[mudhole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Fan To Another /img/forum/go_quote.gif The problem, that others have pointed out, with simply having a 120ohm resistor instead of the 68ohm resistor is that the other parts on the board are cheap Chinese parts that may not be rated perfectly and therefore not provide the proper power structure to allow the amp to run dependably with 6H30Pi tubes. So, some people here, who simply changed the resistors to 120ohms still had problems some even had their tubes die.

Thanks, I agree with you.
For newbie like me should better keep the stock power tube.

Anyway I need trainning my ears first.

 

[goorackerelite]

what do you guys think are the "tubiest" tubes for the little dot?
Warm, Lush, emotional, euphonic mids, silky highs, and warm tight bass, biggest soundstage.

Both driver tubes and power tubes

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by One Fan To Another /img/forum/go_quote.gif The problem, that others have pointed out, with simply having a 120ohm resistor instead of the 68ohm resistor is that the other parts on the board are cheap Chinese parts that may not be rated perfectly and therefore not provide the proper power structure to allow the amp to run dependably with 6H30Pi tubes. So, some people here, who simply changed the resistors to 120ohms still had problems some even had their tubes die.

I think you'll find eboy's explanation in this thread more plausible for the tube issues...it effects either type equally BTW....6H30 and 6N6P and the drivers.


To answer another posters question about the mods I have performed on the Mk III.....thus far I have added .033uf 500V PIO bypass caps to all 5 large electrolytic caps on the inside, removed the stock 3.3uf WIMA output coupling caps and replaced those with a PLIO (K75-10 250V 2.2uf + K42Y-2 1.0uf 250V) PIO cap pack then bypassed those with NOS Teflon T3 .1uf 600V 5% caps.

Those large value caps are huge and have to be slung underneath the chassis. It's ugly...but sounds wonderful. A new vol pot might be next with a Neutrik locking jack...but that's a ways off yet. Of course I have already swapped the 68ohm resistors to 121 ohm 3W Kiwame.

I still have to add the eboy mod to drop the heater V to all 4 tubes. I'll get around to that once I finish reviews on some other gear in Mid Feb.

Peete.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by goorackerelite /img/forum/go_quote.gif what do you guys think are the "tubiest" tubes for the little dot? Warm, Lush, emotional, euphonic mids, silky highs, and warm tight bass, biggest soundstage. Both driver tubes and power tubes

RCA black plates...either "Command" series or mil spec variant.

Peete.

 

[ScottieB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you'll find eboy's explanation in this thread more plausible for the tube issues...it effects either type equally BTW....6H30 and 6N6P and the drivers. snip

So wait are you saying that the 6H30 tubes should be safe then? Or just that using them wouldn't damage the tubes?

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottieB /img/forum/go_quote.gif So wait are you saying that the 6H30 tubes should be safe then? Or just that using them wouldn't damage the tubes?

Well I haven't had any problems thus far...that being said I have only 1 amp and I tend to believe eboy's explanation for shortened tube life....with the DR's running at 150US plus per pair...I'm gonna add those 4 dollars worth of resistors to drop the heater V. You guys have to remember Sword Yang is not seeing 125V + V at his mains outlets when these amps are tested. The only thing I can think of that would make a rev 2.0 version compatible is spec'ing a dual or single primary 117V transformer vs the 110V ones they originally shipped with. That 7V difference (if that is what they did beyond swapping grid resistors) makes quite a bit of difference at the 6.3V secondaries going to the tube heaters. I don't think they had room in the chassis or the circuit board to add regulated DC heater line(s).

This is just a guess of course but it makes the most sense to me after reading eboy's reports on the subject.

Peete.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I got just out my matched pair of Voshod 6ZH1P-EV today and was amazed at how great the detail is compared to the Mullard M8100's. I think these are definitely one of the best value in terms of tube upgrades.

Not sure about the 6H30Pi's though.

 

[SilverShadow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got just out my matched pair of Voshod 6ZH1P-EV today and was amazed at how great the detail is compared to the Mullard M8100's. I think these are definitely one of the best value in terms of tube upgrades. Not sure about the 6H30Pi's though.

x2 !

My 6Zh1P-EVs have had about 100 hours of burn-in now, in fact I'm pretty sure I'm passing the 100 hour mark during the time I'm writing this (Foobar's playback time counter sure is handy!

