gonzp Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I do not mean to inflame or slight anyone but as the proud owner of a new pair of VRD's and a Blueberry XTreme the thought of tube rolling has naturally come up and I am soliciting opinions from other VRD/BBX owners as to which tubes they are using, results with said tubes and wishes for "holy Grail" tubes. I know that this is a very subjective subject and I have been looking at the "Holy Grail" tubes and it will be awhile before I will purchase any of these. I think that the 6DJ8 in the XTreme is the first that I will change around. The limited research that I have conducted online points me to The Siemens CCa gold pin(another board member also reccomended this to me), The Amperex 6DJ8 Orange globe, or Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle boy logo. White lable Amperex 6922 (Holland D-Getter) are the ones that have piqued my curiosity. I am looking for something very transparent and fluid on the upper end without sacrificing to much midrange or bottom end. Again I know YMMV but I am just looking for ideas. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Patrick, You have named the heavy hitters already. One tube, which is a bargain and kind of a sleeper, IMO, is the Philips 6922. Did your Xtreme come with this tube as NOS stock? My Peach came originally with the Ei. Later on Mark ran across a cache of the Philips, which he was passing along in his preamps while they were available. If you haven't heard it, it is worth your while to consider for tube rolling. One additional thought which would be worth considering.... any one who would mention their favorite and trusted sources for tube purchases.... that is informationthat is truly helpful. I have gotten to the place that if I want a tube, I go to Brent Jesse. I have found plenty of crap on Ebay. It is amazingly hard to find anything decent there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robster Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 With my VRD's so far the Ei Kt-90 type 2's are the best sounding output tube I've tried. First I had the Valve Art KT-88's that came with the amps,then EH KT-88's. But the Ei's have more body and the bass is better and the overall sonics more pleasing. I have heard that the Valve Art KT-88 Cryo treated tubes are supposed to be great. www.tubeman,com sells them. I bought two quads of the Ei type 2's off Epay recently. I sold one of the quad of Ei's to someone who bought the cryo treated tubes, in a week or so he'll let me know how the Ei KT-90 type 2's compare to the cryo treated Valve Art 88's,he also bought the KT-88 cryo treated from the tubeman. . Unfortunatley the Ei type 2's and type 1's are scarce. The type 3's are unpredictable. I can't comment on the GEC 88's ask Smilin he had some. Too rich for my blood. . Cheers, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Gonzp - I'm curious as to what gear you had before this setup and did you find it a dramatically big difference when you changed over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intotubes Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 When I was at his house (pre VRD) he was playing a pair of HH Scott 99(C?)'s. WOW! Sounded stunning on his LaScalas. Don't even know why he upgraded. Well I know, but what he had sounded so gooood. Once you hear what really good hi-fi sounds like it's like a disease, you need more - the best. For instance, I have the best sounding hi-fi system I've ever owned in my life and I'm still looking at the next upgrade to get "there". We all know what I'm saying. It's obsessive compulsive at it's best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzp Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Gonzp - I'm curious as to what gear you had before this setup and did you find it a dramatically big difference when you changed over? meagain, As Mark said I was running two HH Scott 99D monos to Lascalas and using a Denon CD Changer. I would switch between the Scotts and an Almarro A318A 18 WPC integrated tube amp. I heard Craigs VRD's with the BBX in Indy last year at the Pilgrimage and that is what I had to have. I also just got a Jolida J100A CD player and I am not really liking it in this system. Tube rolling is next for the Jolida... I wrote in another thread about the differances I have heard with the VRD's. I thought that they lost some clarity at lower volumes to the sets that I have but, when in triode mode I do not feel that I have lost anything. The VRD's just do not run out of gas in my largish room (30'x30') when a little more is asked of them. I am now running the Scotts with Heraseys in my upstairs livingroom and it is just perfect for eating dinner or conversing with company but, when I want to crank up the good stuff I go to the VRD's. Maybe intotubes will offer me his Corns and I can mate these with the Scotts in the living room and put the Herasies in the bedroom[]. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 For the VRD's I am presently running the VA KT88's that came with the amp (one of them was blown and had to order a new one). I have also run them with some EH 6550's which sounded pretty good. I'll wait a while before I come to a conclusion on which of the 2 I prefer. The only other tube I have replaced on them are the 12AX7's, which I have swapped with some vintage Telefunkens. For the BBX, I have swapped out the V1, V2 and V3 tubes (phono) with the following: V1 (12AT7) - Telefunken ECC801S (this is not cheap) V2 (12AX7) - Telefunken 12AX7 V3 (12AT7) - Mullard CV4024 This was done based on Gary's recommendation, and there is no doubt that this has made a pretty substantial improvement over the stock tubes (but then again for the money it should). I also recently attempted to swap out the V4 (6DJ8) tube with an Amperex Bugle Boy and had to pull it due to big time noise (microphonics?). I'll be sending that one back, and not sure what it will be replaced with. Put the stocker back in and it is dead quiet (don't say anything, Mark :-) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilin Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 VRD's GEC KT88's, Phillips/Mullard Metal Base GZ34, Amperex BUgle Boy Long plate d getter 12AX7/12AU7 Amperex pinch waist 1950's d getter for position 1 Smile and be happy[][] Not cheap, just the best, just the facts, now, there yahaveit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I also recently attempted to swap out the V4 (6DJ8) tube with an Amperex Bugle Boy and had to pull it due to bit time noise (microphonics?). I'll be sending that one back, and not sure what it will be replaced with. Put the stocker back in and it is dead quiet (don't say anything, Mark :-) Mike Mike, try a Siemens or Telefunken Cca. