[HOWIE13]

What's with this hum with the Russian made Tung-Sol 6SN7?
I've used this tube in several amps and it's as quiet as any tube I possess then, after reading this thread, I tried two in DV and both hummed loudly in both channels. There must be some bad synergy or something else going on, and then it apparently goes with 'burn-in'-so what magic alchemy is going on here?. Weird and spooky.

 

[HOWIE13]

If you're talking about the current draw with both the power tubes and driver in their sockets with new old stock pretty much any tube set up will be exactly 60 W on the dot plus or minus a few tenths. With the factory installed Chinese tubes I was measuring roughly 53 to 54 W draw at the power cord total consumption . If you were measuring voltage is pin to pin the highest voltage is I've measured was 450 V .
If you wanted to actually know the safe voltage operating the limits of each individual tube and their current draw characteristics you can Google up the factory data sheet on each tube and the manufacture of the individual tube will give you a range of their specifications .

Thanks @ThermalAlchemy.
Sorry, I wasn't clear in my post as I was referring to the heater current but it doesn't matter as all the tubes I like are equal or less than the heater current of the stock tubes anyway.
Those measurements you made are fascinating- 450V-well no wonder we are warned not to put our fingers inside these amps!

 

[gvl2016]

Based on some info I could find the tubes tend to be gassy from the factory, also the metal surfaces may contain gas molecules that get released with heat. A gassy tube is more likely to hum due to heater to cathode leakage, but much also depends on the design of the tube. Over time the getter absorbs gases which reduces leakage and hum, this is likely why burning in helps.

 

[ThermalAlchemy]

ThermalAlchemy,

The hum that I mentioned has all but gone, not shure what was going on but all apart from 3 tubes out of 18 are now silent, one thing though the headphones I usually use, Beyer dt 1990 pro, are sensitive to any hum at all, a couple weeks ago I bought a pair of well used hd 650's and they seem far less sensitive to any hum, in fact no hum with those at all, which was what I was hoping for!.

I noticed in one of the pics you posted that you were using a Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand, are they any good?, as they seem to be pretty cheap.

That was my very first choice of tubes to install when I throw away the factory Chinese tubes that came with the unit. For the money it's still one of my all-time favorites . One of the problems when you have too many tubes to roll you start to wear out the sockets I think soon I'm going to have to crack open my dark voice and replace the sockets because the pins are getting loose.
One word of warning when listening to music just because something is recorded in FLAC or Hi-Rez or anything else that's supposed to be high grade audio recording. If somebody made a bad recording and passed it around recorded in Hi-Rez audio or FLAC or anything else it'll still sound bad with your best equipment best headphones with your favorite tubes. My son just found this out when he told me. " hey dad your HD 800 or your HD 650 With your DarkVoive and your HiFi DAC I did not hear anything special or any improvement in the music . And when I listened it sound like compressed audio a.m. radio recorded in a tin can because he went to the Internet to download some FLAC audio files of his favorite music but they're from people who made bad recordings from Bad sources but recorded it in FLAC .

 

[Rafa Rocks]

Hello,

I found a Sylvania 6SN7 NOS near my city , but i don't know about the quality. The one I found is a Japan model. Is it the same quality as the american ones? Is a good option or better look elsewhere...Any help?

 

[dobigstuff]

Rafa Rocks:

Check my earlier Post #1443. Those are solid combos. All of those Tubes are dead quiet.

Happy Rolling!

 

[Rafa Rocks]

Good morning !

Some tubes to roll and play: Tung-Sol JAN, RCA and Sylvania JAN... Burnin the Tung Sol now...

What do you think about that 6SNGTB Sylvania (JAPAN)? I have easy acess to that at a medium price...do you think is a good choice or better buy american ones...

Thanks for the help.

Unfortunately I am in Brasil and it is not easy to find good valves here...

