[Promee]

I’m sure it will take a little time to fully reveal itself… Sounds like the first step was already positive with the top end calming down a touch. I hope it’s a pleasant journey as it breaks in the rest of the way!

 

[michael2v]

I know this is the 6SN7 thread, but I wanted to add one definite positive that I've noticed with my Apos Ray 12AU7 compared to other tubes (had been using an RCA clear-top in my Bottlehead Crack); namely, EM interference. With the Apos 12AU7, the wifi/cellular chatter that my phone induces in the amp if I'm not careful where I put it is typically just a quiet chirping. Nothing dramatic, but certainly noticeable. With other 12AU7 tubes like the aforementioned RCA, the EMI sounds downright cacophonous, almost like the tube is about to short itself out and take a driver with it in the process.

Visually I can't see that much of a difference in the tube topology to understand how its better-shielded or less sensitive, but whatever they've done seems to be really effective!

Edit: After using it for a few weeks now, I was curious to see whether I noticed any differences going back to the RCA clear-top. Right away I noticed more background noise that was independent of the gain setting, and it also wasn't coming from up the chain since it was still present with the Crack disconnected from RCA. Putting the Apos 12AU7 back in and it was whisper quiet, with no other compromises on sound quality as far as I can hear!

 

[4udio7ool]

After a long 3 week wait, I finally got my replacement 6SN7 Reserve last week. I'm using it with the Schiit Lyr+ and returned the first one because I experienced loud microphonics in the left channel. The replacement also has microphonics, this time in the right channel, but at a much lower level than before. Before I couldn't move or the vibrations carried through the headphone cable would cause audible noise even when the Lyr+ was set for low gain. Now I have to be manipulating the Lyr+ for it to be audible.

I don't know enough about what causes microphonics to comment on whether this is a weakness in the tube or just the combination of using this tube in the Lyr+. Regardless it is at an acceptable level for me and the Reserve does sound noticeably more tubey than the stock Tung Sol.

 

[Promee]

After a long 3 week wait, I finally got my replacement 6SN7 Reserve last week. I'm using it with the Schiit Lyr+ and returned the first one because I experienced loud microphonics in the left channel. The replacement also has microphonics, this time in the right channel, but at a much lower level than before. Before I couldn't move or the vibrations carried through the headphone cable would cause audible noise even when the Lyr+ was set for low gain. Now I have to be manipulating the Lyr+ for it to be audible.

I don't know enough about what causes microphonics to comment on whether this is a weakness in the tube or just the combination of using this tube in the Lyr+. Regardless it is at an acceptable level for me and the Reserve does sound noticeably more tubey than the stock Tung Sol.

Occasionally I’ve had microphonics improve a bit with time, sometimes not… fingers crossed for you that it settles in more!!

 

[Wes S]

Here is my review of this excellent sounding 6SN7.

Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve. The new production tube that can. . .

First off, I would like to thank Apos Audio for the opportunity to demo this tube. I have been an avid tube roller for years and have always favored NOS or OS tubes, as my few attempts of listening with current production tubes never did it for me. That being said, I have finally found a new production tube, that has all the attributes I look for in a tube, and actually blew my mind with it's performance and that is the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve.

Let's start with the bass, and this tube can slam. The bass is quite powerful and digs deep when called for. The subbass extension is excellent and tight, and can be felt with the right track. The middbass is punchy yet never bleeds into the mids, and the overall bass presentation is tight and extended and very well done. I actually don't think it can get any better.

Onto the mids, and they are extremely clean and transparent, with all the little nuances and details coming through in full effect. The mids have excellent linearity and you can hear all instruments clearly. The vocals are the star of the show here, and are present and a tad bit more forward than the rest of the mix, of which I prefer as I am a vocals lover and love being able to hear every little syllable and lip smack between words. The upper mids are very well implemented, and I am a bit sensitive in this area and they never get harsh.