). Not sure if these tubes even need that long burn-in... Even when I took the first listen to these new tubes I could immediately tell they were more detailed than the MKIV (not SE) stock tubes. These are the first tubes I bought and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hold on to these for quite some time.

The sound stage is better than with stock tubes. To me it seems the sound stage may not be that much larger but it's kind of more accurate and more details come up effortlessly. Instrument separation seems to be better. These tubes also add a little bass. Not much but just enough to make AKG K701 sound "full" and not light on bass. Okay, I still wouldn't recommend this rig to a bass head, but the lows and lower mids can be clearly heard and IMO, sound pretty natural.

EDIT: The bass seems also deeper. The stock tubes kind of piled up the power of the bass to a certain frequency and didn't reproduce anything below that point. Now the bass reaches deep and sounds natural all the way down.

So yeah, I agree 150% with DoA and others who have said the same. These tubes are a must, especially if you have K701s (and think they're light on bass).

Disclaimer: I'm a beginner and have limited experience. Please take everything in this post with a grain of salt. Oh, and sorry about possible spelling mistakes.

 

[crispyambulance]

Hi, I'm looking to find some spare power tubes but have been having fairly sour luck finding anything less than 40$ (for around 2) on ebay. Found these, though:

Beijing 6N6-T(6N6, E182CC, 6N6P) Vacuum Tube 4 PCs - eBay (item 270277698619 end time Feb-15-09 23:45:32 PST)

Are they compatible with the MKIII? One of the posts in this thread leads me to believe so, but I'd like to make sure as power tubes seem to be a touchy subject. Also, my internet research has led me to believe that power tubes require being matched; should I forgo these if the seller says they aren't matched? I'm messaging him right now.

Forgive my ignorance, etc. Thanks.

(While I'm at it, how important is being matched for driver tubes?)

 

[esirex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crispyambulance /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I'm looking to find some spare power tubes but have been having fairly sour luck finding anything less than 40$ (for around 2) on ebay. Found these, though: Beijing 6N6-T(6N6, E182CC, 6N6P) Vacuum Tube 4 PCs - eBay (item 270277698619 end time Feb-15-09 23:45:32 PST) Are they compatible with the MKIII? One of the posts in this thread leads me to believe so, but I'd like to make sure as power tubes seem to be a touchy subject. Also, my internet research has led me to believe that power tubes require being matched; should I forgo these if the seller says they aren't matched? I'm messaging him right now. Forgive my ignorance, etc. Thanks. (While I'm at it, how important is being matched for driver tubes?)

6N6P-I = ECC99 = E182C Lot of 8 Tubes RARE Nos - eBay (item 330302407809 end time Feb-20-09 11:34:13 PST)

I am currently running these tubes 6H6P-i. And they really do sound better then the stock power tubes. And personally I dont find any difference whether its match or unmatch ...

 

[One Fan To Another]

^In what way do those tubes sound differently from the stock tubes, would you say?

Power tubes are supposed to be matched for even biasing. I'm not sure what the problem could be if they aren't biased equally but one could assume it may cause volume difference in the two channels. If the volumes coincidentally happened to be close enough for you to not notice than I don't if there would be anything else to worry about.

 

[esirex]

I do a agree with what you said OFTA....I did a comparison on the stock tubes and the 6H6P-I after both tubes are burned in. Using the voshods driver tubes as reference. The depth and the clarity do have improvements. As I am running unmatch tubes now...i dont find any imbalance on either side. All tubes that I am running on are not matched.

 

[crispyambulance]

Quote:

Originally Posted by esirex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am currently running these tubes 6H6P-i. And they really do sound better then the stock power tubes. And personally I dont find any difference whether its match or unmatch ...

I was under the impression that the 6H6Pi was the stock tube in the MKIII ?_?

Edit: Is it significant that those tubes in your entry, Esirex, are named 6N6Pi, and maybe that's why I'm confused?

Are those 6N6's considered worse than the stock tubes? This post seems to say so, but I'm not sure if the "-T" in the my ebay one's listing denotes those tubes are different in any significant way. If they're considered worse I'll just get more of the stock tubes, I reckon.

 

[esirex]

My MK3 comes with 6N6 power tubes.....

 

[grammicci14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif RCA black plates...either "Command" series or mil spec variant. Peete.

What tube numbers (Models)??
Noob Looking to get a MKIII but want to start on getting solid tubes off the bat.