[rmouser]

I am new to this thread. I have a Starlight, PSII and Ember. The Ember gets the most play time due to the sound and easy tube rolling. 
 
I came across a Tung-Sol Gap/R 1960 from the pre Sunrise days of fooling around  with Indeed Chinese amps that I forgot I had. I don't even remember where it came from. They go for $49.95 on eBay and tube sites.
 
I have been A/B-ing it with my beloved Mullard ECC82 (everybody likes them) and it rivals and in some ways beats it. It has the liquid mids and soft highs, but the bass is tighter and liquid as well.
 
Anyone else heard one of these?
 
Merry Christmas!

 

[chinook9]

Haven't owned or read any reports on this specific tube.  I have a 1958 Tung-Sol but I haven't listened to it for quite a while.  How does this tube and your Mullard compare to the Russian tubes you have heard?
 
I am particularly interested in your opinion because I recently got a pair of Alessandro MS1i and I love the Grado sound.  I also have found that these headphones change my taste in tubes a little.  I really like the 60s 6N23P-ev that I have and I even like a 60s 6N2P with these headphones.
 
I'[ll take a listen to my Tung-Sol tonight.

 

[rmouser]

I don't have any Russians yet. I am open to suggestions. Are the two tubes you mentioned Russian?  I have been listening with DT880. I will fire up my SR225 and RS2 next.
 
I forgot to mention that the tube is a 12AU7A. I also have a 6H23 that I have been playing. It took a lot of effort (rubbing oil on the glass) to just see that, The rest of the lettering is gone. Google says that it might be Russian.
 
I am Grado fan also. I have a heavily modded SR80i, RS2 and a modded SR225.

 

[chinook9]

Mouser, I assumed that you had gotten a Russian tube with your Sunrise 2.   I tend to like the Russian tubes although all but a couple of my 20+ tubes sound great. There are just slight but appreciable differences.   My hobby is actually the equipment, not the music.
 
Yes, both the 60s 6N23P-EV and the 60s 6N2P are Russian.  I left in the mention of the 60s because with the Ruskie tubes I believe the year (best between 60s and early 80s) does make some difference that varies depending on the tube and the factory.   The difference in price between the 60s and later will be significant but I believe even for the small difference in SQ  it is worth it.  We're not talking about a lot of money here.
 
I am very interested in hearing your evaluation with the Grados.  I just got into Grado sound and am presently building a couple of sets of woodies for my MS1 and trying to decide what other drivers to buy.  I will probably buy a Turbulent X and will also liberate the drivers from my MS1i....its hard for me to tear up a new set of headphones.
 
I listened to my 1958 Tung-Sol a bit last night.  It was better than I remember and similar to the 6N2P but there were differences that I can't explain.....maybe not quite as clean and crisp.
 
If you would like to try a couple of Russian tubes, send me a PM with your address and I will send you a couple (probably 6N1P and 6N2P) to try out.  I don't have much in them and shipping won't be much to NM from here in AZ.
 
What mods have you done to your HPs.
. 

 

[darkarn]

  I don't have any Russians yet. I am open to suggestions. Are the two tubes you mentioned Russian?  I have been listening with DT880. I will fire up my SR225 and RS2 next.
 
I forgot to mention that the tube is a 12AU7A. I also have a 6H23 that I have been playing. It took a lot of effort (rubbing oil on the glass) to just see that, The rest of the lettering is gone. Google says that it might be Russian.
 
I am Grado fan also. I have a heavily modded SR80i, RS2 and a modded SR225.

 
Sorry for the slight off-topic, I am not sure what you meant by the part in bold. I am interested as I do have 12AU7 tubes and would like to identify them using that method as the white letterings are completely missing...

 

[rmouser]

I got a 6DJ8 with the PS2
 
My avatar is the SR80i that I modded. The only stock parts left are the headband and the driver.
 
Mods:
 
Fully vented driver
8 conductor Grado cable
black cherry wood cups
 
SR225 mods are fully vented dirvers
 
I read somde Google on how to bring up faded printing on tubes. One idea was to use a black light (don't have) and one was to rub oil on the print. Otherwise the 6H23 was unidentifiable.
 
Liberating drivers is not so scary--I have a pretty good success rate.....

 

[rmouser]

  http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-HY2403L-Supply-Variable-Single/dp/B0094BPSL2/ref=sr_1_67?ie=UTF8&qid=1359822511&sr=8-67&keywords=24+volt++regulated+power+supply
 
Would this work?
 
Anyone know if replacing the wall wart with something like this should be an improvement?
 
I have a Musical Fidelity V-DAC and the Paradox regulated power supply reportedly made a huge improvement. I wouldn't know because I haven't heard it without the Paradox, but I do believe it. 

I run my PS2 on a 24 volt-2.4 amp linear supply. There seems to be an improvement when running harder to drive phones like 600 ohm DT880, 600 ohm Sextetts and K702. I like to EQ the bass and with hard rock there is a difference.

 

[darkarn]

  I got a 6DJ8 with the PS2
 
My avatar is the SR80i that I modded. The only stock parts left are the headband and the driver.
 
Mods:
 
Fully vented driver
8 conductor Grado cable
black cherry wood cups
 
SR225 mods are fully vented dirvers
 
I read somde Google on how to bring up faded printing on tubes. One idea was to use a black light (don't have) and one was to rub oil on the print. Otherwise the 6H23 was unidentifiable.
 
Liberating drivers is not so scary--I have a pretty good success rate.....

 
Sorry for the late reply, needed some time to look through this; is this what you meant?

