[Vic]

Last week I have received my new balanced Supra with most upgrades, I believe pretty close to an SDS.
So in the last couple of weeks I have analysed the different threads about tube rolling on SinglePower amps, including the fantastic job made by Adhoc (a real asset for the headfi community) and the excellent tube rolling thread started by Hirsch about 6SN7s.
I have also seen several thread regarding tubes for the MPX that were not formerly available for the Supra, but those threads were quite sporadic and never managed to go very far, as if there was a wall between MPX owners on one side and Supra and SDS on the other.

Since my Supra (and I believe this is the standard for all SP amps) also accepts 6bl7GT, 6BL7GTA, 6Bx7, 6BX7GT and now SP provides adaptors to use
7N7, 7af7 and 5687 (please somebody correct me if I have got a letter wrong or if I have forgotten other kinds of tubes) I come up with the idea of finally reunite all SDS, Supra and MPX owners (and to some extent PPX3) in order for all to share experiences about tubes that can now be used in all of those great amps.

Of course, I discussed it with Singlepower East, AKA Earl, AKA SACDlover and he said he liked the idea and would be available for it.

The starting point of compairison might be the different 6SN6 experiences, where most people were suggesting Tung Sol round plate, Sylvania W, Sylvania VT231 1952 or Ken Rad as the best tubes and maybe compare them with the other formats now available.
The aim of this thread is to keep the ball rolling with new SinglePower tube experiences and to share them between SDS, Supra and MPX owners.

Let's get going

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vic Last week I have received my new balanced Supra with most upgrades, I believe pretty close to an SDS. So in the last couple of weeks I have analysed the different threads about tube rolling on SinglePower amps, including the fantastic job made by Adhoc (a real asset for the headfi community) and the excellent tube rolling thread started by Hirsch about 6SN6s. I have also seen several thread regarding tubes for the MPX that were not formerly available for the Supra, but those threads were quite sporadic and never managed to go very far, as if there was a wall between MPX owners on one side and Supra and SDS on the other. Since my Supra (and I believe this is the standard for all SP amps) also accepts 6bl6, 6Bx6, and now SP provides adaptors to use 7N7, 7fx7 and 5687 (please somebody correct me if I have got a letter wrong or if I have forgotten other kinds of tubes) I come up with the idea of finally reunite all SDS, Supra and MPX owners (and to some extent PPX3) in order for all to share experiences about tubes that can now be used in all of those great amps. Of course, I discussed it with Singlepower East, AKA Earl, AKA SACDlover and he said he liked the idea and would be available for it. The starting point of compairison might be the different 6SN6 experiences, where most people were suggesting Tung Sol round plate, Sylvania W, Sylvania VT231 1952 or Ken Rad as the best tubes and maybe compare them with the other formats now available. The aim of this thread is to keep the ball rolling with new SinglePower tube experiences and to share them between SDS, Supra and MPX owners. Let's get going

Ok .... first you asked for corrections. 6SN6 should be 6SN7. 6BL6/ 6BX6 should be 6BL7GT/ 6BL7GTA/ 6BX7GT.

7N7 is correct .... 7FX7 should be 7AF7. 5687 is correct.

The 6CG7 is also used for gain in the base SLAM ppx3's with the 5687 for the output tubes.

I will comment more later.

 

[mjg]

sweet new amp vic ; ). Good luck with it.

 

[Vic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover Ok .... first you asked for corrections. 6SN6 should be 6SN7. 6BL6/ 6BX6 should be 6BL7GT/ 6BL7GTA/ 6BX7GT. 7N7 is correct .... 7FX7 should be 7AF7. 5687 is correct. The 6CG7 is also used for gain in the base SLAM ppx3's with the 5687 for the output tubes. I will comment more later.

Thanks Earl,
that is why I asked for your help: I knew I could not do it on my own; also here is 3:34 AM and I am a bit tired

 

[Vic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjg sweet new amp vic ; ). Good luck with it.

THanks mate, I am really happy with it, the only problem is that since I received it I am not getting much sleep and have troubles getting up for work

 

[sacd lover]

I pulled this information from another thread since the information is so applicable. I will go into specific combinations I use at some point .... but these comments are a good primer for those who are new to tubes.

All 7n7's regardless of branding were made by Sylvania .... except the rare, gray glass, tall bottle, round plate National Union 7n7 from the 1940's.

The Sylvania 7n7's come in three styles; 1) 1940's tall bottle, silver coating at the top of the tube, gt style box plates, 2) early 1950's short bottle, silver coating at the top of the tube, gt style box plates, 3) mid- late 1950's/ early 1960's short bottle, gta type triangular plates, with a chrome top ring or clear top. I believe the gt style box plate tubes sound the best .... but the gta type 7n7 is still a very good tube.

Another good tube you can use with the same adapter is the Sylvania 7af7. The 7af7 tube looks almost identical to the short bottle 7n7 gt type box plate tube. But the 7af7 has a distictive round plate constructon. Again, regardless of the brand the 7af7 was a Sylvania tube. This tube is much like the early 1950's short bottle 7n7. But the 7af7 has a lighter, tighter bass and a slightly more forward presentation.

For 5687's I like the Tung Sol D getter 5687 best period.

The Raytheon 5687 rectangular getter or 5687wa O getter are my second choice .... most of the time. But I am also very fond of the Sylvania 5687wa. The Sylvania gold brand 5687 with the true gold pins is another favorite. But this tube is very pricey for a 5687; usually $100+ per pair. The GE 5 star and RCA 5687's are good tubes but I dont feel they have the overall refinement or resolution of the other 5687's. The GE's can lack some refinement and the RCA's can sound to dark and slow. The RCA is a good choice if you are trying to warm up the sound though.

