It’s not to say @Lickumms tubes aren’t bad, the bad boy moniker is just that, a name for a specific period of Sylvania tubes.
If his are older they may be a better quality tube if they have good readings.
Decided to test out the tubes I have and write a quick little comparison.
Tested using HD800s and TORBalanced. Compared to Audio-GD Master-9 Class A AMP.
Electro Harmonics 6SN7EH Gold Pins - Adds an airy spacious sound to music. Boosts the sound stage size a little over Class A amp. Bass is very tight and fast but sligtly reduced in quantity. Adds, what might be heard as, a slight dryness to the music from how clean and sharp everything is represented. Maintains all highs with no rounding or dullness.
Shuguang CV181-Z(50 Years) Premium Grade - Sounds almost identical to a class A power amp. Adds the slight warmth of Class A power, compared to Class D, removes anything offensive from headphones and songs. If you want to know what a Class A power amp sounds like use these in your tube amp. Rounds out the occsional terrible peaks that can occurs with HD800s.
Sylvania 6sn7gt 3 hole "Bad Boy" - Adds warmth to sound. Slight reduction in sound stage creating a more intamite sound. Excellent boost in the impact, rumble, and power of the sub bass. A little boost in lower mids presence. Closest thing to what I would call a traditional "tube" sound.
Ken-Rad VT-231 Black Glass - Bass King. Greatly improves bass impact, power, and presence on all ranges without muddying it or losing any quality. No real noticeable change in sound stage. If bass is what you want this is the tube to go with. Warmer sound, almost dark, compared to the "Bad Boy". Slightly dulls out the higher end peaks.
After my initial listeing I would say, right now, the "Bad Boy" is my preferred tube.
Decided to test out the tubes I have and write a quick little comparison.
Tested using HD800s and TORBalanced. Compared to Audio-GD Master-9 Class A AMP.
Electro Harmonics 6SN7EH Gold Pins - Adds an airy spacious sound to music. Boosts the sound stage size a little over Class A amp. Bass is very tight and fast but sligtly reduced in quantity. Adds, what might be heard as, a slight dryness to the music from how clean and sharp everything is represented. Maintains all highs with no rounding or dullness.
Shuguang CV181-Z(50 Years) Premium Grade - Sounds almost identical to a class A power amp. Adds the slight warmth of Class A power, compared to Class D, removes anything offensive from headphones and songs. If you want to know what a Class A power amp sounds like use these in your tube amp. Rounds out the occsional terrible peaks that can occurs with HD800s.
Sylvania 6sn7gt 3 hole "Bad Boy" - Adds warmth to sound. Slight reduction in sound stage creating a more intamite sound. Excellent boost in the impact, rumble, and power of the sub bass. A little boost in lower mids presence. Closest thing to what I would call a traditional "tube" sound.
Ken-Rad VT-231 Black Glass - Bass King. Greatly improves bass impact, power, and presence on all ranges without muddying it or losing any quality. No real noticeable change in sound stage. If bass is what you want this is the tube to go with. Warmer sound, almost dark, compared to the "Bad Boy". Slightly dulls out the higher end peaks.
After my initial listeing I would say, right now, the "Bad Boy" is my preferred tube.
And after you stay at it long enough, you end up with a thousand. Roughly. And then one day you get some new tubes in the mail and you're all excited and stuff only to find that you already had 2 pairs of the exact same ones in the stash...
Decided to test out the tubes I have and write a quick little comparison.
Tested using HD800s and TORBalanced. Compared to Audio-GD Master-9 Class A AMP.
Electro Harmonics 6SN7EH Gold Pins - Adds an airy spacious sound to music. Boosts the sound stage size a little over Class A amp. Bass is very tight and fast but sligtly reduced in quantity. Adds, what might be heard as, a slight dryness to the music from how clean and sharp everything is represented. Maintains all highs with no rounding or dullness.
Shuguang CV181-Z(50 Years) Premium Grade - Sounds almost identical to a class A power amp. Adds the slight warmth of Class A power, compared to Class D, removes anything offensive from headphones and songs. If you want to know what a Class A power amp sounds like use these in your tube amp. Rounds out the occsional terrible peaks that can occurs with HD800s.
Sylvania 6sn7gt 3 hole "Bad Boy" - Adds warmth to sound. Slight reduction in sound stage creating a more intamite sound. Excellent boost in the impact, rumble, and power of the sub bass. A little boost in lower mids presence. Closest thing to what I would call a traditional "tube" sound.
Ken-Rad VT-231 Black Glass - Bass King. Greatly improves bass impact, power, and presence on all ranges without muddying it or losing any quality. No real noticeable change in sound stage. If bass is what you want this is the tube to go with. Warmer sound, almost dark, compared to the "Bad Boy". Slightly dulls out the higher end peaks.
After my initial listeing I would say, right now, the "Bad Boy" is my preferred tube.
And after you stay at it long enough, you end up with a thousand. Roughly. And then one day you get some new tubes in the mail and you're all excited and stuff only to find that you already had 2 pairs of the exact same ones in the stash...
Is Tubaholic a word?
I have accumulated almost 200 tubes just on one amp, imagine what will happen as I am still looking to try another two tube amps with different setup this autumn..
Is Tubaholic a word?
I have accumulated almost 200 tubes just on one amp, imagine what will happen as I am still looking to try another two tube amps with different setup this autumn..
Going to redo my setup and most importantly, going to add a false ceiling with sound insulation in my listening room. Work schedule is still quite tight with high labor cost than normal due to long lockdown here. A lot of skilled workers are from across the border, Malaysia or even from China, we have serious shortage of labor in Singapore now. Dont feel like adding more components now before all is done. Yeah, I know, it is painful waiting...
If all goes well, I am looking to add a pre-amp, one or two tube amps and another pair of speakers.
Going to redo my setup and most importantly, going to add a false ceiling with sound insulation in my listening room. Work schedule is still quite tight with high labour cost than normal due to long lockdown here. A lot of skilled workers are from across the border, Malaysia or even from China, we have serious shortage of labour in Singapore now.
And after you stay at it long enough, you end up with a thousand. Roughly. And then one day you get some new tubes in the mail and you're all excited and stuff only to find that you already had 20 pairs of the exact same ones in the stash...
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