[nichifanlema]

I'm thinking about getting either of Woo3/6 or PPX3 variants...
I did some searching, but couldn't really find the information I looked for..

so here I go:

I visited SP audio webpage, and there seems to be two models for PPX3:

PPX3 and PPX3 - 6SN7...

1. What are the difference of these two? Just different tubes w/ different sound, or is PPX3 6SN7 > PPX3(6CG7) ?

2. and there are all these options for them....
http://www.singlepoweraudio.com/pricing.htm

If full options are chosen, then does it become the SLAM version?

And if SLAM is a different variation of PPX3, then does it have all of those upgrade options above?

3. Is PPX3 SLAM another PPX3 variant, or is it subordinate to each of PPX3 and PPX3 6SN7 ?
In another words, is PPX3 lineup
PPX3(6cg7) - PPX3 6SN7 - PPX3 SLAM,
or
PPX3(6cg7) - PPX3 6SN7 - PPX3(6cg7) SLAM - PPX3 6SN7 SLAM ?

 

[guzziguy]

The difference between the PPX3 and PPX3-6SN7 is that the former has 3 nine pin sockets for 6cg7 family tubes and the latter has 3 octal sockets for 6sn7 family tubes. SP considers PPX3-6SN7 > PPX3, but for you it depends on which tube family you prefer. If you decide on a 6SN7 version, I suggest that you pay the extra $99 to get the 7N7 adaptor.

A SLAM PPX3 is built on a PPX3 chassis. If you have it built from scratch, SP starts with either a PPX3 or PPX3-6SN7 (your choice),adds the $65 power supply upgrade, a texture control (controls feedback) and two 5687 adaptors and tubes. The 5687 tubes provide much more "slam" (power), ergo the name. You can order any of the other upgrades to be put into a SLAM.

I recently bought a used PPX3 and had the seller ship it to SP. Mikhail upgraded it to 6SN7 SLAM status. It does not have a texture control. I also added the stepped attenuator option. It does a great job of driving my K340 headphones.

I did buy a 7n7 adaptor and am currently running what appears to be a loctal-pinned 6SN7 in the gain position. I'm going to swap that with a Sylvania tall-bottle 7n7 tomorrow. I also bought a used 6sn7->6cg7 adaptor so that I can use the "inferior" 6cg7 family in the gain position. Mostly I just want to take advantage of all the tuberolling possibilities that SP amps are known for.

There are several SP knowledgeable people here. I suspect that they will add to this thread too.