Thanks again

 

[Oskari]

What do you think about that 6SNGTB Sylvania (JAPAN)? I have easy acess to that at a medium price...do you think is a good choice or better buy american ones...

That's a Toshiba 6SN7GTB.

 

[Rafa Rocks]

Thanks for the info Oskari!

Is that Toshiba a good option? What can you say about that Toshiba ?

 

[Oskari]

Not much as I haven't heard one. Toshiba has a good reputation as a maker of tubes, though.

 

[aisalen]

Ordered Darkvoice 336SE and RCA 6AS7G and Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes from eBay based on the common recommendation from here to replace the stock once my amp arrived. I am going to pair it with HD650 hoping to top my current Jotunheim in terms of SQ.

 

[HOWIE13]

Thought it might be worth recording that at present I'm enjoying excellent sound from my DV using 5998 and Tungsram E80CC, with suitable 12/6V adapter of course.

 

[Jim Spec]

Back on 08-25-06 Superpredator started a thread on tube rolling with the Darkvoice 336 & 336i. It was that thread that really caught my interest in the DV. Before I went ahead and bought it, I wanted to know the certain tubes it used and the different combinations it was capable of, as well as the ins and outs and how it compared to other amps. I began reading it one night and did not stop until the last page.
There is so much information in that thread, by so many different people, about everything 336. Opinions, favorites, hum, maintenance, you name it, it's there. Outstanding....I go back to it everytime to see if I missed anything or to see if any new developments have been posted.

If you are considering a Darkvoice 336i or 336SE, it is suggested reading so you can be ready to really enjoy this amp.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/dar...-tubes-193214/


So why am I starting a new thread on this? Well, really, I see it as a continuation of something that was started two years ago. A sort of reference #2. More tubes, more music, more gear= new ideas....

Before I add my tidbits on the DV, I have included some pics, so you can see that I really like this little amp...

My listening station at home

Cousin Beyer & Senn hanging out enjoying the tubes. (2 of the sweetest sounding phones with the DV). I know they should be on my head, but I had to take them off to take the pic.

Did I mention tube rolling with the DV can be hazardous to your wallet? But it's so much fun

... I see it as collecting vintage electronic parts

First and foremost- this is not a review of anything. Just MY experience with the DV336SE. I leave the reviews to the pros- Skylab, Pataburd, Fitz, Penchum, Negatron, Mazuki and others...

In case you're wondering- "Why do you have two and not the 332 or 337 if you like the DV amps so much?" Good question...My take on it-

1) I really like this amp and all its possibilities.
2) The 6SN7 is a great tube to play with.
3) It's not hybrid (don't have to wait 6-12 hours before rolling) (I love my x-can, however, I don't open it up)
4) We all know about the "hum" with certain tubes. I was getting tired of trying to rid the hum from some tubes while not being able to listen to music. Problem solved... (The hum does go away- Thanks Nick)
5) Could not pass up the live.com 25% & ebay 10%= 35%...

Let's talk tubes...
The beauty of this amp is that you can tailor it to your headphones or your music. Example- "My Grados are so bright, I can barely open my eyes"- Throw in some warm sounding tubes before you reach for your sunglasses (Tung Sol, VT-231, Sylvania brown base...etc), "My Senns seem so dark with this CD"- Liven it up with some RCAs, GE, Raytheon etc..)....POSSIBILITIES

Before I get flamed- I love Grado & Senn.....

One thing I have noticed when using a real good power tube (TS5998, Bendix6080WB...) is that they seem to wake up the weaker driver tubes. It sort of brings out the best in them, so to speak... Again- POSSIBILITIES


My favorite combo so far (we all have them)- TS5998 & TS6SN7GTB (tall tube, short black plate)....I also like the Sylvania JAN-CHS 6SN7WGT (brown base). Next week it will probably be a different combo. Different flavors, music, moods....Mix and match-Synergy...Find out what works for you...


