[tom hankins]

Looking to start rolling tubes in my Aesthetix Calypso preamp and was wondering if anybody has some thoughts on what to use. Any info good or bad will be great. QUIET tubes area must. Thanks.
It uses two each of the 6922, and either 12AX7 or E83CCS

 

[edisonwu]

telefunken has the best ECC803S.
its 12AX7 ribbed plate is also highly recommended.

Amperex 12AX7 Bugle Boy Holland from 1950-1960 is very hard to find, however they are very outstanding tubes as well.

 

[edisonwu]

Gold lion's 12AX7 is as famous as telefunken Ecc803s. you dont want to know the price.

 

[edisonwu]

As for 6922, IMO, the best of the best should be Telefunken CCa 1960 and Siemens CCa1950 D getter.

I list some some the best below:
Telefunken E88CC (always excelent)
Siemens E88CC 1950, 1960
Amperex E88CC PQ Holland Gold Pins
Mullard CV4108 1960's
Mullard E88CC 1960's old shield logo
.
.
.
.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edisonwu As for 6922, IMO, the best of the best should be Telefunken CCa 1960 and Siemens CCa1950 D getter. I list some some the best below: Telefunken E88CC (always excelent) Siemens E88CC 1950, 1960 Amperex E88CC PQ Holland Gold Pins Mullard CV4108 1960's Mullard E88CC 1960's old shield logo . . . .

Are all of these replacments for the 6922? Any sonic info on them?
Thanks for all your help.

 

[drarthurwells]

I use Tesla E88s in my preamp for video as it has sharp definition of sound images, with great clarity, for clear voice reproduction.


Electro Harmonix Gold (only with the gold pins) are more musical and a great choice in a modern tube. I use them for CDs and sattelite music.


I like the older Philips also but they tend to have noise and so I don't use them much.

 

[Zanth]

This thread is hopefully going to turn into something really interesting. I have an Ear 834p and it uses 3 12ax7's. I have teles right now and I don't like them. Granted I don't like Teles of ANY tube type. I find them thin, strident, cold, though airy and sometimes sparkly on top. I think they are the most highly overrated tube company in the audiophile universe.

The Goldlion may be much better since they are really just the best of the Mullards (I think I read that most Goldlions were made at the same plants as Mullard but rebranded as the premium stock, kinda like the Tele S series.

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins Are all of these replacments for the 6922? Any sonic info on them? Thanks for all your help.

Hi,

*Telefunken CCa 1960 - overall good sounding, excelent resolution, lots detail, accurated, sweet and lush.

*Siemens CCa1950 D getter - Super airy, more than the TFK CCa, high resolution, bumping and well-knit bass, super high extension


*Telefunken E88CC - like the CCa, but not that sweet, smooth and lush, a little bit rough compared with CCa

*Siemens E88CC 1950, 1960 - like the CCa, high end air, good resolution

*Amperex E88CC PQ Holland - lush and sweet mid, good bass

*Mullard E88CC 1960's old shield logo - sweet, warm sounding, musical, but a little muddy

*Mullard CV4108 1960's - sound like the Mullard E88CC, but not muddy, very clear, (very old tube, hard to find)

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins Are all of these replacments for the 6922? Any sonic info on them? Thanks for all your help.

Yes, they are all 6922, not 6Dj8 or 7308.

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells I use Tesla E88s in my preamp for video as it has sharp definition of sound images, with great clarity, for clear voice reproduction. Electro Harmonix Gold (only with the gold pins) are more musical and a great choice in a modern tube. I use them for CDs and sattelite music. I like the older Philips also but they tend to have noise and so I don't use them much.

I like the EH-G. Very easy to find, low price but high in the performance.

 

[Jahn]

All suggestions are for the 6922-type tubes:

6N1P make for supercheap clean punchy tubes with a growl in the low end and a bit harsh in the highs when pushed. Did I mention supercheap? But beware, they run HOT and your amp has to have a beefy PSU not to melt to the ground with em.

In the pricier but still reasonable range are the PCC88/7DJ8 tubes. If your amp can handle 7 volts instead of 6 like the normal 6922/6DJ8s, then there are a bunch of PCC88 counterparts that will last you longer and sound just as good. Where else can you find A-Frame Amperex Hollands for this price? Not if they were 6922s, that's for sure!

Finally, if you gotta go the traditional 6922 tube route, I liked the Telefunken E88CC, which had great warmth and smooth mids, but a bit rolled off in the bass for my liking and not punchy enough for my GRR moments.

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth This thread is hopefully going to turn into something really interesting. I have an Ear 834p and it uses 3 12ax7's. I have teles right now and I don't like them. Granted I don't like Teles of ANY tube type. I find them thin, strident, cold, though airy and sometimes sparkly on top. I think they are the most highly overrated tube company in the audiophile universe. The Goldlion may be much better since they are really just the best of the Mullards (I think I read that most Goldlions were made at the same plants as Mullard but rebranded as the premium stock, kinda like the Tele S series.

I havn't heard TFK ECC803S....tubes performance are really up to the circuits, though.

Yes, mullard did, If I did remember correctly. Mullard made the best tubes for Amperex too. Their 10M etched label gold pins 12ax7 is one of the best 22.

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edisonwu I havn't heard TFK ECC803S....tubes performance are really up to the circuits, though.

I agree to an extent. If the circuit is a very simple circuit then the tubes innate characteristics will be far more apparent and given that...one must choose carefully. The Ear 834p is known to have an excellent circuit but so so parts. Once the parts are bettered, and the stepsup (at lesat in mine) are replaced, then it is really just the sound of the tubes that really bowls one over. Though I do agree, sometimes tubes are implemented in a way that it really doesn't even matter what tubes are installed, the sound doens't really change. In some ways this is a good thing, just pop in the cheapest tubes and be done with it. But oh...how fun tube rolling is!

 

[edisonwu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth I agree to an extent. If the circuit is a very simple circuit then the tubes innate characteristics will be far more apparent and given that...one must choose carefully. The Ear 834p is known to have an excellent circuit but so so parts. Once the parts are bettered, and the stepsup (at lesat in mine) are replaced, then it is really just the sound of the tubes that really bowls one over. Though I do agree, sometimes tubes are implemented in a way that it really doesn't even matter what tubes are installed, the sound doens't really change. In some ways this is a good thing, just pop in the cheapest tubes and be done with it. But oh...how fun tube rolling is!

totally agree

Thanks Zanth

 

[The Smokester]

Tom,
I see you asked this question over on Audiogon, too. Here is a well-considered post from there by Albert Porter that relates closely to the question you are asking:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...5#Albertporter

I have only second hand experience with the Aesthetix but the answer is very often "Telefunkens". In my own system ( which is not Aesthetix) I have tried all-telefunkens but have found that lower noise and slightly better tone is achieved with the front-most tube (earliest in the chain, which are 6922's in my case) being Amperex A-frames which are noted for their low noise. The rest are Tele's. Other friends who have Aesthetics with similar tastes also employ combinations of Amperex A-frames, Amperex Bugle Boys, Mullards and most commonly Teles.

I have also tried--but without success--Sylvanias and Seimens tubes. This are well-regarded by many but in my system they sound strident. Phillips tubes sound great, they're cheap, but tend to be noisey, microphonic, and short lived in my experience.

It took me months to finally come up with the "magic" combination for my system. This is Albert Porter's experience, too. I think most tubies find that choosing tubes involves some compromise...Some tubes will sound great on some recordings but perhaps are too sharp (or not sharp enough) on others. Over a period of time one settles into the best combination for one's system and tastes.