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SDS, Supra, MPX tuberolling, the new global, improved thread - Page 23

post #331 of 780
12/5/06 at 3:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamato8 View Post
But like Earl mentioned, there are some places that sell a small piece with holes to fit over the pins and the plate has a center pin.
I found one of these at Antique Electronics Supply. Is this what you guys are talking about?
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post #332 of 780
12/5/06 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilS View Post
I found one of these at Antique Electronics Supply. Is this what you guys are talking about?
Probably .... just ask a salsman and they can tell you.
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post #333 of 780
12/5/06 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilS View Post
The ones from Antique Electronic Supply.



I know. I'm so ashamed. Actually, though, I think this is one of those instances where there was an imperfection in the plastic, as it broke while pushing it in to the amp and I was not applying very much force at all. (Although I have been working out a lot lately, so who knows.)

Ok .... thats an Amperex and thats a good tube. The tube must just not have the right synergy for you.

You heat up the base when you are soldering the pins inside the adapter. That base probably got to hot and warped slightly weakening the center pin. I would ask him for a replacement.
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post #334 of 780
12/6/06 at 12:04am
many thanks are given to the people posting "recipees" in this thread. its a good guide to getting a desired sound.

as an idea for others, try out a "100k ohm" cable. i put one between my toaster-fi mpx3 and dac (mdh labs constantine) and it helped to get me a little more spin out of the pot. i suppose it screwed up the taper of the pot, but thats better than having it work more as an "on off" switch....
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post #335 of 780
12/7/06 at 6:49pm

A circuit question

Does improving the quality of the 6SN7s you are using in an MPX SE have more effect on the sound if you roll the 6SN7 in the gian stage or the 6SN7s in the output stage? If this is a cathode follower and uses negative feedback, then the biggest impact from tube rolling ought to come in the gain stage and much less in the output stage.

At $60-$200 a shot for a single high-quality 6SN7, it would be foolish to get a pair of really expensive ones if $20 6SN7s tubes sound just as good in the output stage as the $200 ones.
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post #336 of 780
12/7/06 at 7:46pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main point of the SE is to use different, more powerful tubes than the 6SN7 for output. So, you begin limited to rolling the gain spot for the most significant changes.

Also, 7N7s and 12SN7s provide cheaper alternatives to 6SN7s. Although I've been finding more and more of my 12SN7 stash to be noisy ...
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post #337 of 780
12/7/06 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frihed89 View Post
Does improving the quality of the 6SN7s you are using in an MPX SE have more effect on the sound if you roll the 6SN7 in the gian stage or the 6SN7s in the output stage? If this is a cathode follower and uses negative feedback, then the biggest impact from tube rolling ought to come in the gain stage and much less in the output stage.

At $60-$200 a shot for a single high-quality 6SN7, it would be foolish to get a pair of really expensive ones if $20 6SN7s tubes sound just as good in the output stage as the $200 ones.
The amp is a no feedback design so the output tubes do make a difference. If you are using high impedence headphones the 6sn7's can sound impressive. But for lower impedence headphones .... I believe you need some current. Myself, I like 5687's or 6bl7gt's better as output tubes regardless of the headphones or impedence. In regards to the gain tube, the difference between a mediocre EH 6sn7 for gain and a good quality nos 6sn7gt is very noticeable.

The main reason I started experimenting with different output tubes was because the 6sn7's were to expensive and lacked the kind of power I want. Once I did start to experiment I also discovered that there were many equally good sounding tubes you could use for gain, that again, were much less expensive.
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post #338 of 780
12/8/06 at 5:19am

Thanks

I have these AKG headphones (171 and 701) - low impedance. Can higher impedance headphones really make a difference when using 6SN7s as ouputs? Senn 650s?

6BL7 GTs....which ones do you like best? I have a pair that came with the unit, but I have no idea what they are.
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post #339 of 780
12/8/06 at 8:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frihed89 View Post
I have these AKG headphones (171 and 701) - low impedance. Can higher impedance headphones really make a difference when using 6SN7s as ouputs? Senn 650s?

6BL7 GTs....which ones do you like best? I have a pair that came with the unit, but I have no idea what they are.
Low impedence headphones .... especially 701's .... work poorly with 6sn7's. The higher impedence headphones work better with 6sn7's; better yet with 5687's or 6bl7gt's. Some people like 6sn7gt's as outputs .... I dont.

If you like the Mapletree I would think the 5687's would be your favorite OUTPUT tube.

The best solution is to simply use the 6bl7gt's or 5687 output tubes. The 6bl7gt's have so many variations and there was so much rebranding I am not sure what I am using; maybe GE. But the 6bl7 types all sound similar.
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post #340 of 780
12/8/06 at 12:13pm
If you are a classical listener and use a higher impedance headphone like the hd600, you will find the 6sn7's as output tubes to be very satisfying. In this situation where speed and "slam" are less important, you will find that the 6sn7's provide a much wider ranging and nuanced tonal palette than either the 6bl7 or 5687.

Last night I listen to the a Sylvania 6sn7 GTA as an input tube with two Sylvania VT231's as output tubes. This was an outstanding combination for string quartets. Rich and detailed, with just the right amount of air.

