[F1GTR]

Check out markl's info in this thread.

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ght=melos+tube

The Melos uses two 6922's and this thread breaks down a whole slew of them. Excellent descriptions.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Aggressive with bass impact... that sounds like fun. How can you ID a mullard "A Frame"?... is there something to look for inside thte tube? thanks, Garrett

Yep! If you look in the tube, there is literally a frame in there shaped like an "A" - here's a pic of it.

Totally different look than your normal frame, which is usually one post sticking up with either a ring or a solid disk at the end.

 

[kramer5150]

I heard electro haarmonix were just rebadged Sovteks?
Any truth to that?

thanks!!!
Garrett

 

[leonid05]

Wow, great discussion has taken place here!
(that`s what I was hoping for, while I was asleep...)

Thanks to all so far!

Just for clarification:
Not looking for an absolute neutral sound, but "a bit" less bass-heavy than the chinese stock tubes in here, which muddens the sound and, even worse, tend to destroy the sound by microphony.

Not US here, I`m in Germany.
I`ve read about Amperex and Mullard, obviously good tubes, but hard to get here, unless ordered directly from the US.

NOS-tubes are interesting of course, but rather expensive.
Price doesn`t bother me that much, but 100-150 Euros for used tubes (Telefunken, Siemens-Halske)??
Not sure if I wanna go that route.

What`s about Phillips JAN-tubes? Any experiences?

On my way to work now, and will do some reading later (thanks for pointing me to markl`s post, that`s great, just haven`t the time for reading right now).

Again, thanks to all, and keep it coming!

 

[nmculbreth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Yep! If you look in the tube, there is literally a frame in there shaped like an "A" - here's a pic of it. Totally different look than your normal frame, which is usually one post sticking up with either a ring or a solid disk at the end.

Those look exactly like my Amperex Holland 6DJ8s, I can't make out the factory code but I'd bet they're from the Heerlen, Holland plant.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmculbreth Those look exactly like my Amperex Holland 6DJ8s, I can't make out the factory code but I'd bet they're from the Heerlen, Holland plant.

Good eye, those are actually my old Amperex Holland 7DJ8s! My Mullards are A-Frames too but I don't have a decent pic of em online, hehe.

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonid05 What`s about Phillips JAN-tubes? Any experiences?

Hi,
I have some USA made Phillips JAN ECG 12at7 which are blue printing (best version). They have very natural sound with very good detail and fast speed, good high extension and bumping, fraping bass. Anyways I still prefer the EH 12at7 gold pins version a bit. The EH is more musical and transparent, as well as less aggressive. It makes everything sounds smoother and more listenable.

The old Phillips miniwat 12at7 is another story. This is all old stock tubes is all about. Simply a Magic!

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbln Would the EH 68922 Gold (Gold pin) sound any better than the regular EH 6922? Just wondering if there are any differences beyond the gold plating on the pins? Thanks.

The EH gold is more than just gold pins - a different design.

Philips JAN 6922 are good - solid imaging and good detail.

EH Gold 6922 are musical - soft and blurred tone edges but rich tone body.

Amperex Holland A frames are like the EH Gold but with slightly more defined tone edges than the EH Gold. A nice musical tube.

One of my favorites is the Russian Saratov military 1972 6N1P - combines the best of the Philips and Amperex - nice well defined tone in a holographic 3D image, but with a full and rich tone body without being euphonic.

Stay away from modern Russian or Chinese tubes in the 6922 types - except for the EH Gold 6922.

 

[will48]

I use 6922/ecc88's in my phono section where good overall balance and low micro-phonics are of premium concern. I have to say that most of the NOS tubes I have have proved to be too noisy, although they do have a slight edge on sound quality. I hasten to add that I wouldn't pay a premium for this edge. The best tube I've tried so far has been the JJ E88CC's. these are dead quiet, even handed and have a vibrant sound, underpinned by a solid bass register.

From Germany I've use Tube Town as a supplier in the past over UK (my location) suppliers.

http://www.tubetown.de/ttstore/produ...Red-Label.html

 

[Patu]

I have four pairs of 6922/E88CC/6DJ8 tubes for my RP5.1. Amperex White Labeeld 6DJ8 NOS tubes are clearly my favourite ones (being clearly the most expensive pair also).

Then I have Tesla E88CC NOS tubes, JAN Philips 6922 tubes and Electro Harmonix 6922 tubes. Tesla's are the worst IMO. They just don't sound good with RP5.1. Electro Harmonix was also quite disappointing but JAN Philips is very good considering it's low price. If I was you I'd go for them. They should be available for $15-$20/pair.

 

[oldears]

A good source of information about tubes is audioasylum. (www.audioasylum.com) Do a search in the tube asylum. Some search terms to use would be "6922", "6DJ8", and "7308".

I would like to add a word of caution: The 6N1P is not always a direct substitute for a 6922--although it can be used in some cases. The Russian direct substitute for a 6922 is a 6H23N.

