c-j will be glad to help you even though you didn't buy the amp new.

You can also find out if there is someone who works on c-j gear with a good reputation near you. They could check out the amp without having to send it off to c-j.

Take it one step at a time. Get a new 6922. Talk to the former owner then c-j. Take some time to get familiar with the sound of your amp. Your amp may be working just fine and not need anything other than a 6922.

01-10-13: Agathe79
Does anyone know where I could get 8 NOS Tungsol 6550 tubes?, I know it's asking alot

Do you have a clue what NOS 6550's go for if you can find them? Then which ones are you looking for? Solid Black Plates (best and my favorite) - Solid Gray Plates (close second to the black plates) or the 3 hole gray plate? I haven't heard the 3 hole ones but a friend has them and says they are not as good as even the solid gray plates but still very good. Here is a link to e-pray and if the quad of black plates is truly NOS that is an excellent price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tung-Sol-6550-KT88-Black-Plate-Tubes-NOS-Perfect-Matching-Quad-/160951867413?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item25797a9815

Finding USED singles and pairs and an occasional quad isn't that hard. But most important you need to hear them first. In my Octave they are like great EL34's on steroids. Warm and musical. EAT KT88's are the opposite sound. Very detailed - linear and accurate (kind of like solid state). The Vintage Gec KT88's are pretty close to the EAT KT88. Depends on your preference and again why you should listen to them first - if possible. Only the EAT's are currently in production - all the rest will never be made again. All are very expensive and because EAT is currently in production they are the only ones that will give a warranty.

That being said I'll also say get used to what you have first. Then decide if you want to change up the sound a bit which way do you want to go. Changing the input tube will make a big difference too and cost a lot less to experiment.

Thanks for all the advice.
I'm going to change the 6922 first and then see how I like the sound

You're on the right track in just replacing the noisy 6922 at this point before doing anything else. As Tomcy6 and Xti16 have said, you need a starting point before you do anything else.

I own the Premier 140 and it's an excellent amp, one of the best that c-j made IMHO. I've also had the C1 Teflon capacitor upgrade done and was very pleased with the result. At $2,300 it wasn't cheap but c-j will bring the amp up to spec while they're doing the upgrade. Although I know it can be tempting to just jump in, start at the beginning: get another input tube (I've used 6DJ8, 6922, 7308, 6H23, and even 7DJ8 all without issues and all sound different depending on the brand and vintage), get the background info from the seller if you can on hours in service, and then go from there.

There are current production tubes (both input and output) which sound excellent in the Premier 140 that are a lot cheaper than vintage types. Some NOS tubes can be very expensive but if you're patient you can find almost NOS (ANOS) that won't break the bank. Some NOS input tubes can be more realistically sought since you'll only need one for the input tube versus 8 for the output tubes. Drop me a line if yyou want to discuss any of this in more detail.

Good luck with the amp, you're going to really like it.