Would like to share a little maintenance that I do with the tube pins. I use DeoxIT and a toothbrush and clean all the pins, then add a very thin layer of SilClear. Works really well. I received a Ken-Rad VT-231 that had so much noise- static, crackling...I took a good look at the pins and they had some sort of residue on them that you really could not tell unless you looked really close. I put on my cleaning hat and after about 3 min. threw it in and it was dead silent....I was about to dump it, thought it was no good. So I now use that process on all my tubes. A bit tedious but worth it...

Another tidbit of info- A lot of the tube sellers on ebay (not all), do not have headphone amps to try them out. They only have testers. The tube will test good, however, they can't hear the nuisances from dirty pins like we do.


Like I said before, this is just basic info that I have dealt with and hopefully it will help others as the previous thread helped me.


Well, that's enough for me. Let's hear some new combos, tricks, ideas and keep the DV336 following going strong...


***All the usual disclaimers apply to the above- MY gear, MY ears, your mileage may vary....


On a final note, to give props to this wonderful forum- Everything in the pics (except my laptop & CDP-CE335) was purchased due to research on head-fi...

Thanks for reading!!!


UPDATE (09-16-15)

Other driver tubes tested with adapters:

7N7 & 7AF7 (7N7 to 6SN7 adapter)

5670 / 2c51 / 396A (2c51 to 6SN7 adapter)

5687 (5687 to 6SN7 adapter)

6CG7 & 6GU7 (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6922 / 6DJ8 / ECC88 (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6BK7B & 6BQ7A/6BZ7 & 6BZ8 & 6BS8 & 6BC8 & 6H30Pi (EH) (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6F8G (6F8G to 6SN7 adapter w/ cap) **(have not personally tried these)

 

[Jim Spec]

I still think that the 6F8G with adapter does not get the attention it deserves. The price on this tube continues to rise quickly, however, for the money it is still one of the sweetest tubes I have used with the Darkvoice. It also does not run nearly as hot as most 6080 tubes. I really enjoy it with most classical and jazz collections. I have also used this tube with the Bottleneck Crack w/speedball with great success. I suggest giving it a try. Best, JS

Back on 08-25-06 Superpredator started a thread on tube rolling with the Darkvoice 336 & 336i. It was that thread that really caught my interest in the DV. Before I went ahead and bought it, I wanted to know the certain tubes it used and the different combinations it was capable of, as well as the ins and outs and how it compared to other amps. I began reading it one night and did not stop until the last page.
There is so much information in that thread, by so many different people, about everything 336. Opinions, favorites, hum, maintenance, you name it, it's there. Outstanding....I go back to it everytime to see if I missed anything or to see if any new developments have been posted.

Also, would there be any interest in starting a new thread on adapters and their sources. There are a lot of good tubes that require an adapter. I would be quite interested in gather our collective intelligence on this topic. I would participate if others are interested. Best, JS

If you are considering a Darkvoice 336i or 336SE, it is suggested reading so you can be ready to really enjoy this amp.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/dar...-tubes-193214/


So why am I starting a new thread on this? Well, really, I see it as a continuation of something that was started two years ago. A sort of reference #2. More tubes, more music, more gear= new ideas....

Before I add my tidbits on the DV, I have included some pics, so you can see that I really like this little amp...

My listening station at home

Cousin Beyer & Senn hanging out enjoying the tubes. (2 of the sweetest sounding phones with the DV). I know they should be on my head, but I had to take them off to take the pic.

Did I mention tube rolling with the DV can be hazardous to your wallet? But it's so much fun

... I see it as collecting vintage electronic parts

First and foremost- this is not a review of anything. Just MY experience with the DV336SE. I leave the reviews to the pros- Skylab, Pataburd, Fitz, Penchum, Negatron, Mazuki and others...

