[Jamie G]

make sure you pull out the power tube before leaving it on,it worked like a charm for me eliminating noise on my driver tubes.
i leave my phones plugged in.

Thanks mate, mine should already be burned in as i'm pretty sure it's not nos, but i guess it can't do any harm.

Any idea if it matters either way? Actually remember reading one post saying you should plug headphones in before powering on, but didn't pay much attention to it at the time

 

[volly]

I've experienced no issue powering on the amp with or without the headphones plugged in, just make sure no one has turned the volume up while you're away.

 

[aisalen]

Here is the top four choices for power:
JAN CRC RCA 6AS7G
Tung-Sol 5998
Sylvania 6080
Tung-Sol 7236

And here is the top 3 for driver:
Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB
Sylvania VT-231
Sylvania 6SN7GTB

Now you can mix and match, my combo of choice is TS 7236 with Sylvania VT-231. I don't have 5998 yet to try.

 

[volly]

I'd take your top picks from each tube section and call it a day!

All newcomers start your engines, should be fairly easy to find these tubes.

Good luck!

 

[aisalen]

I'd take your top picks from each tube section and call it a day!

All newcomers start your engines, should be fairly easy to find these tubes.

Good luck!

Yes, the price of those are all moderate except for 5998. What I did when I am starting tube rolling with my DV is to make a count of all the mentioned in this thread and tally based on the likes and feedback. And what I post is the result

 

[volly]

@aisalen n - We need more people like you doing this for the greater good!

I'd personally suggest, if you have trouble finding the ones @aisalen has summarized then look for Russian equivalent like: 6H8C (6SN7) and 6N13s =C= (6AS7g), you'd find ones from the 70's/80's in common supply. Cheap as chips and usually matched.

 

[aisalen]

Just be careful with Russians equivalent, as I heard that they usually hum specially for those new releases.

 

[tamio]

I'm rookie among the tubes, so take my view with a grain of salt, but this is the way what I try to follow:
I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars into different tubes, but try for the best possible few tubes what my budget allows. I know, many NOS tubes are fantastic, but I don't have the knowledge to decide which offer is good and which one could be a scam.
Therefore I decided to buy NEW tubes in the first round.
As far as I know, driver tubes have bigger role in the sound signature. I already have a NEW TUNG-SOL 6SNGTB as a spare tube. As my money is not unlimited, after a few days of web-search I pulled the trigger on a Chinese tube with very good reputation. This is the Shuguang CV181-Z, aka "black treasure".
https://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/shuguang_treasures_cv181_e.html
It requires a good amount of burn-in time -30-50 hours- but the general consensus is very good. I'll test it and decide between the possible power tubes according to the signature of the Black treasure. Some people says the Psvane tubes are better, but this is not a common consideration, and the appropriate Psvanes are slightly more expensive.

If you strictly want to fit into your budget with the two tubes, the Russian TUNG-SOL 6SN7GTB is a class above the stock driver tube, but beware: it hums -at least with my DV336SE-, but I will do the fitz mod next week.
I hope, somebody can advice a nice, budget friendly power tube for your system.

How do you feel about sound signature of 6SN7GTB compared with stock tubes? Have you tried to "burn-in" to see if it could fix hum problem?
It would be nice if we have a summary post to collect all impression of user about tubes, mods of DV. That will help newcomer to keep track easier than read whole 113 pages

 

[MelonHead]

I wish the same as you. Tried to read the whole thread, but gave up after 30 pages.
A detailed summary for beginners/dummies would be very-very appreciated from the experts of Darkvoice 336(i)(SE)!
Tubes, especially NOS tubes are dangerous and deep waters for unskilled swimmers like us.
My DV is less than two weeks old, while the Russian Tung-sol 6SN7GTB has arrived this Thursday, and the excessive burn-in started yesterday. I test it in every 8 hours, but still hums a lot. I belive it's sound character will change, so these are not my final thoughts:
To be honest, even the stock tubes produced a much different, and very enjoyable experience compared to my Audio GD R2R-11's SS amp section, which is not bad at all. The TS 6SN7GTB is a bit drier, but resolves more detail in general than the stock one. I favor it's lows and highs, while the mids are a bit recessed compared to the original. I like the voices with the stock driver, and musical instruments with the TS tube better. The stock fails somewhat with large orchestral presentations as it can't resolve the different sections when the whole orchestra plays together, but both of them are better - at least for me - with this little gem R2R DAC than any of the previously tested solid state HP amps.

