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NOS Valves NBS Preamp Review!!


paul79

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Thought I'd share an update:

I tried using the 6H30DR from 1980 in the NBS, and I just don't much care for this tube in this preamp. The one I have is NOS and from a reliable source.

It just saps the life out of the music. Like it is rolled off on the upper and even lower range. Even the midrange sucks!! I let it cook for several days, and every time I played it, no change. Lost all the wonderful air and transparency with the DR...

Put the Sovtek back in and all is right with the world again. Bass slam, dynamics, air, midrange transparency, all perfect! I am curious to others results, but it is cheap ol Sovteks for me from now on. I could see where the DR may be good in a bright system however...

My advice? save your money and stick with what Craig sends with the preamp. It is stupid good, and with the stock tubes, it is the best preamp I have ever heard.

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Just ordered my NBS Wednesday. It will mate with my VRD's. 6H30 version with the premium Lundahl transformers and will include Duelund Cast Copper Coupling Caps. Looking forward to it!

Paul, have you tried a 6DJ8 in the 6H30 Socket? It is doable just for the Hell of it in the NBS. You just cannot use a 6H30 in the 6DJ8 socket if that was what it was built for.

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Thought I'd share an update:

I tried using the 6H30DR from 1980 in the NBS, and I just don't much care for this tube in this preamp. The one I have is NOS and from a reliable source.

It just saps the life out of the music. Like it is rolled off on the upper and even lower range. Even the midrange sucks!! I let it cook for several days, and every time I played it, no change. Lost all the wonderful air and transparency with the DR...

Put the Sovtek back in and all is right with the world again. Bass slam, dynamics, air, midrange transparency, all perfect! I am curious to others results, but it is cheap ol Sovteks for me from now on. I could see where the DR may be good in a bright system however...

My advice? save your money and stick with what Craig sends with the preamp. It is stupid good, and with the stock tubes, it is the best preamp I have ever heard.

Paul,

While I agree with the save your money comment. I will say I own and have tried a few of the 70's and 80's versions of the 6H30 I hear little difference if any difference at all, but they surely did not sound worse then modern production versions. So I suspect you have a bad tube....it happens even from reputable sellers!

The 6DJ8 will work in the NBS setup for the 6H30 however it will not be optimized... but it will work and still sound very decent. But putting a 6H30 in a NBS setup for 6DJ8 will sound plain horrible. Now with that said I highly do not advice someone go out and buy some $200 to $400 vintage 6DJ8 and run it setup for a 6H30.....if you want to run 6DJ8's long term buy the preamp optimized for the 6DJ8 or if you already own the preamplifier send it back to have it setup to run optimally with a 6DJ8. I myself think running a 6DJ8 is just silly if you do not already own a primo known quiet 6DJ8...... with how good a basic $30 6H30 sounds were talking splitting hairs here..

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I'm sure there is a way. Most of settings will be identical to a 6DJ8 except the bias, but in the end you will have no data to compare to as to what it should score. I'm not personally familar with the TV-7 I have always used Hickoks. Check the voltages entering Jupiter output caps in the preamp with it warmed up. See if they are similar to the Sovtek and similar to each other channel to channel.

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I've put about 10 hours on a Reflektor 6h30dr (1984 I think) in the NBS and can't point at any specific change compared to the Sovtek yet but I've had other distractions. If I ever get settled down and stop changing things I'll run the Sovtek for a couple of weeks and then the dr's for a few weeks to hear if I get a different impression.

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Yes. My father has a pair, as well as a pair of K-Horns. Klipsch are the most dynamic speakers I have ever heard, but I could never get used to them.

Best Klipsch IMO are the Cornwall, early versions. Late 70's to early 80's. If I had to live with Klipsch, these would be the ones... I will also say that the K-Horn's properly set up are pretty dang good, and the bass is absolutely special, but overall, neither are my cup of tea.

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Yes. My father has a pair, as well as a pair of K-Horns. Klipsch are the most dynamic speakers I have ever heard, but I could never get used to them.

Best Klipsch IMO are the Cornwall, early versions. Late 70's to early 80's. If I had to live with Klipsch, these would be the ones... I will also say that the K-Horn's properly set up are pretty dang good, and the bass is absolutely special, but overall, neither are my cup of tea.

I have auditioned the Joseph speakers and they are really fine speakers. However my taste clearly runs the other way, after hearing k-horns I could not be really happy with any other speaker. The closest I have come are the big Magnepans but, in the end I have stayed with the k-horns, IMHO this is what makes this hobby so great, we can each search for, and hopefully find, the reproduction system that makes music the way we like it. warm regards, Tony

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