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I tried a pinch waist and it was pretty noisy, otherwise it sounded pretty good. The Cca is a better sounding tube IMO. It's what I ended up with and I am totally satisfied. Warning, they are not cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 When someone is looking for a TFK CCA 6DJ8 type tube what should it actually say on it? Gold Pins or no gold pins and so on? Also Gary if your reading this what is the decription or particulars on this wonder TFK 12AT7/ECC801S? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilin Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Just keep rolling till ya get a NON MICROPHINIC tube, heh heh heh[6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 This all sounds familiar in the MX110 as well as the Peach: Regardless of brand, if you find a pair of non microphonic 6U8 (MX110) and 6DJ8 (Peach) - LEAVE 'EM. Tube rolling can bring a whole new aggravation to the system with these tubes. Looking at the price spread on some of these tubes, it would suck to pony up those $$$ and get microphonic tubes in the process. Guess one needs a good tube dealer source for those, huh? What's the details on the Philips 6922 tube? Is that the JAN 80's version? Are they reliable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Nice phono setup there. I don't even have an 801 here, so I've got to get caught up on that tube. Gary raved to me about it last week but I've yet to get on the ball. That with the Tele 12AX must be generating a very, verrrry smooth and lush sound. md Very nice indeed... and it is lush. Gary prefers more detail, and says the Bugle Boy provides more clarity than the Tele 12AX7. I gott my ECC801S from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio, btw. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Mike, try a Siemens or Telefunken Cca. You'll be pleasantly surprised. I tried a pinch waist and it was pretty noisy, otherwise it sounded pretty good. The Cca is a better sounding tube IMO. It's what I ended up with and I am totally satisfied. Warning, they are not cheap. Yeah... that's what Gary's using in that slot as well. I'll probably swap mine for another Amperex Bugle Boy until I can get one that is not microphonic. Listen to that for awhile, and then may try one of the Cca's when I can afford one. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I just wanted to add that I really like gonz's avatar. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robster Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Anybody tried a 5751 in their Blueberry? I have a pair of Rayhteon 5751 windmill getters in my Fisher 400 and I might just have to pull one out and try one in my Blueberry. I have a Amperex 6dj8 pinch waist in my Blueberry and it's not noisy at all,thank goodness. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference btween the pinch waist and the Siemenss Cca. Cheers, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 For both the Peach and Heart CDP I use 1960's Telefunken Gold Pin E88CC. In the VRD I use 1985 GE 6550A, 1965 Mullard 5AR4,. 1960 RCA 12AX7A and 1960 RCA 12AU7A. I like the sound. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 According to our good pal Kevin Deal over at Upscale Audio, the Amperex pinch waist is a notoriously noisey tube. Kevin says that he doesn't understand why the pinch waists are so sought after. He says they are big bucks, and nearly all of them are microphonic. He said he paid a fortune for a huge lot of them, and all but one was noisy. Apparently he took it in the a$$ on them. Perhaps that's the reason for his severe sarcasm regarding the pinch waist? Here's a quote from Kevin Deal. This is when I initially called him 8 months back to enquire about purchasing a pinch waist, "why do you want to buy the worst preamp tube possible? Why not get a nice tube like a Cca?" Sorry, but that just left a bad taste in my mouth. I have no axe to grind here either way. Just relaying what he said. I could probably live with either if I were to stumble upon a non-microphonic pinch waist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggerIsBetter Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I will second the noicy, and gassy, problems with the Amperex line. I have tried jsut about all types of them (except the pinched waist) and had a hard time finding good ones. When I did find good ones, they did not sound all that great anyway. In addition, they typically got gassy in a very short period of use, still tested strong but emissions started and increased after use. This is related to 6dj8 and 6922. Not saying they are all bad, I would just recommend using a VERY reputable supplier, that has a return option. Overall, I found them to be more trouble than what they were worth. If you are working with Kevin Deal at upscale, try the russian rockets (6H23?) if they fit your application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Anybody tried a 5751 in their Blueberry? I have a pair of Rayhteon 5751 windmill getters in my Fisher 400 and I might just have to pull one out and try one in my Blueberry. I have a Amperex 6dj8 pinch waist in my Blueberry and it's not noisy at all,thank goodness. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference btween the pinch waist and the Siemenss Cca. Cheers, Robert Not being the designer of the phono section mind you. I would venture to say that is not a good Idea. The 5751 is a lower gain version of the 12AX7 and usually the last thing you want to do is lower the gain in a phono section. But check with Mark to be sure on this. Have you tried these in the 12AX7 slot in your VRD's?? Go for it you should see a big change but I'm not going to say what. Let me know what you think. Remember let them cool off a few minutes before flipping them back on!! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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