[Golden Monkey]

LOL @ quoting myself, but I wanted to clarify a bit...what I'm looking for here is quality of sound over collectability/rarity of these tubes (along with being matched pairs). Although condition of labels and stuff is important, and original boxes would be cool and all, ultimately it comes down to how good they sound, so advice on which of the millions of choices are out there would help. Thx.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks guys! Man, the choices for 6922s are overwhelming...I know I want vintage 50s-60s NOS tubes, but which ones? Siemens, Amperex, etc.? What's a good online place to find them, price and selection-wise?

 

[dannie01]

Hi GM,

Beside the Woo eqipment I like very much and was decided to get a WA 6Maxxed this year end, I like to know more about this "Spanish Tempranillo - weird choice, but it's more than a merlot and not a heavy pinot or cab. Tempranillos are spicy, fruity, rich and full, sorta like a merlot with sparkle." Seems a very good wine.

 

[Golden Monkey]

LOL! Dannie, that's pretty funny, but I'll oblige.

Tempranillo is a variety of Spanish "black" grape used to make red wines (notably in riojas, but also as a varietal in itself). It's known as Spain's "Noble Grape". It's a red that can be consumed young, but seems to age well. It's similar to a Pinot Noir, but a bit softer and fruitier on the palette. Flavors I've noted in some I've had are berries, plums, vanilla, herbiness, spiciness (not peppery though), and they are full bodied but not overly heavy, fruity, soft but not dry...

Sorry, I'm not up on my wine lingo...if we were describing a tea or coffee, I could really go into details and more fitting terminology.

 

[Valens7]

Thanks for the amusing story! I'm glad you like your amp. I have similar feelings about my Little Dot MK III.

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it depends upon the headphones and your personal choice of sound. Buy a few different types and mix and match. Tough to know where to buy tubes for sure. Hunting around on ebay for NOS and good tube sellers and compare prices.

Well you piqued my curiosity sufficiently - and I couldn't hold back

I just ordered a tung-sol 7236 from tubesandmore.com to compare to my current 5998. (Note, if any of you are looking for the same, tubesandmore actually carries 7236's from a number of manufacturers, so you might want to order by phone so you can specify.)

I'll post some impressions in a couple of days when it arrives!

Just so I don't get my hopes up too high while waiting for it to arrive, I don't suppose the 7236 looks as sexy/curvy as the 5998?

 

[Golden Monkey]

Unfortunately the Tung-Sol 7236 is fairly plain and utilitarian in appearance. It's rated for computer use, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of Lost in Space for some reason. Thanks for the tip on where to find some more. I'm liking the sound of this tube so much I want a spare.

 

[jamato8]

I love the nice big ST shaped tubes and the balloon shaped from the 1920's and 30's even more but for sound the 7236 does a nice job. Not the most romantic but I feel it is an honest tube in presenting the music. I don't like and never have liked the classic "tube" sound. I like the qualities of tubes when used correctly.

 

[skeptic]

Just got a call from the homefront informing me that my 7236 has landed! Evidently tubesandmore.com ships 'em out fast

Giddyup.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Awesome! Good luck. Apparently they have one more of the Sylvania 7236's left at $45 (or so).

 

[skeptic]

So after a few hours of listening tonight - I think its safe to say that I am a total tung-sol 7236 convert

Even though the 5998 is widely regarded to be a pretty good tube in the Woo3 (and I will miss its curvy aesthetics), the 7236 is a substantial improvement to my ears.

I'm going to need to do some back and forth with the 5998 to put the right words on all of the audible differences between the two.

But I can say with confidence that the 7236 has a better, richer bottom end to the sound (at least through my 880s), and I would also say that I'm getting a noticeably better, more realistic tone out of some trebles, particularly strings and brass, on some of the tracks that previously sounded a little off/overly smoothed/or <gasp> digital, in my prior setup.

It's a significant enough change that it actually makes me wonder whether my 5998 might have been reaching the end of its life. Nonetheless, I'm a very happy camper due to the new tube.