The treble is well extended, airy, and very refined sounding. There is good sparkle up top, yet it never sounds forced or harsh. Treble heads will love this presentation.

Now onto the staging and imaging, and the Reserve is top notch in these categories as well. The staging has really good expansion in all directions, and is about as good as it gets for a 6SN7. The stage is open and airy without sounding too diffused. The imaging is also fantastic with fully fleshed out images with good air/space between them. Images are clearly defined, without any blurring.

I also want to mention how quiet this tube is, and it has a super black background. This in turn really lets the details and little nuances come through in full effect. I believe the excellent construction of this tube, as well as the careful selection process of Apos, is what has lead to this super quiet and excellent performing tube.

As for some comparisons to some of my favorite NOS 6SN7's, I rolled the KenRad Black Glass 6SN7GT and the RCA Grey Glass 6SN7GT. The Reserve held its own and easily bested both of those tubes, with better transparency/detail and a more balanced sound top to bottom. The bass on the KenRad sounds bloated in the middbass, after hearing the super tight and deep bass of the Reserve. As for the RCA Grey Glass it was too slow, and muddy sounding with blurring of detail and images, and could not hang with the Reserve's excellent detail retrieval. I also rolled in some new production Tung Sol 6SN7's, and they were not in the same league as the Reserve. All this being said, I believe the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve is one of the best options sonically if one is looking for a 6SN7.

Now onto the value of this tube, and the pricing. I honestly think Apos was shooting for moon with the very high price and think they priced them a tad bit too high if I am being honest. That being said, there is something to be said for ease of purchase, and having a one year warranty. . .

All in all, I really enjoyed demoing this tube, and this tube I has given this old NOS tube guy hope for the future of New Production tubes. I think the Reserve is a tube that would work well in many different systems due to its excellent balance and transparency, and I think anyone would be happy to have it in their collection.

Happy listening to all and thanks for reading,

Wes

 

[Doug2507]

Here is my review of this excellent sounding 6SN7.

Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve. The new production tube that can. . .

First off, I would like to thank Apos Audio for the opportunity to demo this tube. I have been an avid tube roller for years and have always favored NOS or OS tubes, as my few attempts of listening with current production tubes never did it for me. That being said, I have finally found a new production tube, that has all the attributes I look for in a tube, and actually blew my mind with it's performance and that is the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve.

Let's start with the bass, and this tube can slam. The bass is quite powerful and digs deep when called for. The subbass extension is excellent and tight, and can be felt with the right track. The middbass is punchy yet never bleeds into the mids, and the overall bass presentation is tight and extended and very well done. I actually don't think it can get any better.

Onto the mids, and they are extremely clean and transparent, with all the little nuances and details coming through in full effect. The mids have excellent linearity and you can hear all instruments clearly. The vocals are the star of the show here, and are present and a tad bit more forward than the rest of the mix, of which I prefer as I am a vocals lover and love being able to hear every little syllable and lip smack between words. The upper mids are very well implemented, and I am a bit sensitive in this area and they never get harsh.

The treble is well extended, airy, and very refined sounding. There is good sparkle up top, yet it never sounds forced or harsh. Treble heads will love this presentation.

Now onto the staging and imaging, and the Reserve is top notch in these categories as well. The staging has really good expansion in all directions, and is about as good as it gets for a 6SN7. The stage is open and airy without sounding too diffused. The imaging is also fantastic with fully fleshed out images with good air/space between them. Images are clearly defined, without any blurring.

I also want to mention how quiet this tube is, and it has a super black background. This in turn really lets the details and little nuances come through in full effect. I believe the excellent construction of this tube, as well as the careful selection process of Apos, is what has lead to this super quiet and excellent performing tube.

