[mp29k]

It's interesting how some tube amps respond well to changing tubes and some do not, and others like my Shindo and my Audio Valve warn against "tube rolling," the Audio Valve going so far as to state that t will void the warranty.

Really?? To me that sounds like a good reason to avoid Audio Valve. It displays an arrogance that only they are qualified to select tubes for their amps, and also a potential indication that they haven't spent much thought time and investment to ensuring that their amps are safe and sound good across a wide range of tubes of the same type.

 

[bcowen]

Were I a 27-year-old billionaire, I'd happily dive down the vintage tube rabbit hole. Just can't shake this vision of waking from a long fever dream to find myself in a house full of small glass bottles, flat broke and with the tragic certainty that there is something still more sublime out there, perhaps made in a small factory in East Germany in 1953 and thus never to be seen (or heard) by mere mortals...

Excepting the age and billionaire parts, I can create an instruction manual for you from experience.

 

[Ableza]

Really?? To me that sounds like a good reason to avoid Audio Valve. It displays an arrogance that only they are qualified to select tubes for their amps, and also a potential indication that they haven't spent much thought time and investment to ensuring that their amps are safe and sound good across a wide range of tubes of the same type.

Wow. To me it displays a knowledge of the tubes they decided to use that surpasses the user's because they are the designers of the gear. But you bask in whatever opinion you choose.

 

[Paladin79]

About that...
Is there some idea behind the how and why of cable braiding?
If so, please tell us.

How is fairly complicated, there are all kinds of braid patterns out there and watching a video might be the best way to learn.

As to the why part, you can look up the reasons for using twisted pair in wires and that might give you as close an answer as I could ever come up with lol. There are folks out thee who cut open some very high quality star quad cable just to get the wires out, and then do a braid with them. Technically they were probably better off to leave it alone. Some of it is appearance I suspect but just like twisted pair, alternating the wires should help compared to running them parallel to each other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair

 

[tafens]

There are also some sellers out there who say a tube tests "good" when it is nowhere near the condition I would want to purchase.

That’s also why I hesitate to buy a $200+ tube on eBay... I don’t have the knowledge about rare tubes nor the experience to tell the good deals from the bad.

There is more difference to be heard in upgrading an amp or headphones. Personally I have tailored some amps and pre-amps to specific sounds I like and tubes allow me a variable that I do not have with solid state equipment unless I void the warranty.

Absolutely. The headphones ought to make for the largest difference, then the amp, tube and dac. That said, I have found that the Lyr3 responds very well to tube rolling. The difference between a MELZ 1578 and the reissue Tung-Sol for example, I felt was rather big, huge even.

It's interesting how some tube amps respond well to changing tubes and some do not, and others like my Shindo and my Audio Valve warn against "tube rolling," the Audio Valve going so far as to state that t will void the warranty

Before purchasing the Lyr3 I read that hybrid amps would not change much, if anything, by tube rolling. The Lyr3 however, does respond rather nicely to it.

To void the warranty if the tube is changed seems rather drasic though Does it use a very specific tube?

 

[Ableza]

To void the warranty if the tube is changed seems rather drasic though Does it use a very specific tube?

Yes. My Audio Valve amp uses Russian 6GV18 (ECL85) tubes, 4 per side. They are carefully matched at the factory prior to shipment.

 

[Paladin79]

That’s also why I hesitate to buy a $200+ tube on eBay... I don’t have the knowledge about rare tubes nor the experience to tell the good deals from the bad.



Absolutely. The headphones ought to make for the largest difference, then the amp, tube and dac. That said, I have found that the Lyr3 responds very well to tube rolling. The difference between a MELZ 1578 and the reissue Tung-Sol for example, I felt was rather big, huge even.



Before purchasing the Lyr3 I read that hybrid amps would not change much, if anything, by tube rolling. The Lyr3 however, does respond rather nicely to it.

To void the warranty if the tube is changed seems rather drasic though Does it use a very specific tube?

I believe the 6sn7 is native to the Lyr 3, those and their equivalents are what I am sending to Jason.

I have not personally come across a warranty that gets voided by changing a tube, it is something you may have to replace one day anyway. Since this is a Schiit thread, I have not seen that mentioned in their warranties. They go so far as to mention suitable replacements.

The Melz 1578 is something folks love or hate in my experience. It is a tube you best be careful buying and requires research. When the real ones hit the market they tend to go fast but there are many look-a-likes out there. Another tube you best research is the Sylvania Bad Boy. If you do not read the ad carefully the seller might say "has bad-boy plates", or "just like a bad-boy" or whatever lol.

I thoroughly test any used or new tube I buy before it goes in an amp. There are a couple sellers on Ebay I know and trust otherwise it can be a bit of a crap shoot.

 

[Robert Padgett]

I quite enjoy the reissue Russian Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB in my Lyr3. I haven’t tried any of the more expensive NOS tubes yet, but to me it is the best sounding tube of a few sub $50 tubes I’ve tried (both new and NOS). The original Tung-Sol I have comes in a real close second having a little more clarity but sacrificing some euphony and musicality in the process.