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=88854

 

[Modular]

I run my PS2 on a 24 volt-2.4 amp linear supply. There seems to be an improvement when running harder to drive phones like 600 ohm DT880, 600 ohm Sextetts and K702. I like to EQ the bass and with hard rock there is a difference.

Nice. What power supply are you using?

 

[rmouser]

 

  I got a 6DJ8 with the PS2
 
My avatar is the SR80i that I modded. The only stock parts left are the headband and the driver.
 
Mods:
 
Fully vented driver
8 conductor Grado cable
black cherry wood cups
 
SR225 mods are fully vented dirvers
 
I read somde Google on how to bring up faded printing on tubes. One idea was to use a black light (don't have) and one was to rub oil on the print. Otherwise the 6H23 was unidentifiable.
 
Liberating drivers is not so scary--I have a pretty good success rate.....

 
Sorry for the late reply, needed some time to look through this; is this what you meant?

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=88854

That is exactly where I found using oil! I have oily hair and facial skin so I a supply on hand.

 

[rmouser]

 

I run my PS2 on a 24 volt-2.4 amp linear supply. There seems to be an improvement when running harder to drive phones like 600 ohm DT880, 600 ohm Sextetts and K702. I like to EQ the bass and with hard rock there is a difference.

Nice. What power supply are you using?

It's actually a used (pulled from something)  I got on eBay for $12. The transformer is unshielded, but I put it in an old DBX sound processor case I had laying around. It's big enough to set the amp on top. The power supply fills most of the case inside!
 

 

[darkarn]

 
That is exactly where I found using oil! I have oily hair and facial skin so I a supply on hand.

 
Thanks for the confirmation mate, my skin and hair are not oily enough to make this method work though, or more like I am not sure if they are oily enough :O

What's the 3-in-1 oil I am seeing in the thread? Will Singer oil do?

 

[rmouser]

Yes, Singer is perfect. I suppose even cooking oil would do. I would not recommend gun oil as most have detergents in them. That would dissolve the lettering.
 
I wish I had a black light.

 

[darkarn]

Aight, will give that a shot (you can't get guns here by the way lol)!
 
And how about those pet urine detectors or fake money detectors I have been hearing about? Do they count as black light?

 

[rmouser]

Chinook9 offered to send me four tubes to try out.
I received four tubes from Chinook9:
 
Rocket 6H2P-EB
1984 Novosibirsk 6N6P
Voshkod 6N1P 1957
Sylvania 5751 Triple Mica Black Plate
 
I have a Starlight, SRII, and Ember. I chose the SRII as that is the amp that Brian uses. Three of the tubes seem brand new so I take that into account.
 
NOTE: I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere. Those rubber "grabber thingies" in the kitchen for opening jars are excellent for pulling tubes out sockets. You can grab the top of the tube and have leverage to pull it out without damaging the lettering print!
 
The points that I considered are (points 1-10):
 
1. Crisp
2. Punch
3. Sound stage/Imaging
4. Detail (instrument separation)
5. Bass
6. Mids
7. Highs
 
I use lots of different music. I admit that I am a track hopper and use lots of EQ. For imaging and sound stage I use HOTEL CALIFORNIA from HELL FREEZES OVER CD. It is great for MIDS as this is the acoustic version. I also have the DVD so I know exactly where each instrument and voice is. All five musicians are lined up at the front of the stage.
 
1984 Novosibirsk 6N6P:
 
This caught my attention and at first was reluctant to try it. The 6H6P is a replacement and is used as a power tube in the Little Dot MKIII, which I have. Brian stated that it is approved by Frans so I gave it a go. It had to warm up for about five minutes before it would bias by the LEDS and barely lit the high LED. It sounds “tight” like a metaphor of a new car engine.
 
So this is a power tube that doubles a driver also! At first, the volume had to go to 12 to get any impact then as it got a few hours on it 10 would suffice. The 6H6P sounds great on the LD MKIII as a power tube. The newness of it may be part of it and the fact that this is a power tube—don’t know.
 
1. Crisp--5
2. Punch--6
3. Sound stage/Imaging--6
4. Detail (instrument separation)--6
5. Bass--7
6. Mids--7 .
7. Highs--7
 
1957 Sylvania 5751 Triple Mica Black Plate:
 
Clearly my favorite; it almost sounds like a solid state. It is very vivid, yet not harsh or excessively bright. The SS features are soft, not like a SS clipping can sound. I’m going to buy one these!!
1. Crisp—9—yet soft
2. Punch--10
3. Sound stage/Imaging--9
4. Detail (instrument separation)--8
5. Bass—9--tight
6. Mids—9--liquid
7. Highs—9--lush
 
Voshkod 6N1P
This is a Russian 6922. I compared it to a Sylvania 6922 I have; number two choice.
1. Crisp--8
2. Punch--7
3. Sound stage/Imaging--7
4. Detail (instrument separation)--7
5. Bass--6
6. Mids--8
7. Highs--8—vivid yet smooth
Compared to the Syl, the Syl’s highs were a little more harsh, total sound was more vivid, and it handled EQ boosted bass solidly.
 
Rocket 6H2P-EB
This won the live classical recording. Depending on the recording you are moved from the front row to the middle of the stage. It is a low fatigue sound that you could listen to all day. Excellent playing Steely Dan.
1. Crisp--7
2. Punch--3
3. Sound stage/Imaging--7
4. Detail (instrument separation)--6
5. Bass--4
6. Mids--6
7. Highs—8—very soft
 
The 5751 goes up against my Mullard ECC82 (12AU7) and GE 6DJ8 Smoked Glass next on the Ember.
 
Happy Tube Rollin’ New Year!