As for some comparisons to some of my favorite NOS 6SN7's, I rolled the KenRad Black Glass 6SN7GT and the RCA Grey Glass 6SN7GT. The Reserve held its own and easily bested both of those tubes, with better transparency/detail and a more balanced sound top to bottom. The bass on the KenRad sounds bloated in the middbass, after hearing the super tight and deep bass of the Reserve. As for the RCA Grey Glass it was too slow, and muddy sounding with blurring of detail and images, and could not hang with the Reserve's excellent detail retrieval. I also rolled in some new production Tung Sol 6SN7's, and they were not in the same league as the Reserve. All this being said, I believe the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve is one of the best options sonically if one is looking for a 6SN7.

Now onto the value of this tube, and the pricing. I honestly think Apos was shooting for moon with the very high price and think they priced them a tad bit too high if I am being honest. That being said, there is something to be said for ease of purchase, and having a one year warranty. . .

All in all, I really enjoyed demoing this tube, and this tube I has given this old NOS tube guy hope for the future of New Production tubes. I think the Reserve is a tube that would work well in many different systems due to its excellent balance and transparency, and I think anyone would be happy to have it in their collection.

Happy listening to all and thanks for reading,

Wes

Nice review Wes. I think the question most people will be asking though is how do the Apso Reserve compare to psvanes.

I know we've had one person's opinion already but I think it would benefit all if there were more direct comparisons. I'm tempted myself but a little hesitant tbh.

 

[Wes S]

Nice review Wes. I think the question most people will be asking though is how do the Apso Reserve compare to psvanes.

I know we've had one person's opinion already but I think it would benefit all if there were more direct comparisons. I'm tempted myself but a little hesitant tbh.

Thanks and I totally agree.

I trust that one person's opinion as we have been on a very similar journey over the last few years, but would also love to confirm for myself as well. This situation is why I am not totally convinced the high pricing of the Reserve is totally justified. . .

 

[Hiker816]

Here is my review of this excellent sounding 6SN7.

Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve. The new production tube that can. . .

First off, I would like to thank Apos Audio for the opportunity to demo this tube. I have been an avid tube roller for years and have always favored NOS or OS tubes, as my few attempts of listening with current production tubes never did it for me. That being said, I have finally found a new production tube, that has all the attributes I look for in a tube, and actually blew my mind with it's performance and that is the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve.

Let's start with the bass, and this tube can slam. The bass is quite powerful and digs deep when called for. The subbass extension is excellent and tight, and can be felt with the right track. The middbass is punchy yet never bleeds into the mids, and the overall bass presentation is tight and extended and very well done. I actually don't think it can get any better.

Onto the mids, and they are extremely clean and transparent, with all the little nuances and details coming through in full effect. The mids have excellent linearity and you can hear all instruments clearly. The vocals are the star of the show here, and are present and a tad bit more forward than the rest of the mix, of which I prefer as I am a vocals lover and love being able to hear every little syllable and lip smack between words. The upper mids are very well implemented, and I am a bit sensitive in this area and they never get harsh.

The treble is well extended, airy, and very refined sounding. There is good sparkle up top, yet it never sounds forced or harsh. Treble heads will love this presentation.

Now onto the staging and imaging, and the Reserve is top notch in these categories as well. The staging has really good expansion in all directions, and is about as good as it gets for a 6SN7. The stage is open and airy without sounding too diffused. The imaging is also fantastic with fully fleshed out images with good air/space between them. Images are clearly defined, without any blurring.

I also want to mention how quiet this tube is, and it has a super black background. This in turn really lets the details and little nuances come through in full effect. I believe the excellent construction of this tube, as well as the careful selection process of Apos, is what has lead to this super quiet and excellent performing tube.

As for some comparisons to some of my favorite NOS 6SN7's, I rolled the KenRad Black Glass 6SN7GT and the RCA Grey Glass 6SN7GT. The Reserve held its own and easily bested both of those tubes, with better transparency/detail and a more balanced sound top to bottom. The bass on the KenRad sounds bloated in the middbass, after hearing the super tight and deep bass of the Reserve. As for the RCA Grey Glass it was too slow, and muddy sounding with blurring of detail and images, and could not hang with the Reserve's excellent detail retrieval. I also rolled in some new production Tung Sol 6SN7's, and they were not in the same league as the Reserve. All this being said, I believe the Apos Ray 6SN7 Reserve is one of the best options sonically if one is looking for a 6SN7.

