Well MrScary.. seems like all of the good stuff is either gone or way out of my price range. I was following this thread before I got my Lyr, latched onto some Lorenz and in my naivete, ended up selling them to fund my Bifrost. Anyway, this list was published a while back in this thread and has pretty much been one of my references. Not sure who wrote it but would like to give credit where credit is due.
Honestly, I don't recommend the stock JJ E88CC tubes that Schiit offers; on the other hand, the stock GE 6BZ7 tubes are pretty good for their price IMO. However, you can get a much better performance out of your Lyr with proper tube rolling. If you're looking for some top-tier tubes, expect to spend at least around $150~200, possibly higher. Although people have different musical tastes and the results may vary depending on your audio chain, here are some tips:
1. Look for old, vintage tubes (preferably those made in the 5~60's) made by companies like Amperex, Siemens (also known as Siemens & Halske), or Lorenz (#1). These are arguably the most sought-after tubes in this forum. Each company's line of tubes has its unique sound signature, but I don't think you can go wrong with most of them.
2. Look for E88CC(=6922), E188CC(=7308), or CCa tubes from companies I mentioned above. E88CC are generally superior to ECC88(=6DJ8) tubes, and CCa are actually E88CC tubes that have been hand-picked among them to be of higher quality. E188CC is a superior version of E88CC and thus have a slightly different design, although some claim that certain E88CC and especially CCa rivals them in sonic quality. YMMV.
3. PCC88 tubes aren't recommened by Schiit because they use a different voltage (7V) compared to the other tubes (6V - Lyr's default voltage setting), but since Lyr auto-biases voltage, I haven't heard of anyone, including myself, have technical issues while using PCC88's. I haven't heard of PCC88 tubes made by Amperex or Siemens, but Lorenz PCC88 are well-known throughout this community as one of the best tubes out there for Lyr. Of course they have to be genuine, Germany-made tubes; not SEL rebranded ones.
4. If you're looking for Amperex tubes, make sure they were made in either USA or Holland. The best kinds of Amperex tubes have a "PQ (stands for premium quality)" logo in white color. These are called Amperex PQ White Labels, and are generally considered to be one of the best tubes out there. Holland tubes are rarer than American ones and therefore are of higher price, but honestly there isn't much difference between the two - both are very good. There is also something called a getter: while I can't say whether getters affect sound quality, D-shaped getters are somewhat more expensive than O-shaped or halo getters because they are older and rarer.
Some rare Amperex tubes have "pinched waists" instead of a typical, straight waist. These are manufacturing flaws, but some people claim that the pinched waist shape of these tubes make them sound better, so these "flawed" ones are actually more expensive than regular ones.
5. If you're looking for Siemens tubes, which should be made in Germany, try to look for tubes with "Gray Shields" instead of silver/chrome shields or no shield. Gray shields are the best of them - obviously having a shield is better than no shield, and the reason why gray shields are superior to silver(=chrome) ones is that they use some quality rare earth minerals - which makes their surface color gray compared to bare metallic shields. The same rule applies to Lorenz tubes.
6. As for Lorenz tubes, definitely look for #1 tubes - there is no comparison between #1 and #2. Gray Shields are preferable, as well as having 3-mica (or trimica) instead of 2-mica.
And here are a few examples of so-called 'best tubes':
• Amperex PQ White Label 6922, D-getter, Pinched Waist
• Amperex PQ White Label 7308, O-getter
• Siemens & Halske E188CC, Gray Shield
• Siemens & Halske CCa, Gray Shield
• Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 3-Mica, Gray Shield
• Mullard E88CC Tubes ~ $120
• Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8/ECC88 Holland
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Honestly, I don't recommend the stock JJ E88CC tubes that Schiit offers; on the other hand, the stock GE 6BZ7 tubes are pretty good for their price IMO. However, you can get a much better performance out of your Lyr with proper tube rolling. If you're looking for some top-tier tubes, expect to spend at least around $150~200, possibly higher. Although people have different musical tastes and the results may vary depending on your audio chain, here are some tips:
1. Look for old, vintage tubes (preferably those made in the 5~60's) made by companies like Amperex, Siemens (also known as Siemens & Halske), or Lorenz (#1). These are arguably the most sought-after tubes in this forum. Each company's line of tubes has its unique sound signature, but I don't think you can go wrong with most of them.
2. Look for E88CC(=6922), E188CC(=7308), or CCa tubes from companies I mentioned above. E88CC are generally superior to ECC88(=6DJ8) tubes, and CCa are actually E88CC tubes that have been hand-picked among them to be of higher quality. E188CC is a superior version of E88CC and thus have a slightly different design, although some claim that certain E88CC and especially CCa rivals them in sonic quality. YMMV.
3. PCC88 tubes aren't recommened by Schiit because they use a different voltage (7V) compared to the other tubes (6V - Lyr's default voltage setting), but since Lyr auto-biases voltage, I haven't heard of anyone, including myself, have technical issues while using PCC88's. I haven't heard of PCC88 tubes made by Amperex or Siemens, but Lorenz PCC88 are well-known throughout this community as one of the best tubes out there for Lyr. Of course they have to be genuine, Germany-made tubes; not SEL rebranded ones.
4. If you're looking for Amperex tubes, make sure they were made in either USA or Holland. The best kinds of Amperex tubes have a "PQ (stands for premium quality)" logo in white color. These are called Amperex PQ White Labels, and are generally considered to be one of the best tubes out there. Holland tubes are rarer than American ones and therefore are of higher price, but honestly there isn't much difference between the two - both are very good. There is also something called a getter: while I can't say whether getters affect sound quality, D-shaped getters are somewhat more expensive than O-shaped or halo getters because they are older and rarer.
Some rare Amperex tubes have "pinched waists" instead of a typical, straight waist. These are manufacturing flaws, but some people claim that the pinched waist shape of these tubes make them sound better, so these "flawed" ones are actually more expensive than regular ones.
5. If you're looking for Siemens tubes, which should be made in Germany, try to look for tubes with "Gray Shields" instead of silver/chrome shields or no shield. Gray shields are the best of them - obviously having a shield is better than no shield, and the reason why gray shields are superior to silver(=chrome) ones is that they use some quality rare earth minerals - which makes their surface color gray compared to bare metallic shields. The same rule applies to Lorenz tubes.
6. As for Lorenz tubes, definitely look for #1 tubes - there is no comparison between #1 and #2. Gray Shields are preferable, as well as having 3-mica (or trimica) instead of 2-mica.
And here are a few examples of so-called 'best tubes':
• Amperex PQ White Label 6922, D-getter, Pinched Waist
• Amperex PQ White Label 7308, O-getter
• Siemens & Halske E188CC, Gray Shield
• Siemens & Halske CCa, Gray Shield
• Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 3-Mica, Gray Shield
• Mullard E88CC Tubes ~ $120
• Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8/ECC88 Holland
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