[MIKELAP]

Quote:

Dear siles 1991,
 
Why don't you take the plunge and buy a pair of Tung Sol 6AH6WA tubes instead of the Mullards? I have both the Voskhods and the Mullard 8100, and IMHO the TS are better. Substantially better.
 
Then take those old broken earbuds that are sitting somewhere and cut two thin pieces of stranded wire a little longer than a standard staple, and make the 2-7 jumpers, using the EF95 setting.
 
The rest is history.....

 Thanks to Audiofanboy and all you guys who found us new and especially way cheaper tubes to listen to we dont have to pay $15.00 $20.00 a tube for Mullard or Voshkods tubes to get good sound anymore,.I especially like these days the ones you mentionned mordy TUNG SOL 6AH6WA , also i like the 6av6 of which i ordered 10 today of 4 different manufacturer and they are not expensive less then $4.00 shipped. they should sound nice and open like my Hit Ray. doesnt have do be expensive but on the other hand got a spare pair of Electro Harmonix 6H30PI GOLD PINS well i guess you cant win em all.

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

currently using the EF95 Voshkods but was wondering if is there any tubes that would give more lush and full mids? Was thinking of either trying the Mullard m8100 or M8161

 
Those of us who post to this forum regularly believe that there are a number of nontraditional tubes that are significantly better than either the M8100 or the M8161, or any other standard LD tube, and moreover, they are much less expensive. These would be the 6AU6, 6AH6 and the 6AV6. However, in order to use these tubes in your Little Dot, some small mods are required, namely cutting pins, or installing small temporary jumpers into your sockets. Rather than asking you to run and jump into the water head first, I would like to ask you to just dip your toe in to test the water.
 
Most of us believe that a 6BE6 is also superior to any of the traditional Little Dot tubes. And no little mods are required to use this tube. So I suggest that you find a nice cheap pair of Sylvania or Tung-Sol 6BE6, set your Little Dot for EF95 tubes, plug them in, and listen. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
 
Cheers!

 

[siles1991]

how do i make the 2-7 jumpers? will that affect the ability for me to use my voshkods as well?

 

[siles1991]

haha nvm ignore what I said I found the post regarding the jumpers. So basically I get a wire, should I tin it with solder? Would I need a thick cable or a thin one would do like the L4E6S I think its about 22-24AWG

 

[inphu510n]

haha nvm ignore what I said I found the post regarding the jumpers. So basically I get a wire, should I tin it with solder? Would I need a thick cable or a thin one would do like the L4E6S I think its about 22-24AWG

26AWG or smaller would be ideal and it has to be stranded wire. The strands will be forced around the sides of the pin and will allow the tube to seat. Leave the wire jacket on the portion of the wire that isn't going into the socket. That'll allow you to not lose your mind dealing with a bunch of tiny loose wires.

I've soldered stranded copper wire between the pins on a set of Sylvania 6136 tubes. Probably a better solution if you can do it. The pins have to be scraped pretty clean but solder will definitely adhere to them. There's also a seller on eBay that we've ordered converters from and they work well but are over $40 shipped for a pair.

 

[siles1991]

Quote:

 
Those of us who post to this forum regularly believe that there are a number of nontraditional tubes that are significantly better than either the M8100 or the M8161, or any other standard LD tube, and moreover, they are much less expensive. These would be the 6AU6, 6AH6 and the 6AV6. However, in order to use these tubes in your Little Dot, some small mods are required, namely cutting pins, or installing small temporary jumpers into your sockets. Rather than asking you to run and jump into the water head first, I would like to ask you to just dip your toe in to test the water.
 
Most of us believe that a 6BE6 is also superior to any of the traditional Little Dot tubes. And no little mods are required to use this tube. So I suggest that you find a nice cheap pair of Sylvania or Tung-Sol 6BE6, set your Little Dot for EF95 tubes, plug them in, and listen. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
 
Cheers!

alright will check out the 6BE6, some people say matched pairs make a difference while others say they dont whats your opinion?
 
Quote:

26AWG or smaller would be ideal and it has to be stranded wire. The strands will be forced around the sides of the pin and will allow the tube to seat.

I've also soldered stranded copper wire between the pins on a set of Sylvania 6136 tubes. Probably a better solution if you can do it. The pins have to be scraped pretty clean but solder will definitely adhere to them. There's also a seller on eBay that we've ordered converters from and they work well but are over $40 shipped for a pair.

I think i might try soldering wire to the pin or make the jumper like in the picture, would I need to tin the wire if I was making the jumper?

 

[siles1991]

is this the converter? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-6AU6-to-6AK5-tube-adapter-socket-converter-/300919049225?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item46102c4c09

 

[Audiofanboy]

Quote:

alright will check out the 6BE6, some people say matched pairs make a difference while others say they dont whats your opinion?
 
I think i might try soldering wire to the pin or make the jumper like in the picture, would I need to tin the wire if I was making the jumper?