 

[ken36]

I'D love to see a picture of the front and the back. please.

 

[Vic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken36 I'D love to see a picture of the front and the back. please.

All the pics of my Supra I have are in the London meeting impressions:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=191473

OT: Ken I would be interested in your impressions about the different HD6X0 cables you own, maybe via PM or another thread to avoid going out of topic on this one

 

[Vic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover I pulled this information from another thread since the information is so applicable. I will go into specific combinations I use at some point .... but these comments are a good primer for those who are new to tubes. All 7n7's regardless of branding were made by Sylvania .... except the rare, gray glass, tall bottle, round plate National Union 7n7 from the 1940's. The Sylvania 7n7's come in three styles; 1) 1940's tall bottle, silver coating at the top of the tube, gt style box plates, 2) early 1950's short bottle, silver coating at the top of the tube, gt style box plates, 3) mid- late 1950's/ early 1960's short bottle, gta type triangular plates, with a chrome top ring or clear top. I believe the gt style box plate tubes sound the best .... but the gta type 7n7 is still a very good tube. Another good tube you can use with the same adapter is the Sylvania 7af7. The 7af7 tube looks almost identical to the short bottle 7n7 gt type box plate tube. But the 7af7 has a distictive round plate constructon. Again, regardless of the brand the 7af7 was a Sylvania tube. This tube is much like the early 1950's short bottle 7n7. But the 7af7 has a lighter, tighter bass and a slightly more forward presentation. For 5687's I like the Tung Sol D getter 5687 best period. The Raytheon 5687 rectangular getter or 5687wa O getter are my second choice .... most of the time. But I am also very fond of the Sylvania 5687wa. The Sylvania gold brand 5687 with the true gold pins is another favorite. But this tube is very pricey for a 5687; usually $100+ per pair. The GE 5 star and RCA 5687's are good tubes but I dont feel they have the overall refinement or resolution of the other 5687's. The GE's can lack some refinement and the RCA's can sound to dark and slow. The RCA is a good choice if you are trying to warm up the sound though.

I had read this excellent post in another thread.

I understand that you only use the 7n7 and 7af7 only in the gain position, correct? while I suppose the 5687 go in the output position?
If this is the case, is it enough to get a 7n7 just for one tube (2 in my case) and the one for 5687 for two tubes (four in my case)?

 

[PFKMan23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vic I had read this excellent post in another thread. I understand that you only use the 7n7 and 7af7 only in the gain position, correct? while I suppose the 5687 go in the output position? If this is the case, is it enough to get a 7n7 just for one tube (2 in my case) and the one for 5687 for two tubes (four in my case)?

Yes it would.

 

[PaulDB]

Although my MPX3 SE is still green, I've asked Mikhail to send me a Ken Rad, 5687 adaptors, and a pair of Tung Sol 5687s.

Also, a pair of ATH-W1000s will be coming from Japan. In the interim, the AKG K240DFs and Beyerdynamic DT831s will serve as cans in the house. The amp double-functions as a preamp to the 2ch setup.

 

[Vic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulDB Although my MPX3 SE is still green, I've asked Mikhail to send me a Ken Rad, 5687 adaptors, and a pair of Tung Sol 5687s. Also, a pair of ATH-W1000s will be coming from Japan. In the interim, the AKG K240DFs and Beyerdynamic DT831s will serve as cans in the house. The amp double-functions as a preamp to the 2ch setup.

Sorry buddy I don't know what you mean by "green" about your amp.
BTW, congratulations on your new toy, hope you enjoy it as much as I am now (I wish I could get more sleep rather than staying up until stupid hours listening to music) and keep us posted about your tube rolling experiences

 

[PaulDB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vic Sorry buddy I don't know what you mean by "green" about your amp. BTW, congratulations on your new toy, hope you enjoy it as much as I am now (I wish I could get more sleep rather than staying up until stupid hours listening to music) and keep us posted about your tube rolling experiences

Hi Vic,

I meant the amp isn't fully broken in yet. BTW, I followed the thread and saw your XLR Supra. I know what you talk about, sleepless hours. And I feel this is only a beginning.

 

[sacd lover]

My favorite combo with the SLAM PPX3 remains the RCA 6CG7 for gain with the Tung Sol 5687 D getter x2 for outputs. My other favorite is the Sylvania tall bottle 7N7 for gain .... again with the Tung Sol D getter 5687's for the outputs. I sometimes substitute either the Raytheon 5687wa O getter or the Sylvania 5687wa as the output tubes with the Sylvania tall bottle 7N7 for gain. If you can find the tube .... the National Union gray glass, round plate, tall bottle 7n7 is an excellent match with the Sylvania 5687wa's.

Now new tube alert

.... my ECC99 tube socket adapters will arrive tomorrow. The ECC99 is a new production replacement for the 5687. I have heard good things about this tube and hopefully these will live up to their hype. I will be using these as outputs with the typical 6CG7/ 7N7 gain tubes. But the ECC99 adapter ( actually called the ECC adapters) has the same pin out as the 12AX7/ 12AU7/ 12AT7. Therefore, the Singlepowers will be able to use the 12 and ECC series of tubes as well. I will need a third adapter, which I dont have, but for now, I am also going to experiment using one of the ECC adapters with some nos 5814a's for gain with two 5687's as the out tubes. But once I get the third adapter .... I am going to see what I can come up with using only new production tubes; maybe a 12AU7 driving two ECC99's.

 

[Gabe Logan]

I loved the 6cg7 and TS D combo.It felt like they were the perfect match for grados.That reminds me..i need another one

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