 

[Jamie G]

I wish the same as you. Tried to read the whole thread, but gave up after 30 pages.
A detailed summary for beginners/dummies would be very-very appreciated from the experts of Darkvoice 336(i)(SE)!
Tubes, especially NOS tubes are dangerous and deep waters for unskilled swimmers like us.
My DV is less than two weeks old, while the Russian Tung-sol 6SN7GTB has arrived this Thursday, and the excessive burn-in started yesterday. I test it in every 8 hours, but still hums a lot. I belive it's sound character will change, so these are not my final thoughts:
To be honest, even the stock tubes produced a much different, and very enjoyable experience compared to my Audio GD R2R-11's SS amp section, which is not bad at all. The TS 6SN7GTB is a bit drier, but resolves more detail in general than the stock one. I favor it's lows and highs, while the mids are a bit recessed compared to the original. I like the voices with the stock driver, and musical instruments with the TS tube better. The stock fails somewhat with large orchestral presentations as it can't resolve the different sections when the whole orchestra plays together, but both of them are better - at least for me - with this little gem R2R DAC than any of the previously tested solid state HP amps.

While not specifically devoted to the Darkvoice, but I found the 6SN7 Reference Thread pretty useful for info about sound characteristics:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-reference-6sn7-thread.117677/

Just scroll down to the section headed -= THE 6SN7 REFERENCE LIST =- and go from there

 

[MelonHead]

Thanks Jamie!
I've seen this post a few weeks earlier and I think, it's a good reference if we take a few things into consideration..Unfortunately, as it is more than 13 years old, it misses many new tubes, and some of the mentioned ones are unavailable or the prices went up so much, that they are way out of the budget.
i hope there are some well-tested and budget-friendly (under 200 usd, including shipping and customs/VAT) driver/power combos for the DV 336 which are readily available for us with a bit less enthusiasm or much thinner purse.

Update: I've finished with my 4th test, after 32 hours a continuous burn-in, and now I hear some noticeable change with my New TS 6SN7 GTB. The "hum" went from both channels to the left channel and it is a bit less noticeable. I hope, it shall continue to develop in the next 40 hours.

 

[ohsigmachi]

Here is the top four choices for power:
JAN CRC RCA 6AS7G
Tung-Sol 5998
Sylvania 6080
Tung-Sol 7236

And here is the top 3 for driver:
Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB
Sylvania VT-231
Sylvania 6SN7GTB

Now you can mix and match, my combo of choice is TS 7236 with Sylvania VT-231. I don't have 5998 yet to try.

It may not have gotten the numerical votes, but the Silvertone 6SN7GTB is very, very good and affordable.

 

[MelonHead]

Here is the top four choices for power:
JAN CRC RCA 6AS7G
Tung-Sol 5998
Sylvania 6080
Tung-Sol 7236

And here is the top 3 for driver:
Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB
Sylvania VT-231
Sylvania 6SN7GTB

Now you can mix and match, my combo of choice is TS 7236 with Sylvania VT-231. I don't have 5998 yet to try.

I've had some free time yesterday evening and checked the suggested power tubes on e-bay. I hope, my impulse buying was not a mistake, but I couldn't resist on a Sylvania 6080 and ordered one for 20 USD.
As far as I see, the printing is a different, but hopefully the inside is similar to the standard version. The test results for this tube are the followings:

Ia1 Ia2 S1 S1
mA mA mA/V mA/V
98.0 98.0 5.8 5.8
I appreciate any feedback on this version.

New Russian Tung-sol 6SN7 GTB hum update: after 72 hours it hums less, but still noticeably. I give an additional 36 hours and hope the bests.
My soldering equipment and 220uF/25V capacitors for the Fitz mod should arrive within 2-3 days...

 

[volly]

@MelonHead - Haven't tried the 6080's yet but they are next on my shopping list. Can you not get a Mullard 6080 in your area, maybe around the UK area?

 

[volly]

RCA 6AS7g - Warm and sweet mid's, like drinking hot chocolate on a wintry afternoon. Good Detail with clear imaging, voices and instruments just has that 'it' factor, whereas the Svetlana is more by the numbers top to bottom but missing a pinch of musicality (<--- is that even a word?!?).

Very good combo with a Tung Sol 6SN7, only issue which could be a deal breaker is the dreaded 'hum'. I got a pair and the first tube started to hum after 10-15 hours of use, switched it out with the Svetlana and the hum disappeared. Trying out the second and fingers crossed, cause dayum....this is a great sounding tube! Goes really well with the 650's!