Matched tubes are pretty much a scam, as far as driver tubes go at least. Sellers test transconductance (gm) and not gain (mu) because that's what tubes testers do; and slightly different gm won't have a significant impact on channel balance (nothing you'll hear at any rate, unlike different mu). So, no, don't pay extra for matched driver tubes. Power tubes? Double triodes? Yes, matching matters (a lot for double triodes actually). Drivers tubes, nope.
 
I would try the basic jumper method first; it's easy and reversible, and it's never failed me (just rearrange and re-insert the jumpers everytime you change tubes). No tinning, no solid core wire; you just want the least amount of "extra" metal in those tube sockets (gibosi will tell what happens when you stick solid core wire in there...), just use 26~30AWG stranded wire, preferably decent quality, and you'll be fine.
 
Acapella11 had summed up all the requirements for the "new" or not native tube types a few dozen pages back; there's also a picture of what the jumpers and installed jumpers should look like.
 
And yeah, forget about M8100 and M8161... Jump in the deep end of the pool right away; the water's quite nice here! Besides, like mikelap pointed out, those new and improved tube type are also... cheaper. So, there is very little reason to stick with the old overrated EF95 types.

 

[siles1991]

alright so just plain 26-30AWG wire non tinned/soldered and just 6H6WA in? Are the tung sols that mordy suggested good for mids? I'm looking for something that'd give me lush and smooth mids.

 

[Audiofanboy]

Quote:

alright so just plain 26-30AWG wire non tinned/soldered and just 6H6WA in? Are the tung sols that mordy suggested good for mids? I'm looking for something that'd give me lush and smooth mids.

For lush, my old favorites are still the Tung-Sol 6485 (6AH6 type). Some Tung-Sol 6AH6 don't have the same build as the 6485, so they might sound different.
 
Some of the 6AU6 family are very nice too, and safe choices. Mordy can point you in the right direction for those.
 
But the best -currently in testing- I've found as of late, apart from the triodes, are those premium quality heptodes like the 5915/EH900S. Depending on the setting you use them on, they can be somewhat lush or open and detailed; awesome regardless, and, again, cheap for what they are...

 

[mab1376]

Quote:

 
Have you had a chance to listen to these? I am wondering if I should pick up a pair.....

 
Not yet, been to lazy to swap the jumper lol.
 
I did finally get my 6AU6/6AH6 adapter in the mail, the ones that work.

 

[mab1376]

Quote:

alright so just plain 26-30AWG wire non tinned/soldered and just 6H6WA in? Are the tung sols that mordy suggested good for mids? I'm looking for something that'd give me lush and smooth mids.

get these, http://www.ebay.com/itm/USAF-Tung-Sol-6AH6WA-6485-NOS-New-Old-Stock-Electron-Tube-Valve-/221204354204?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3380ce949c
 
and those are the adapters, but the jumpers are easy to make and need no soldering. Just 26AWG stranded wire and jump pins 2-7 as shown in the pics in previous posts.

 

[mordy]

Spend two dollars more and get 5 tubes instead of two: ($8.55 vs $3.80 each)
 
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAN-6AH6-WA-Tubes-Tung-Sol-1967-NOS-Lot-of-5-Tested-Strong-/251292583548?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3a8234867c
 

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

 
Not yet, been to lazy to swap the jumper lol.
 
I did finally get my 6AU6/6AH6 adapter in the mail, the ones that work.

Change jumpers? But aren't you still listening to the EK90? For the EH900S (and the Amperex E91H) you would use the same jumper setting, EF95. So stick them in and tell us what you hear! lol

 

[Audiofanboy]

Speaking of E91H and EH900S, I just found and bought a pair of each for decent prices (read 7-8€ a tube incl. shipping) in Europe, so I'll be able to give more impressions on those heptodes pretty soon!
 
One pair is Philips E91H/CV8697 -so UK mil spec, kind of an added bonus- made in Holland, most likely Heerlen factory. These should be strictly identical to gibosi's Amperex E91H, and they even have those markings on top like his do.
 
The other tubes I'd wanted to get since a while ago but was lost in triode land -which I'll return to pretty soon- are genuine -unlike my current Sylvania-made- Telefunken EH900S with gold pins, that even include a large piece a paper with a tube-specific warranty in each box. Again, I am surprised by how little these cost me for -objectively- premium type tubes (these are actually rated for 10K hours, and I do like plated pins, whether it's gold or rhodium -like Russian tubes- I don't care, I just like the fact that they don't oxidize at all).
 
And speaking of triodes, I just got my last Lorenz EBC91 I was missing (which means that I have another spare pair of them now, if anyone's interested), and also some Philips 6AT6/CV452 -again UK mil-spec- with top D-getters, made in Heerlen, Holland, like Amperex and Bugle Boys tubes (and I also bought an extra pair of these, if anyone's interested).
 
I'll test the CV452 in a few days when I get another package of triodes I'm waiting for (I hate to manhandle the amp too often just to change jumpers, so I try to rationalize jumper changes somewhat; it tries my patience, but I think I can manage lol).