Glow audio amp one.... tubes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakebake 

Hey guys,

 

So I upgraded from my fiio e9 to a used glow audio amp one. Just got it today and so far I am very impressed. Much more detailed and better bass. Vocals are a lot more upfront as well. Not sure why I have seen so many for sale threads from the same users who were raving about this amp in the past. Anyways, right now I am using it with my akg q701's.

 

 

This is the 09 version so it does say not to use european tubes. Anyone familiar with this amp or know some great chinese or russian tubes for this I can try? 

Uses two el84 and not sure what the other two tubes are. Also which of these will make the most difference when changing? I'd like tubes that do sound warm but will bring out the most detail possible. As of right now this amp has pretty much the perfect amount of bass for me. 

 

Thanks guys

Hi, I play with tubes and tube amps so I can give you some help here.

http://www.glow-audio.com/glowstuff.html

The link says that your amp uses

2x EL84 - "

*POWER TUBE INFO: European EL84s differ in design from their Chinese, Russian and American counterparts in one important respect: On all European manufactured EL84s, pins 1 and 2 are connected together inside the tube envelope. Chinese, Russian (and most American) EL84s do not internally link the pins 1 and 2 (with the exception of the Russian remake of the Genalex Gold Lion). This poses no problem for the Amp One Ver. 0.8 (2008) and Ver. 1.1 (2011) amplifiers. They are compatible with any EL84 or 6P14 valve. However, due to a particular circuit design utilized on those amplifiers, the Amp One Ver. 0.9/1.0 (2009/10) amplifiers are not compatible with the European tubes. When a European manufactured EL84 is plugged into the '09/10 GLOW amp, the additional connection within the tube envelope in the European design is likely to cause premature failure of the tube, and possible damage to your amplifier. This limitation applies only to the 2009/10 model.

You can refer to the following link on EL84s.

http://www.audiotubes.com/6bq5.htm

BTW, Brent Jesse is a very reliable tube seller.

2x 6N3 :- You can select any of the tubes listed here :-

http://dhost.info/mhdtlab/tube.htm

You can get order 6N3s or 5670/2C51s from Brent Jesse too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakebake 

thank you for that info! SO do you have any recommendations on the tubes there? theres quite a few to choose from. 

Hi. For a start, you would experience the greatest change in the sound if you replaced your preamp tubes, those 2 smaller 6n3s.

From experience, the russian and chinese 6n3s are very linear and bright sounding. So if you don't like solid state sounding tubes, those Chinese and Russian tubes should not be on your shopping list.

For a warmish and detailed sound which you are looking for, I highly recommend the (US) Western Electric 2C51 or WE396A.

The best and most expensive are the "JW" military types with "D" getters and black plates.

These were made in the 1950s and cost around US$150 a pair.

The newer and cheaper ones (grey plates and non-military) cost much less than that.

They still have the signature Western Electric sound which should meet your needs.

Or you could just drop Brent Jesse an e-mail.

He should be able to recommend and sell the tubes which you require.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakebake 

thank you very much for the info! I will probably end up trying out the WE. Also, from the list you posted in your previous post what are the major differences between the tubes and what would be your next favorite after the WE?

How about these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-matched-1959-Tung-Sol-2C51-5670-396A-tubes-Black-P-Black-S-2M-Getter-/270892681180?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3f127647dc#ht_1761wt_1163

 

also what exactly is the sound differences from this type of preamp tube over something like the 12ax7 or 12au7 etc?

And I am assuming no but I have a few 12ax7 tubes for my guitar amps but it would not be ok to use with the glow amp correct? 

For the tubes in the 6N3 family, the initial ranking link I provided above is quite accurate.

Another good source is

https://www.tubeworld.com/5670.htm

Yes, Those Tung Sols are supposed to be the next best alternative after WE.

"Tungsol, Raytheon then GE and Sylvania" as per Tube World.
 

Yes, for those tubes in the 12AT7, 12AU7 and 12AX7 family, you cannot sub those into your amp.

The electrical characteristics (e.g. pin layout) are different.

You will most likely damage your precious tubes and the amp itself.

Based on public opinion (and an expert like Joe S) from Joe's Tube lore on the 12AX7 family

http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#12AX7

"Well, to my ears - they ALL suck." <- Joe's Assessment of 12AX7!

Each family (e.g. 5670, ECC88, 12AX7) of tube and each brand (e.g. Tung Sol, Telefunken, Western Electric) within each family has its own distinctive sound signature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakebake 

Hey guys,

 

So I upgraded from my fiio e9 to a used glow audio amp one. Just got it today and so far I am very impressed. Much more detailed and better bass. Vocals are a lot more upfront as well. Not sure why I have seen so many for sale threads from the same users who were raving about this amp in the past. Anyways, right now I am using it with my akg q701's.

 

 

This is the 09 version so it does say not to use european tubes. Anyone familiar with this amp or know some great chinese or russian tubes for this I can try? 

Uses two el84 and not sure what the other two tubes are. Also which of these will make the most difference when changing? I'd like tubes that do sound warm but will bring out the most detail possible. As of right now this amp has pretty much the perfect amount of bass for me. 

 

Thanks guys

you say you just got it and it is a 2009 model?

if it is a new model 2011theres no problems with those tubes this is from there site.

POWER TUBE INFO:  European EL84s differ in design from their Chinese, Russian and American counterparts in one important respect:  On all European manufactured EL84s, pins 1 and 2 are connected together inside the tube envelope. Chinese, Russian (and most American) EL84s do not internally link the pins 1 and 2 (with the exception of the Russian remake of the Genalex Gold Lion).  This poses no problem for the Amp One Ver.  0.8 (2008)  and Ver. 1.1 (2011) amplifiers. They are compatible with any EL84 or 6P14 valve.  However, due to a particular circuit design utilized on those amplifiers, the Amp One Ver. 0.9/1.0 (2009/10) amplifiers are not compatible with the European tubes. When a European manufactured EL84 is plugged into the '09/10 GLOW amp, the additional connection within the tube envelope in the European design is likely to cause premature failure of the tube, and possible damage to your amplifier. 

Only saw after that  you already had the link relating to the tubes and model year a well.I have a question about the amp maybe you could help these days i have a ss burson 160ds which sounds greats with my 25 ohms Marklized denon d-5000 from what i heard low impedance headphones need a TRANSFORMER COUPLED AMP to sound good is this the case with this amp (GLOW) and if not would the WA6SE  be a better amp because of these transformers.you guys have any toughts about this. Thanks.