Now onto the value of this tube, and the pricing. I honestly think Apos was shooting for moon with the very high price and think they priced them a tad bit too high if I am being honest. That being said, there is something to be said for ease of purchase, and having a one year warranty. . .

All in all, I really enjoyed demoing this tube, and this tube I has given this old NOS tube guy hope for the future of New Production tubes. I think the Reserve is a tube that would work well in many different systems due to its excellent balance and transparency, and I think anyone would be happy to have it in their collection.

Happy listening to all and thanks for reading,

Wes

Fantastic review--thanks! I took a flier and ordered one for my RAAL VM1a, in large part because of the very advantages of new production that you mentioned. I've been very pleasantly surprised--it's become my preferred 6SN7 in the VM1a. Agree the pricing is steep, though.

 

[Doug2507]

Next steps include manufacturing with the factory of our choosing to produce the product to our specifications

Can you guys elaborate on this? I'm also assuming you must have pretty in depth knowledge of tube design if the tube internals are being specified by yourselves. Can you let us all know how your version differs from PSVane?

I understand you have high binning standards for these which alone would put cost up but I'm more interested in the answer to these being fundamentally different in materials / design to PSVane's or if they're more or less the same tube, just selected to a tighter tolerance.

You can obviously tell there's some scepticism right now which is justified IMO. Being more transparent might go a long way to getting more of these out into the market, especially since that market is quite large taking into account not just end users, but also current tube amp manufacturers.

I'll take a leap of faith and order a pair today keeping the 45 day return window in mind.

 

[Promee]

Just now getting around to posting some comparisons here. It took a long time to get the Reserves in - without going back to check exact dates, they only came in about 3 weeks ago - one month after ordering them - which surprised me. I have been listening to them a fair bit to let them get a few hours on them before any critical comparisons. They are supposed to be burned in at the factory I believe, but Apos also recommends 6 hours (seems short, right?) to let them get to their full potential. I believe that they did stabilize around the 10 hour mark (maybe 6, I didn’t really closely time it). They definitely opened up a good bit in that time, mostly on the top end. The Reserves have about 40 hours on them, some of which was in my traditional stereo, listening to some of my new record store day acquisitions. They were sitting in my preamp in the sockets previously occupied by the Psvanes I am using for comparison. I didn’t do any critical comparisons there, but I did think they seemed similar, if maybe a tiny bit more detailed / sparkly - just to level-set my bias coming into critically comparing below. The Psvanes have about 1,000 hours of service on them and are my best-sounding pair (I have a couple pairs that are noisy duds, but not these). They are being used in a Don Sachs line stage, and he recons that they should be good to go for at least 10,000 hours given the relatively light load they are exposed to there, so they should still be in excellent shape.

So, they look exactly like the Psvane CV181-T mkII premium with a different base. I am far from an expert on tubes, and most of the internals are not visible due to the grey paint, but the parts that are visible at the top look absolutely identical to me. I was surprised that they had a significant amount of residue on the top of the glass, as though they had stickers on them that were peeled off, but they were quite sticky. I was able to clean it off easily, but that was not a great first impression taking an uber-expensive set of new tubes out of the box. I am assuming this is a result of a binning process, but they really should have more attention to presentation at this price. Small gripe, but I think it’s fair at this price - $479.99 for the matched pair.

