EC Zana Deux tube rolling pls share - Page 3

I've got cryo'd and non-cryo'd Brimars and I really can't tell the difference. I only bought the cryo'd tubes because they were less expensive than the original Brimar I bought. The Brimar is still my personal favorite in the Zana. YMMV.

A_Sr.

Cryoed tubes

My experience with things Cryoed is that they take about 250 hours to recover from the process and then they sound completely different-better. Give it a try with the cryoed tube. Use it for a long time and then try the non-cryoed tube and see if you then notice a difference.
Best wishes. I bought a lot of tubes but will probably still have to wait 6 weeks to get the amp.

Zana Tube Rolling

Boy this cryo'ed Brimar 6SL7GT sure sounds wonderful. It makes my Zana Deux sound like I am listening to JP's Zana Deux HD with balanced Sennheiser 650's. No veil but still a smooth sound- can listen for hours. Row 10. A Great combination. With the Edition 9's the cryo'ed Brimar gives a lot of excitement to the music. A kettle drum just exploded in my left ear in a very live way. This tube was from TubeWorld.com and is a Kuhl Cryo'ed tube. Any one else using a cryo'ed tube and who did the procedure?
Good listening,
David Pritchard

Finally getting around to a bit of rolling

So, I'm just getting around to tube rolling. I still haven't settled my DAC situation yet, so that's a work-in-progress. In the meantime, I feel I've learned the stock flavor with the Ulyanov 6C33C's and the Tung-Sol 6SL7's that Craig ships the unit with.

On Tuesday, I received the Svetlana 6C33C-B's from Nikolay on eBay. They arrived in their original packaging, and I've left them burning in overnight with the stock Tung-Sol 6SL7's. Tried them tonight and didn't quite dig 'em. Felt they were a bit soft, recessed, and distant. Listened to them most of the night, and still wasn't digging them. Now, I know that the 6C33C's take about 100 hours to burn-in... and during the time, they change quite a bit in measured characteristics, so I'll reserve final judgment 'til next week.

Today, I got in the Brimar 6SL7/CV1985 and Sylvania 6SL7/VT229 from Upscale Audio, where they've been apparently screened for balance and have some level of burn-in. Tried the Sylvania VT229 with the stock Ulyanov 6C33C's for an hour and found them textured but rolled off at the top end. I swapped it out for the Brimar CV1985 and found that it presented a strong midrange with plenty of texture and detail... more so than even the stock setup.

Now, here's the kicker. I was curious as to how the Brimar would sound with the Svetlana 6C33C's. Verdict? I believe I found a nice combo for me and my HD580's for now—powerful, extended bass and smooth (a little soft?) highs with a textured, yet articulate midrange. I'm REALLY enjoying this combo right now as I write this. It's a pleasant presentation, albeit not one I'd call crisp and detailed.

What did I learn in this brief exercise? That it isn't just about swapping out one set of tubes. It seems that it's the combo and interaction between the 6C33C's and the 6SL7's that synergistically produce the audio presentation at the end of the chain.

With all these different characteristics, I must admit that they must be various levels of sonic coloration. I haven't measured anything on a scope or freq analyzer to sort through it all, so these initial impressions are just based on casual listening and based on my subjective interpretation of likes and dislikes.

I believe I will live with the Svetlana+Brimar combo setup for a week or so to really get to know it.

I know Craig takes a lot of care in matching up the tubes and burning them in before they ship. Which is why I'm leery about going down this rolling process when I'm picking up NOS tubes from a Ukrainian dealer—no screening process. I'm also not fond of the fact that if any of the tubes go out, that I risk the sonic character changing if I don't get the some tubes with the same characteristics as I had before. Ah well.... not that big of a deal in the greater scheme of things... (just some rambling thoughts on the matter...)

Salut

Spektro - you've got an excellent Flickr album ..... been wandering if you're gonna open that Lavry. Salute to everyone.

LOL! Thx... Lavry has been opened and burned-in for 1 week... since I couldn't get close to what I paid... I thought I might as well "use" it for a while and at least get to know it.

Another tube on it's way, hope it's good:

That looks like the Tung-Sol 6SL7GT that came stock with my ZD. If it is, it's a decent sound for a current model 6SL7. Currently, I'm preferring the Brimar CV1985, though I just ordered an 6SU7.

Except, this is an older NOS tube made in the U.S. You can see it if you take a closer look at the printing on the base. The Tung-Sol tubes which ship with the Zana, are current production tubes, made in Russia.

oic! Let us know how you like 'em.

This is my collection with Zana Deux:



Here is three different variations of Tung-Sol 6SU7GTY



And here is as you see pair of Metal Base Sylvania 6SL7W the seller told me that they are NOS/NIB. And also here is Mullard ECC35



Here is Westinghouse 5691 Redbase and pair of JAN CHS 6SL7GT VT-229

My ZD is now on board ship, and arrives in the next few days. Then I will get to test tubes and, perhaps, to make a small review.

I have never seen information that the clear glass Tung-Sol 6SU7GTY.

Dear Tubegurus who has information? PLS tell me what do you think?

Here is a few more accurate photo:

Hey Sture, those are supposed to be nice tubes. Apparently they have either the clear glass or black glass 6SU7's... all made from Tung-Sol. I've got both on their way so I can try them out.

BTW... I've got VT229's up on eBay if anyone wants it. Some people seem to dig 'em, but they weren't for me with my 580's.

Tung-Sol 6SU7GTY, and two black base, black coated Tung-Sol 6SL7GT's on their way. Got the 6SU7GTY for $4.99. I would say that is a good deal =)

Anyone with experience with the black base Tung-Sol's?