Thanks again to all of you for inspiring me to give it a try!!

 

[Golden Monkey]

Sweet, glad you found a tube you like...now...shhh...Lol.

I'm on the hunt for 6DJ8/6922/ECC88/7308/E88CC/E188CC/E288CC/CCa NOS 1960's Siemens or Amperex now...pain in the ass finding good values on them, that's for sure. These tubes are so popular the demand has jacked the price up on them...and at these insane prices, there's not a lot of room in the budget for expirimentation...

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did some thinking about ... bears sh!tting in woods, etc.

I hope you did not actually have to think about that.

But anyway you sounded a lot like me. When I think tube I think of losing sleep over hunting rare tubes, skipping dinner to have that extra pair of tube that I haven't tried, or worrying of electrocution when my head is sweaty.

A few months ago I wanted to build a tube amp, but now I seems to be looking primarily at SS designs. I think I'd spring for the Beta 22 boards when situation allows, but can't help to think about Bijou or other hybrid designs. (please don't try to be a smart ass by asking me to build both

)

 

[Golden Monkey]

Well, I have Siemens ECC88's on hte way, and I got my Simens E188CC/7308s today...brand spanking new(old) tubes in perfect condition (thanks glitch!)...neither the tubes nor indeed the amp itself is fully burned in yet, but wow...the Siemens 7308 / Tung-Sol 7236 combo works great with this amp. Ok, you've got a $495 amp with approx $225 worth of tubes, but whatever...compared to stock tubes, I'm not missing the MKV's sense of speed, detail, and neutrality (and soundstage, but I know this is due to lack of break in...gotta wait for things to open up a bit) so much any more. Stock, there was a sense of congestion, a nice detail in the highs yet somehow not quite refined, and same with the bass, but that seems to be gone with the 7308s...airy and extended highs now offset the HD650's somewhat rolled off top end. Bass has a very visceral feel to it. The inherent warmth of the HD650 now has a sweetness and liquidity that they didn't have, yet they don't feel slow or veiled. They also sound MUCH less laid back, but that could be down to less 3D soundstage imaging due to nonburninginniness. Right now I prefer to think of it as more intimacy...I'm loving this thing...

Already got some ideas for modding it...Ori may be doing some work on it for me when I take my DAC in for a v4.2 upgrade, recapping the Woo with some very special ones he's got, and I may pick up some Hovland Musicaps for the rest...we'll see. The stock ones are still a ways away from being "done" so we'll see. The modded 3+ may have some definite WOW factor to it when done, but as is, I'm very happy.

Giving the Siemens a good run-out right now, listening to the Scorpions...didn't want them to feel lost and confused during their first useage, so I gave them some fellow countrymen to feast on, lol...I didn't like the Senns as much with rock and metal (compared to my ex-Denon D2000's), but they are up to it now, that's for sure. Listened to Dire Straits, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Led Zeppelin (all remasters), Flobots, some techno and some industrial earlier, and although there's no forgetting I have Senns on my head ALL the various music has just sounded fantastic...I can't get these things off my head...

 

[Golden Monkey]

Let the 7308s burn in most of the weekend, and soundstage is opening up much more. This tube combo with this amp and phones is a really nice one. Senn HD650s don't sound slow or veiled or nearly as laid back at all.

Since the 7308s are still settling in, there's a bit of edginess to the highs, and soundstage isn't quite there yet, but the amount of detail and resolution along with impact and presence is just outstanding.

About the only thing I feel like I'm missing right now is a sense of depth...I don;t know if this will come or what, but the soundstage is nice and wide. With my old amp, I felt like reverb and reflections of sound were coming from a distance, but right now it all sounds more or less like I'm sitting right up in front of everything, and there's not a lot of space behind the performance...does that make sense? Will this improve with burn in of the caps and tubes, or am I asking too much?

 

[donunus]

Wonder if anyone here can say if the wa3+ is not as good as the standard woo3 for high impedance cans. Is the 3+ just an improvement for low impedance cans and the same for the high impedance or does it improve the sound on all cans?