[bcowen]

.

 

[quimbo]

New tube arrived today. Just plugged it in. With no hours on it it’s a little bright on top, which probably means it’s making some high frequency distortion. Experience with other tubes suggests it will smooth out in 20-50 hrs

-Took a lot less than 20 hours. This tube is amazing! Very holographic imaging. Crystal clear

I picked one up about a month ago and had the same experiences.

 

[FLTWS]

I've found all 3 Psvanes (from Grant Fidelity) to be excellent.

 

[earnmyturns]

For new production tubes what would you all recommend to get the slamming bass of a 3 hole Bad Boy?

I'm very happy with the bass from the new Psvane tupes I own: 6SN7-SE and 6SN7-UK.

 

[Rowethren]

I'm very happy with the bass from the new Psvane tupes I own: 6SN7-SE and 6SN7-UK.

Damn I should hope the SE are amazing if they are $375... The UK seem a much more reasonable price. Out of interest due to their size do you have to use a riser for them to fit or is that just out of preference?

 

[FLTWS]

I put mine on a socket saver/lifter just to help air circulate better / run cooler. I think you can go direct but if I remember with mine and with some other tubes of other than the straight sided glass type, the hole in the top and the socket below were just slightly off of dead centers and not completely parallel with each other so the wide Treasure Globe SE bulb would rub the side of the hole a bit as I gently rocked it to remove it, no issue with straight in inserts.

The other side of the saver / lifter story is the more points of connection, the more opportunity to have a loss of connectivity. That was my position when I first got into Schiit, but over time I had no connectivity issues and if heat is the enemy of tube life (and light bulbs too as I understand it) anything that helps it dissipate heat is a good thing (and the case is a little cooler to the touch as well).

I use saver / lifters on my LYR3, Valhalla 2, and Mjolnir 2 without issue. The cost of a saver / lifter is negligible compared to the cost of the some of the tubes themselves.

 

[Rowethren]

I put mine on a socket saver/lifter just to help air circulate better / run cooler. I think you can go direct but if I remember with mine and with some other tubes of other than the straight sided glass type, the hole in the top and the socket below were just slightly off of dead centers and not completely parallel with each other so the wide Treasure Globe SE bulb would rub the side of the hole a bit as I gently rocked it to remove it, no issue with straight in inserts.

The other side of the saver / lifter story is the more points of connection, the more opportunity to have a loss of connectivity. That was my position when I first got into Schiit, but over time I had no connectivity issues and if heat is the enemy of tube life (and light bulbs too as I understand it) anything that helps it dissipate heat is a good thing (and the case is a little cooler to the touch as well).

I use saver / lifters on my LYR3, Valhalla 2, and Mjolnir 2 without issue. The cost of a saver / lifter is negligible compared to the cost of the some of the tubes themselves.

Thanks for the advice. I do use savers with my Mjolnir 2 and it makes life a lot easier when it comes to taking the tubes in and out but with the bigger tubes they look a bit odd when they stick out so far IMO. If as you say the larger tubes are that close to the sides of the hole I think a saver is probably a good idea though as I wouldn't want to scape them against the aluminium top plat lol... Any recommendations on savers?

How would you compare the SE to the UK sound wise?

 

[earnmyturns]

Damn I should hope the SE are amazing if they are $375... The UK seem a much more reasonable price. Out of interest due to their size do you have to use a riser for them to fit or is that just out of preference?

That's for a pair of grade A tubes, a single grade A is $200. Still a lot, I agree.

 

[FLTWS]

I prefer the SE by a bit of a margin and bought just 1 not a matched pair like I did with the UK and TII. You can go with the UK (or TII) and wonder going forward or just start with the SE and never look back. But only your ears can be the judge and as with so much of the gear we have interest in, there's no way to evaluate it in advance of purchase so it's always a crap-shoot. But the Psvanes were all purchased by me thru Grant Fidelity who, claim to hand pick 50% of the best of a run and give a 90 day limited warranty. So these are NNS not NOS. Getting into NOS is a whole nother' thing! Trust me , I know.

I have 2 variety of saver/lifter for the 6SN7 type;

AND THIS FROM TUBEMONGER

 

[earnmyturns]

I prefer the SE by a bit of a margin and bought just 1 not a matched pair like I did with the UK and TII. You can go with the UK (or TII) and wonder going forward or just start with the SE and never look back. But only your ears can be the judge and as with so much of the gear we have interest in, there's no way to evaluate it in advance of purchase so it's always a crap-shoot.

Just listening to Lyr 3 + 6SN7-UK again. It is really good, but relative to the 6SN7-SE, bass is a bit fuzzier and less impactful, and it has a slight hint of glare in the medium-high range. This is from memory, as I don't like to keep rolling tubes constantly, so YMMV.

 

[FLTWS]

Just listening to Lyr 3 + 6SN7-UK again. It is really good, but relative to the 6SN7-SE, bass is a bit fuzzier and less impactful, and it has a slight hint of glare in the medium-high range. This is from memory, as I don't like to keep rolling tubes constantly, so YMMV.

That's the way I remember as well, but currently using a new NOS find. The TII was a little better and fit sound-wise in between the UK and SE. One of those rare instances where price vs performance actually aligned pretty much with what I heard, although why they should sound different is always beyond my understanding, I' mean they are all 6SN7 type. But they do sound different.

 

[441879]

This could be a rebranded BB if you wanna to give it a try.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Crosley-br...047835?hash=item3d857514db:g:v6sAAOSwAvNcetiO

I am starting to feel about tubes the way I do about wine: I appreciate the difference in bouquet, mouth feel, and notes of cherry and blackberry, but at the end of the day, I pretty much drink anything that doesn’t taste like a wine cooler or vinegar.

 

[Zachik]

I am starting to feel about tubes the way I do about wine: I appreciate the difference in bouquet, mouth feel, and notes of cherry and blackberry, but at the end of the day, I pretty much drink anything that doesn’t taste like a wine cooler or vinegar.

WOW - could not have said it better myself. I am totally in agreement with you - I am lately tube rolling on the LP (so it took my attention from Lyr 3 for the most part), and I am feeling my brain is saturated to the point that any tube that does not suck, sounds almost the same

 

[George Chronis]

Hi all,

I just bought a Lyr 3 (and Bimby to go with it) as well as a Psvane SE. I want to try a Sylvania “bad boy” but I’m not very good at judging NOS tubes. Can someone tell me if this looks legit:

 

[Wes S]

Hi all,

I just bought a Lyr 3 (and Bimby to go with it) as well as a Psvane SE. I want to try a Sylvania “bad boy” but I’m not very good at judging NOS tubes. Can someone tell me if this looks legit:

Looks legit. A real Bad Boy, and the only kind of Bad Boy. 1951-1953, 3 hole, bottom getter, flashing a 1/3 the way up, from bottom, 3 spikes on top mica touching glass, copper grid post. . .