For comparison, I used my Chord Qutest, WA22 (accompanied by the Sophia Aqua 274B and 1960s vintage NOS Tung Sol 7236), and Focal Clear OG (my Atriums are in the shop after a gravity-related incident). I let each pair warm up for about 5 min before listening. I haven’t used the Psvanes with my headphone setup much (using my LinLais mostly), but I was reminded how lovely they are. I only stopped buying Psvane because of getting several sub-standard pairs, even when springing for the higher grade. This pair has served me well for some time, so I knew that they would sound great, and indeed they did - no noise, tons of detail, excellent tonal balance and musicality. No complaints whatsoever other than the fact that they can’t be in my WA22 and my loudspeaker setup at the same time. Switching to the Ray Reserve pair, I was surprised, but the immediate difference I noticed was in the bass. They seem to extend a bit lower than the Psvanes, which hit me like a ton of bricks, because I didn’t realize there was much room there for the Psvanes. I also think the upper bass is a bit more prominent in the Reserves - which runs dangerously close to feeling bloated, but it gives a tremendous weight to lower male vocals that is magical. They also definitely seem to have more top end air, which likely balances the increased bass and makes the overall tuning very nice. There is no excessive sibilance at all. The treble enhancement is pleasant and welcome and lets the Qutest shine. The Reserves have no noise and are some of the least microphonic tubes I own.

I’m not sure in absolute terms if one of the two has a flatter frequency response, but to my ears, the Reserve seems a little more U-shaped, but only adding air to the treble (no excessively hot tonality). The relative elevations are much more prominent in the lower end, so the U is clockwise-tilted. They are both tremendously musical and deliver mountains of detail. I can’t tell a major difference in imaging or layering between them - both are great in this application, but the headphones I’m using aren’t known for having a wide soundstage. I think it would be really hard to recommend one over the other in general. If the Psvanes in question are known-good, then they are fantastic tubes, it’s just the reliability that is a killer with those, but they are also much cheaper. I was a bit surprised at the extent of difference in sound between the two pairs (of course this could be down to individual variance or relative age of the tubes), but I would liken it a bit to the Apos being like the HD 6XX and the Psvanes more like the HD 600 at least on the low end, but there is also a bit more top end enhancement in the Apos, so the analogy is not perfect. The real point there is that they both sound great and will probably come down to personal preference more than anything.

I’m really happy to see Apos entering this space with an excellent tube. I think price will be an issue, but then again there is something to be said for a 1 year warranty and knowing that you’re going to get a phenomenal-sounding tube with no BS when you order. Maybe as they get their process refined we will see a little bit of a reduction, but either way it is great to know that we have this option and don’t have to worry about going to EBay for a great sounding pair at ever-increasing prices when a pair gives up the ghost. Hope this is helpful to someone!

 

[Designsfx]

I haven’t read through this entire thread yet but I’m interested in knowing if anyone has compared the “standard” Ray 6SN7 to the Reserve and if so how does it fare in comparison? The price difference between the two is HUGE!! Makes me wonder just how much better the Reserve can really be.

 

[Promee]

I haven’t read through this entire thread yet but I’m interested in knowing if anyone has compared the “standard” Ray 6SN7 to the Reserve and if so how does it fare in comparison? The price difference between the two is HUGE!! Makes me wonder just how much better the Reserve can really be.

I think Passion for Sound on YouTube reviewed both and found the difference to be significant. I don’t think he had heard Psvanes, but it sounded like the difference between a standard and a t-II series, which would be no surprise. If you want to try to save a bit but maximize sound quality, you could roll the dice on the Psvanes, just make sure it’s a good dealer and go for the Premium not the Classic series, definitely worth the extra $ for the reduced microphonics and noise.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Just now getting around to posting some comparisons here. It took a long time to get the Reserves in - without going back to check exact dates, they only came in about 3 weeks ago - one month after ordering them - which surprised me. I have been listening to them a fair bit to let them get a few hours on them before any critical comparisons. They are supposed to be burned in at the factory I believe, but Apos also recommends 6 hours (seems short, right?) to let them get to their full potential. I believe that they did stabilize around the 10 hour mark (maybe 6, I didn’t really closely time it). They definitely opened up a good bit in that time, mostly on the top end. The Reserves have about 40 hours on them, some of which was in my traditional stereo, listening to some of my new record store day acquisitions. They were sitting in my preamp in the sockets previously occupied by the Psvanes I am using for comparison. I didn’t do any critical comparisons there, but I did think they seemed similar, if maybe a tiny bit more detailed / sparkly - just to level-set my bias coming into critically comparing below. The Psvanes have about 1,000 hours of service on them and are my best-sounding pair (I have a couple pairs that are noisy duds, but not these). They are being used in a Don Sachs line stage, and he recons that they should be good to go for at least 10,000 hours given the relatively light load they are exposed to there, so they should still be in excellent shape.