- augustwest
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post #341 of 780
12/9/06 at 2:34am

Grado & Singlepower Tubes

I have an HF-1 and am expecting a GS-1000 soon and am wondering what tubes other people like to pair with their Singlepower amps and Grado headphones.

I have a older MPX3 (non 6BL7 optimized) and am looking at getting some new tubes to tweak the sound and am considering buying some adapters as well.

Right now I only have a choice between Sylvania 6SN7GTB's and EH6SN7 as output tubes

I have a multitude of tubes I can cycle in the gain position:
*Ken-Rad Jan-CKR-6SN7GT
*Rogers 6SN7GT
*Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB
*Motorola 6SN7GTB
*GE 6BL7GTA
*Raytheon 6BL7GTA
*Westinghouse 6BX7GT

I like the sound quite a bit as it is but have heard that using 6SN7's as output isn't really optimal for low impedance phones like the Grado's. Buying SLAM adaptors might not sync so well with my incoming GS-1000's and my amplifier hasn't been adjusted to make run the 6BL7/6BX7 at their optimal voltage .

Any thoughts on my situation would be appreciated.

But most importantly I would just like to hear what tube combo's other members prefer for their grado's, especially the GS1000
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post #342 of 780
12/9/06 at 10:19am
Well, my Supra can run the 6bx7 output tubes, so my set-up is a bit different than yours. However, I've used 6sn7 tubes before and can say the more impactful tubes sound better to me when listening to the GS-1000s.

Because I have a warm full source, and the GS-1000s have a lot of bass, I tend to like the 6BX7 output tubes. They are fairly neutral tubes and make the GS-1000s sound really good. I don't like tubes that add much warmth with these headphones.

The other key is the gain tube and I was just playing around with which tube sounds best when my amp blew a resistor due to a bad tube and I've had to send it back to Mikhail.

I did like the 7n7 as gain, but switched to 5687 just before my amp went out. After switching I realized the 7n7 had a bit too much warmth compared to the 5687. I liked the tightness the 5687 contributed, but it seemed a bit brighter than I liked. It was a Tung Sol D-getter. I was going to try a Raytheon, as I heard they are warmer, but didn't get the chance.

When Mikhail sends my amp back I am going to try a 6414 as gain, as the description of this tube sounds really good. I might also try various 12sn7s (Hytron, Tung Sol round plate).

The only thing I know for certain at this point, and my set up, is that the 6bx7s sound excellent as output tubes. Hopefully, I can find a gain tube that complements these, eg. that does not add too much midrange bass and yet sounds natural.
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post #343 of 780
12/9/06 at 10:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kmcdonou View Post
Well, my Supra can run the 6bx7 output tubes, so my set-up is a bit different than yours. However, I've used 6sn7 tubes before and can say the more impactful tubes sound better to me when listening to the GS-1000s.

Because I have a warm full source, and the GS-1000s have a lot of bass, I tend to like the 6BX7 output tubes. They are fairly neutral tubes and make the GS-1000s sound really good. I don't like tubes that add much warmth with these headphones.

The other key is the gain tube and I was just playing around with which tube sounds best when my amp blew a resistor due to a bad tube and I've had to send it back to Mikhail.

I did like the 7n7 as gain, but switched to 5687 just before my amp went out. After switching I realized the 7n7 had a bit too much warmth compared to the 5687. I liked the tightness the 5687 contributed, but it seemed a bit brighter than I liked. It was a Tung Sol D-getter. I was going to try a Raytheon, as I heard they are warmer, but didn't get the chance.

When Mikhail sends my amp back I am going to try a 6414 as gain, as the description of this tube sounds really good. I might also try various 12sn7s (Hytron, Tung Sol round plate).

The only thing I know for certain at this point, and my set up, is that the 6bx7s sound excellent as output tubes. Hopefully, I can find a gain tube that complements these, eg. that does not add too much midrange bass and yet sounds natural.
With my MPX3 and GO8 CDP. The GS1000 had too much bass with every tube I tried 5687 tung sol/6BX7 GT sounded best. Did Mikhail do something to tighten up the low end Bass for you or do you like the way the bass sounds from the GS 1000 ? Mine are up for sale, already.

As a compairson of my taste in headphones I love my HD 650 with cardas cable and am loving my new K340 with the full headphile cable Plus up grade. I also have the choice of ballanced or single ended On the K340s which I can't wait for the new amp to try these both ballanced.
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post #344 of 780
12/9/06 at 1:38pm
There's another adaptor coming that will allow use of the following:-

2C51/5670/Bendix 6385/WE 396A
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post #345 of 780
12/9/06 at 2:22pm
I have HF-1's with my MPX3 SE, and if I didn't have the option of running 6BL7/6BX7's, I would likely get some 5687 adaptors and run them in the output with a 6SN7 in the input. I find that I like the 5687's better than the 6BL7's at lower voltage. Since you have several 6SN7's to try, I would call up Mikhail and order the adaptors and a pair of 5687's.

Note: this is based on my very limited tube rolling experience
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