My current favorite 6922 tubes are NOS Russian 6H23N-EB and NOS Tungsram. Both are well made tubes which are quiet and very durable. The Tungsram have a warmer, more liquid sound. The 6H23 are more "neutral". Although NOS prices keep escalating, 6H23N-EB should be available in the $50-60 per pair range and the Tungsram in the $70 and up (maybe way up) range.

Currrent production tubes worth trying are EH, JJ, and EI Elite. Each of them has its supporters and its detractors. As with everything else, people prefer different sound signatures. And, to further muddy the waters, the sound of a tube will vary depending upon the circuit in which it used.

 

[leonid05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by will48 I use 6922/ecc88's in my phono section where good overall balance and low micro-phonics are of premium concern. I have to say that most of the NOS tubes I have have proved to be too noisy, although they do have a slight edge on sound quality. I hasten to add that I wouldn't pay a premium for this edge. The best tube I've tried so far has been the JJ E88CC's. these are dead quiet, even handed and have a vibrant sound, underpinned by a solid bass register. From Germany I've use Tube Town as a supplier in the past over UK (my location) suppliers. http://www.tubetown.de/ttstore/produ...Red-Label.html

Thanks for the recommodation!

Funny enough, I was in contact with tubetown.de since yesterday, asking them for advice.
They recommended the NOS "Philips JAN 6922 Audio", allthough being "critical", and the JJ that you just mentioned.

I asked them what would be "critical" about the Philips, and they replied:

"Stability. We often see disorders, or they tend to Microphony after a short time. But once you get past the first 24 hours, you`ll have a very nice and detailled tube".

I was like: What?? What kind of reply is that?
Not exactly a recommodation, now is it?
I was such astonished by the honesty of that reply, that I spontaneously ordered a pair of them!
At the same time I`ve read you recommending the JJs too, so while I was at it, I simply decided to try a pair of them as well. They aren`t exactly expensive anyway, and should the Philips fail, they might be a nice substitute.

Well, sometimes such decisions are made under weird circumstances.


@ Patu:
Did you try the Philips with your rp5.1 as well?
I`ve ordered the 5.1 as well, for the AD2000, can`t wait to get it, hopefully next week.
What were the stock tubes in the rp5.1?
And are the Amperex worth their price, where did you get them from?

I`ll certainly first try the stock tubes in the amp, and plan to change the tubes only if I dislike something.
Like it was the case with the chinese tubes in my CD-Player!


Thanks to everybody who gave advice, it`s very interesting, and I`ve learned a lot!

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonid05 @ Patu: Did you try the Philips with your rp5.1 as well? I`ve ordered the 5.1 as well, for the AD2000, can`t wait to get it, hopefully next week. What were the stock tubes in the rp5.1? And are the Amperex worth their price, where did you get them from?

Hi. Nice to hear that you ordered RP5.1. Share your impressions with us when it arrives.

RP5.1 had JAN Philips as stock when I ordered mine on August last year but nowadays Rudi uses Electro Harmonix as stock tubes. They just weren't as good as JAN Philips IMO. They didn't suck by any means but I just liked JAN Philips better. Though I didn't give them much burn in time (if that makes any difference) because I changed my Amperex tubes there immediately when I got my amp back from Rudi. I should give EH's a new try some day when I have enough energy to change the tubes again.

But if you want to try JAN Philips then don't worry. They don't cost much nowadays. Only about $15-$20.

I got my Amperex's from www.audiotubes.com. And yes I think they're worth the price which was about 80USD if I remember correctly.

 

[will48]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonid05 Thanks for the recommodation! Funny enough, I was in contact with tubetown.de since yesterday, asking them for advice. They recommended the NOS "Philips JAN 6922 Audio", allthough being "critical", and the JJ that you just mentioned. I asked them what would be "critical" about the Philips, and they replied: "Stability. We often see disorders, or they tend to Microphony after a short time. But once you get past the first 24 hours, you`ll have a very nice and detailled tube". I was like: What?? What kind of reply is that? Not exactly a recommodation, now is it? I was such astonished by the honesty of that reply, that I spontaneously ordered a pair of them!

I have two pairs of Philips JAN 6922's and find them anemic in the mid-band, as well as very micro-phonic. I'd go so far as to say the standard offering from Sovtek is better, with their ECC88WA better still but not as good as the JJ's. Of course this, as always, is a system dependent view & in mine I'm just very happy to have found a great, cheap non-NOS tube. As for NOS tubes the best I've got (sound wise) is a Zaerix branded CV5358, etched with "B9K2" and having mold (as in raised) lines at the top of the glass envelope, but too lazy to try and find it's origins.

 

[leonid05]

Thanks Patu & Will,

I`ll check both the Philips and the JJ.

If not convincing, I`ll take a look at Amperex or Siemens, and hopefully never look back.

Interesting enough, the Cayin-Player and the RP5.1 use the same type of tubes, so that gives a lot of opportunities to try something out.

And yes, will report about the RP5.1 as soon as it`s here.
AFAIK, nobody tried it with the AD2000 before...