Little Dot Tube Amps: Vacuum Tube Rolling Guide - Page 23

I bookmarked that link when mordy posted it quite some time ago. And yeah after going through all the little dot threads that i only know that i should look for the original russian wordings and not the translations of it to get the good and cheap stuff! So i guess i do owe everyone who's been organizing and sharing all these info a long overdue thanks as well.

Tube rolling can be obsessive.. i've already have another 2-3 different tubes on the ebay cart.. must convince myself to go slow and enjoy the burn in process...>.<

Thanks for the great tube reviews Dept of Alchemy!

I very much appreciate the effort and recently started rolling the tubes on my MKIII. At the moment Mullard 8083s are on, which I enjoy because of their airy and open representation. I am looking forward to the Voskhods (voskhod actually means sunrise btw) to get a bit more in the bass section.

I just got some Telefunken 6AK5W tubes and I'm waiting on my 6J1P-EV tubes.

The Telefunken's are amazing! they're so much livelier than anything i've tried so far! Much more present mids and bass compared to the M8161 tubes i was using previously.

so far i've tried:

M8100

M8161

WE 403b

LM Ericsson 403b

Next to try on my list is M8083 and Raytheon 6AK5, does anyone have any suggestions on where to get some? My de facto source has been ebay thus far, along with the boards here.

I just got my Telefunken 6AK5W tubes a day ago and i think they have similar traits to the voskhod 6J1P-EV tubes, but granted they are not burned in yet i can't give the verdict over which is the better tube so far. So far my initial impressions for the Telefunken 6AK5W are detailed, bright, slightly recessed mids and very good bass. The bass part is where it outshines my 60+ hour burn in 6J1P-EV so far.

How do you guys do burn in your tubes faster? I'm kinda worried of leaving them unattended.. 

Hey,

I've been leaving the LD MK III unattached in a larger room, which is about 18 to 20C standing on the wooden floor to prevent build up of heat. This worked quite well so far. I have left it unattended over the day and been running it non-stop total times of 36 hours +. Dave however recommends to burn in only to a max of 8 hours in one session.

I have been just changing M8100s after 60 hours to Voskhod 6Sh1P-EVs (= 6Zh1P-EV, 6J1P-EV, original name is 6Ж1Л-EB, 1975). They are on now for only 24 hours. Although the M8100 deliver a nicely balanced sound and nicely allow to localize instruments, the Voskhods delivery sweeter treble and mids are better presented. They just totally took my breath.

I have had stock 5654s with mellow tuby mids but a bit dull, M8083s with amazing highs but overall not exactly balanced with mids and lows, M8100s and now the 6Sh1P-EVs, which I would highly recommend everyone for testing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mab1376 

I just got some Telefunken 6AK5W tubes and I'm waiting on my 6J1P-EV tubes.

 

The Telefunken's are amazing! they're so much livelier than anything i've tried so far! Much more present mids and bass compared to the M8161 tubes i was using previously.

 

so far i've tried:

 

M8100

M8161

WE 403b

LM Ericsson 403b

 

Next to try on my list is M8083 and Raytheon 6AK5, does anyone have any suggestions on where to get some? My de facto source has been ebay thus far, along with the boards here.

I ordered Raytheon 6AK5 from Maverick Audio, but they weren't the cheapest at $45 for a matched pair. They ship from Taiwan and took 16 days to get here. I just got my mail this morning with the Raytheon from Mav Audio and Telefunken tubes from eBay (probably the same seller as you) so I haven't compared them yet. I'm also using a different amp, heh, but I've now got 4 sets: 6J1, GE 5-Star 5654, Raytheon 6AK5, and Telefunken 6AK5W.

First impressions... The Raytheon tubes have great and refined mids, probably the clearest between 6J1 and GE 5-star, but they have pushed the outer layer of the sound stage unnaturally far away on a few tracks, it's a little weird for me. I'll be interested to see if they change over the burn-in period.

Hi guys

just wanted to share my impressions of my tubes so far. the overview will be updated from time to time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinity650 

Hi guys

 

just wanted to share my impressions of my tubes so far. the overview will be updated from time to time.

 

Lorenz 5654	3	relaxed overall sound, little lack of detail compared to the class leader
RCA 5654 black plates	3	pretty thin, but detailed. Little bit lack of "soul". Pretty nice with classic music
Mullard M8100	2	sounds warmer than the other tubes, absolutely toe tapping, best tube for singer songwriter
Raytheon 6ak5w	2	nice voices and "flow", wide treble extension with a harshness at very high volume, wide soundstage for a EF95 tube
GE JAN 6ak5w	2	very nice vocals, pretty airie sound overall. Bass is quality > quantity but for sure enough
Tung Sol 6ak5w	2	good allrounder, but nothing specifically extraordinary. If look like it "colder" than Mullard sound e.g.
EF 92
Mullard EF92	3	very nice overall sound. Pretty equal like the Voskhods with a wider soundstage and little less bass
EF 91
Mullard M8083	2	similar to the EF 92 but lack of authority at very high volumes. Nearly my most favourite tube!
Zaerix 6AM6 / CV138	2	Burn in? Nothing impressiv yet
EF96 6aq5
6j3p-E	4	Burn in
Haltron 6ag5	3	lot of bass, in your head sound, little lack of authority in treble

I totally agree with your description of the Mullard M8100. Awesome for vocals. I bought an extra pair on eBay as soon as I received my LD MK IV SE.

But since then I tried the Voskhod 6J1P-EV (also known as 6ZH1P-EV). I went back and forth between the Mullards and the Voskhods multiple times and compared multiple types of music through both my HD650s and ATH-M50s and I can tell you that I might never put the Mullards back in. At first I noticed that the LD was getting a little hot with the new Voskhod but I tried other new tubes as well and always noticed that the LD gets a little hotter than usual when burning new tubes. Things get back to normal after a few hours.

The Voskhod, I think, add a lot or "presence" in pretty much everything I listened to. The bass is rich, not overwhelming, but the main difference with the Mullards is that the high mids and high frequencies have much more presence with the Voskhod. The Mullards are subdued on high frequencies and, to my taste, don't deliver when listening to jazz, classic, rock or anything with wider frequency ranges.

The Voskhod are also much easier to get, are much cheaper and are built like tanks. I'm now a big Voskhod fan.

Louie

I definitely like the Raytheon 6AK5 over the Telefunken 6AK5W. Better separation and detailing at the expense of some body. Telefunken didn't have anything about it that stood out to me in comparison to other tubes I've rolled.

I am curious about how well you guys get the tubes in and out of your amp though. I've bent the pins on my tubes when I wiggle them to get them in or out (sans the Telefunken). I feel like they shouldn't do that...

The key to remove the tubes is a bit of extra time and to use both hands. You wiggle only slightly and with the two hands you can increase the upward force and the tube will pop out.

Thank you Infinity650 for sharing your impressions on the tubes you rolled with us. Did you find that the Voskhod sound changed over time and not necessarily to the better?

Respective the 6Sh1P-EV: I used them for about 100 hours and found that the treble is not as brilliant anymore as they were in the beginning. The tube lost some of the sparkle for me. It is possible that other production years perform differently (this was 1975 according to the leaflet, on the tube it said XII 71). I should try some from another source.

Instead, I used now the GE JAN 5654Ws and the preliminary impression - after 20 hours - is that although the stage is a bit smaller, they are very airy with a nice treble presentation but also good pressure in the lower frequencies. They are very good for rock but they are versatile as well. Hopefully, the sound won't change too much as I very much like it as it is at the moment.