Schiit made a very good choice on that one, as it can be selected as stock tube when ordering

The reissue is about $30 a pop, too, which is a lot better for my wallet than the rare NOS stuff

New Sensor is an American company, apparently under the umbrella of Electro-Harmonix www.ehx.com/vacuum-tubes so the manufacturing is done in Russia, because that is where the factories and labor force is, While I personally prefer the JJ-Electronic vacuum tubes for new production in the former Tesla plant in Slovakia--the "re-issue" tube in the E-H product line are made as well in former Russian plants. I can't speak to Chinese tubes as I don't have them nor want them.

"All New Sensor vacuum tubes (Electro-Harmonix, EH Gold, Genalex, Mullard, Sovtek, Svetlana and Tung-Sol) meet all applicable RoHS material restrictions and are REACH compliant. Consistent with the notice requirements of REACH Art. 33, New Sensor notes that its vacuum tubes may contain lead oxide (CAS No. 1317-36-8) in their glass above the threshold level of 0.1% by weight. Again, notwithstanding the foregoing notice, these tubes satisfy all applicable RoHS material restrictions."

 

[hutt132]

A bunch of my friends and I blind A/B tested the Jotunheim to the Schiit Vali 2 (with 6BZ7 tube and Amperex ECC88/6DJ8 Orange Globe Logo O-Getter tube) with a 3.5mm switcher and we all could tell no difference between the amps.

 

[Paladin79]

A bunch of my friends and I blind A/B tested the Jotunheim to the Schiit Vali 2 (with 6BZ7 tube and Amperex ECC88/6DJ8 Orange Globe Logo O-Getter tube) with a 3.5mm switcher and we all could tell no difference between the amps.

Many people cannot tell much difference in tubes, but other folks are quite amazing at what they can discern. I do not listen to many different ECC88's but I imagine that is a very nice tube.

 

[Xcalibur255]

I guess tubes never go bad from old age?

Some of the really old DHTs can be a little spotty if you're trying to find pairs. Often the vacuum integrity will start to get bad after 80 years of minuscule seepage through the glass around the pins. What ends up happening is they both test okay when a seller has them in his tester for 30 seconds, but once you have them in your amp and are using them one tube will begin to grow weak much faster than the other. If the amp is manual bias this is especially frustrating since the weak tube will draw too much current on startup if you want the pair to be biased properly for stable temperature operation.

By and large though it's amazing how well these old tubes hold up. I have a pair of 45 Globes whose manufacture date I traced to 1931 and they were flawless when purchased, and have remained flawless and well matched to each other over 3 years of use now.

If you ever put a tube in your amp and the glow from the filaments seems bigger than usual with a sort of corona like quality to it then the tube is gassy and not safe to use anymore. Normally the color will be different from the usual orange filament glow too.

 

[tafens]

Yes. My Audio Valve amp uses Russian 6GV18 (ECL85) tubes, 4 per side. They are carefully matched at the factory prior to shipment.

8 tubes total? The correct matching is probably critical, and with small tolerances.. (I’d guess) and perhaps that’s why they don’t support user replacing of them.

 

[tafens]

I believe the 6sn7 is native to the Lyr 3, those and their equivalents are what I am sending to Jason.

Yes, 6SN7 primarily as I understand it, and handles equivalents of course.

I have not personally come across a warranty that gets voided by changing a tube, it is something you may have to replace one day anyway. Since this is a Schiit thread, I have not seen that mentioned in their warranties. They go so far as to mention suitable replacements.

People will tube roll, so I think it’s a good thing to specify equivalents as well

The Melz 1578 is something folks love or hate in my experience. It is a tube you best be careful buying and requires research. When the real ones hit the market they tend to go fast but there are many look-a-likes out there.

A ton of lookalikes. And ads are generally unclear, saying things like 1578/6SN7/6H8C, all equivalents but which one one is it.. Had I not known what to look for I would surely have got the wrong one.

I thoroughly test any used or new tube I buy before it goes in an amp. There are a couple sellers on Ebay I know and trust otherwise it can be a bit of a crap shoot.

I always test before putting it in the amp, but I’m limited to using a multimeter to make sure there are no shorts and that the heater pins have continuity. That, and checking that they glow as they should as I turn on.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Yes. My Audio Valve amp uses Russian 6GV18 (ECL85) tubes, 4 per side. They are carefully matched at the factory prior to shipment.

And without complaining...
You have there one of the finest hp-amps ever built on this fine world.
Be sure that when you drop dead everyone understands it has to go to me.
I'll even burn a candle for your wel being in heaven and hope you have the opportunity to meet my wife.

 

[Timster]

That's not a tube, THIS is a tube...

http://www.stereomojo.com/KR Audio ...ew/KRAudioKronzillaSX1MkIIAmplifierReview.htm