So, they look exactly like the Psvane CV181-T mkII premium with a different base. I am far from an expert on tubes, and most of the internals are not visible due to the grey paint, but the parts that are visible at the top look absolutely identical to me. I was surprised that they had a significant amount of residue on the top of the glass, as though they had stickers on them that were peeled off, but they were quite sticky. I was able to clean it off easily, but that was not a great first impression taking an uber-expensive set of new tubes out of the box. I am assuming this is a result of a binning process, but they really should have more attention to presentation at this price. Small gripe, but I think it’s fair at this price - $479.99 for the matched pair.

For comparison, I used my Chord Qutest, WA22 (accompanied by the Sophia Aqua 274B and 1960s vintage NOS Tung Sol 7236), and Focal Clear OG (my Atriums are in the shop after a gravity-related incident). I let each pair warm up for about 5 min before listening. I haven’t used the Psvanes with my headphone setup much (using my LinLais mostly), but I was reminded how lovely they are. I only stopped buying Psvane because of getting several sub-standard pairs, even when springing for the higher grade. This pair has served me well for some time, so I knew that they would sound great, and indeed they did - no noise, tons of detail, excellent tonal balance and musicality. No complaints whatsoever other than the fact that they can’t be in my WA22 and my loudspeaker setup at the same time. Switching to the Ray Reserve pair, I was surprised, but the immediate difference I noticed was in the bass. They seem to extend a bit lower than the Psvanes, which hit me like a ton of bricks, because I didn’t realize there was much room there for the Psvanes. I also think the upper bass is a bit more prominent in the Reserves - which runs dangerously close to feeling bloated, but it gives a tremendous weight to lower male vocals that is magical. They also definitely seem to have more top end air, which likely balances the increased bass and makes the overall tuning very nice. There is no excessive sibilance at all. The treble enhancement is pleasant and welcome and lets the Qutest shine. The Reserves have no noise and are some of the least microphonic tubes I own.

I’m not sure in absolute terms if one of the two has a flatter frequency response, but to my ears, the Reserve seems a little more U-shaped, but only adding air to the treble (no excessively hot tonality). The relative elevations are much more prominent in the lower end, so the U is clockwise-tilted. They are both tremendously musical and deliver mountains of detail. I can’t tell a major difference in imaging or layering between them - both are great in this application, but the headphones I’m using aren’t known for having a wide soundstage. I think it would be really hard to recommend one over the other in general. If the Psvanes in question are known-good, then they are fantastic tubes, it’s just the reliability that is a killer with those, but they are also much cheaper. I was a bit surprised at the extent of difference in sound between the two pairs (of course this could be down to individual variance or relative age of the tubes), but I would liken it a bit to the Apos being like the HD 6XX and the Psvanes more like the HD 600 at least on the low end, but there is also a bit more top end enhancement in the Apos, so the analogy is not perfect. The real point there is that they both sound great and will probably come down to personal preference more than anything.

I’m really happy to see Apos entering this space with an excellent tube. I think price will be an issue, but then again there is something to be said for a 1 year warranty and knowing that you’re going to get a phenomenal-sounding tube with no BS when you order. Maybe as they get their process refined we will see a little bit of a reduction, but either way it is great to know that we have this option and don’t have to worry about going to EBay for a great sounding pair at ever-increasing prices when a pair gives up the ghost. Hope this is helpful to someone!

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting read