[Mike Thompson]

I bought them off ebay - he doesn't seem to cary them anymore so can't send a link. I did have to reduce the outside diameter a bit - was easy to do with a dremel. The hole in the Freya is surprisingly small and I didn't want to return them and wait for four more. It really was no big deal to do but I'm sure I've seen comments from people who had some that fit right away.
Socket savers move the heat up and out of the tube and also allow you to use tubes, like the Psvane, that are too big otherwise.

 

[jseymour]

What socket savers are you using ?

I bought mine from The Tube Center, but it looks like they don't have them anymore. Google 8 Pin Octal Tube socket saver or and you will see many selections. Make sure you buy socket savers and not pure sockets or tube bases. Socket savers are easier to get tubes in and out of. Mine look exactly like the ones here: http://www.partsconnexion.com/SOCKET-74489.html

 

[Dinche]

Got Freya a week ago. It's still early days, but this little unit is showing promising signs. I run Freya with the supplied tubes for the first two days. Their build quality is shocking, but they didn't sound terrible. Open highs and restrained midrange. Swapped 'em for a quad matched new production Tung Sol's and things just went downhill. Tung Sol's have better definition and much more controlled lows, but they made Freya sound lifeless. However, that's not their biggest problem. All 4 emit the buzzing/sizzling noise and microphonics galore.
I contacted the seller to check if this could be due to a bad batch, but haven't heard from them yet. Off to look for some NOS on Ebay.

 

[hornytoad]

Got Freya a week ago. It's still early days, but this little unit is showing promising signs. I run Freya with the supplied tubes for the first two days. Their build quality is shocking, but they didn't sound terrible. Open highs and restrained midrange. Swapped 'em for a quad matched new production Tung Sol's and things just went downhill. Tung Sol's have better definition and much more controlled lows, but they made Freya sound lifeless. However, that's not their biggest problem. All 4 emit the buzzing/sizzling noise and microphonics galore.
I contacted the seller to check if this could be due to a bad batch, but haven't heard from them yet. Off to look for some NOS on Ebay.

Had the same issue with a couple of new production Tung Sols but also did with the stock tubes .

 

[Dinche]

Had the same issue with a couple of new production Tung Sols but also did with the stock tubes .

Could this have something to do with Freya's design? High gain and (or) being fussy with tubes?

Regards

 

[hornytoad]

Could this have something to do with Freya's design? High gain and (or) being fussy with tubes?

Regards

I have no idea . I want to try some Treasure Series CV-181Z or Sophia tubes but they are really expensive to see if the issue goes away .
At this point I would prefer LISST tubes for the Freya and forget about tube rolling ( I do have other tube amps , no issue with Tung sol Kt-120’s )
I can hear the tube noise in my listening position on quiet music

 

[jseymour]

You can say the Freya is a little fussy with tubes due to its gain. But I would rather say it will highlight which tubes are not good. I run all NOS and yes some I could not use, but no more than 10%. I use 6C8Gs in the output buffer position and they are higher gain by about 50% than a 6SN7 and a couple were noisy. But when they are good, all is silent.

 

[hornytoad]

You can say the Freya is a little fussy with tubes due to its gain. But I would rather say it will highlight which tubes are not good. I run all NOS and yes some I could not use, but no more than 10%. I use 6C8Gs in the output buffer position and they are higher gain by about 50% than a 6SN7 and a couple were noisy. But when they are good, all is silent.

Yeah I suspect you are right.

 

[hornytoad]

You can say the Freya is a little fussy with tubes due to its gain. But I would rather say it will highlight which tubes are not good. I run all NOS and yes some I could not use, but no more than 10%. I use 6C8Gs in the output buffer position and they are higher gain by about 50% than a 6SN7 and a couple were noisy. But when they are good, all is silent.

Question, can socket savers possible reduce noise ? Not familiar with them.

 

[jseymour]

I don't see how. What they do is save wear and tear on your gear's built-in (soldered) sockets. In the case of the Freya they also do two extra things due to their increased height. They take the heat away from the PCB and they make tube changes so much easier because now the socket is level with the top versus in the preamp. I will add one more benefit. They make the Freya look cooler because now you see the whole tube. Aesthetics can be important.

 

[hornytoad]

I don't see how. What they do is save wear and tear on your gear's built-in (soldered) sockets. In the case of the Freya they also do two extra things due to their increased height. They take the heat away from the PCB and they make tube changes so much easier because now the socket is level with the top versus in the preamp. I will add one more benefit. They make the Freya look cooler because now you see the whole tube. Aesthetics can be important.

Taking away heat from the PCB board maybe helps with a noisy tube?? I have no idea but we will see as I'm gonna order 4 .

 

[jseymour]

Taking heat away from the PCB helps the longevity of the gear and the tube, but I doubt it has any impact on making the tube noisy. You have to have patience with tubes. Tubes can be noisy right from start up and the noise never goes away. But the noise might go away after it has had a chance to "burn in". And then there is end of life, where the tube is no longer performing to spec. When I find a tube that has noise, I put it aside until I go to work. I will leave it powered up during the day and if it is still noisy when I return I know it is no good.

 

[Dinche]

Taking heat away from the PCB helps the longevity of the gear and the tube, but I doubt it has any impact on making the tube noisy. You have to have patience with tubes. Tubes can be noisy right from start up and the noise never goes away. But the noise might go away after it has had a chance to "burn in". And then there is end of life, where the tube is no longer performing to spec. When I find a tube that has noise, I put it aside until I go to work. I will leave it powered up during the day and if it is still noisy when I return I know it is no good.

Thanks for the tips mate. I' ll leave mine overnight, and see what happens tomorrow morning.

Do you have any recommendation for socket savers I could get off the e-bay, that would fit into Freya's case?

Kind Regards

 

[jseymour]

I bought mine from www.thetubecenter.com, but they don't have them anymore. Search for "8 pin socket saver". You do not want just sockets. Make sure they look like this:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/socket_saver.html .
Enlarge the picture and you will see that socket savers have small slots on both sides of the pin hole. It makes it much easier to insert and remove the tubes.

 

[hornytoad]

Question : Will a noisy tube show up more in the gain or the output stage? Or is doesn't matter.