In case you're wondering- "Why do you have two and not the 332 or 337 if you like the DV amps so much?" Good question...My take on it-

1) I really like this amp and all its possibilities.
2) The 6SN7 is a great tube to play with.
3) It's not hybrid (don't have to wait 6-12 hours before rolling) (I love my x-can, however, I don't open it up)
4) We all know about the "hum" with certain tubes. I was getting tired of trying to rid the hum from some tubes while not being able to listen to music. Problem solved... (The hum does go away- Thanks Nick)
5) Could not pass up the live.com 25% & ebay 10%= 35%...

Let's talk tubes...
The beauty of this amp is that you can tailor it to your headphones or your music. Example- "My Grados are so bright, I can barely open my eyes"- Throw in some warm sounding tubes before you reach for your sunglasses (Tung Sol, VT-231, Sylvania brown base...etc), "My Senns seem so dark with this CD"- Liven it up with some RCAs, GE, Raytheon etc..)....POSSIBILITIES

Before I get flamed- I love Grado & Senn.....

One thing I have noticed when using a real good power tube (TS5998, Bendix6080WB...) is that they seem to wake up the weaker driver tubes. It sort of brings out the best in them, so to speak... Again- POSSIBILITIES


My favorite combo so far (we all have them)- TS5998 & TS6SN7GTB (tall tube, short black plate)....I also like the Sylvania JAN-CHS 6SN7WGT (brown base). Next week it will probably be a different combo. Different flavors, music, moods....Mix and match-Synergy...Find out what works for you...


Would like to share a little maintenance that I do with the tube pins. I use DeoxIT and a toothbrush and clean all the pins, then add a very thin layer of SilClear. Works really well. I received a Ken-Rad VT-231 that had so much noise- static, crackling...I took a good look at the pins and they had some sort of residue on them that you really could not tell unless you looked really close. I put on my cleaning hat and after about 3 min. threw it in and it was dead silent....I was about to dump it, thought it was no good. So I now use that process on all my tubes. A bit tedious but worth it...

Another tidbit of info- A lot of the tube sellers on ebay (not all), do not have headphone amps to try them out. They only have testers. The tube will test good, however, they can't hear the nuisances from dirty pins like we do.


Like I said before, this is just basic info that I have dealt with and hopefully it will help others as the previous thread helped me.


Well, that's enough for me. Let's hear some new combos, tricks, ideas and keep the DV336 following going strong...


***All the usual disclaimers apply to the above- MY gear, MY ears, your mileage may vary....


On a final note, to give props to this wonderful forum- Everything in the pics (except my laptop & CDP-CE335) was purchased due to research on head-fi...

Thanks for reading!!!


UPDATE (09-16-15)

Other driver tubes tested with adapters:

7N7 & 7AF7 (7N7 to 6SN7 adapter)

5670 / 2c51 / 396A (2c51 to 6SN7 adapter)

5687 (5687 to 6SN7 adapter)

6CG7 & 6GU7 (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6922 / 6DJ8 / ECC88 (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6BK7B & 6BQ7A/6BZ7 & 6BZ8 & 6BS8 & 6BC8 & 6H30Pi (EH) (6CG7 to 6SN7 adapter)

6F8G (6F8G to 6SN7 adapter w/ cap) **(have not personally tried these)

I have used many tubes in my DV amp. If you really like bass I find that most 6080 tubes will provide that amply. I would suggest that you give the 6F8G a try. I prefer the dark shaded RCA that can be seen in the attached photo. You will notice that there is an adapter plug in the photo - you will need that adapter plug to make the 6F8G work in the dark voice. In addition, I find the 6080 tube will normally run hot - hot enough to heat up the chassis of the amp. The 6F8G runs considerably cooler and has a really sweet sound. I have recently given up my DV for a Bottlehead. I believe the Bottlehead is a better sounding amp, although, not by much.
Best, JS

 

[dobigstuff]

Jim Spec:

Check my Post #1443 I show 4 different combos I have used with the Darkvoice.

Below is the best for me with the HD 700's: