[leftside]

Here are my thoughts on the rectifiers I tried out today. Please note this is not as descriptive or as eloquent as DubStepGirls thread. The system consisted of a McIntosh MVP 861, McIntosh C100 preamp, Woo Audio WA22 and LCD-3F headphones. To be honest I didn't notice a huge difference between the rectifiers.
 
The driver tubes I used were Sylvania metal base, and the power tubes were Tung Sol 7326. I do have slightly better driver and power tubes, but the Sylvania and TS made for a nice reference set. First of all I tested with no music playing and the Woo WA22 at the 3 'o' clock position. The Mac preamp was always at 60 (out of 100). Then I turned the WA22 to max volume with no music playing. At each point I listened for hum from the amp and hum and hiss from the headphones. I played music with the WA22 at the 3 'o' clock position. My reference rectifier was the Valvo GZ34 5AR4.
 
There was a very slight hiss in the headphones at max volume from all rectifiers, so I won't mention it again. Please note music would be extremely loud at this volume and would probably deafen you, so it is not a concern. I almost think some compromise has been made in tube amps that proclaim a completely black background at max volume, but I digress...
 
- Valvo GZ34 5AR4: WA22 was dead silent. Great sound. Definitely one of my favorites. Treble, bass, vocals, soundstage all outstanding.
- Sophia Princess. Very slight hum from WA22. Not quite as full a sound as the Valvo, but still very nice. Spectacular looking tube. One to bring out to show off to your friends.
- Emission EML 5U4G. Very slight hum from WA22. Not quite as detailed as the Valvo. Again, one to bring out to show off to your friends.
- Osram CV575. Very slight hum from WA22. Full sound, very detailed. Up there with the Valvo in sound quality.
- Mullard CV593. WA22 was dead silent. Slightly lighter sound. Vocals not as forward/pronounced. 
- Mullard CV378. WA22 was dead silent. Very similar to the CV593
- Cossor 53KU. WA22 was dead silent. Slightly wider soundstage to the Valvo. Vocals slightly more pronounced. This tube is my second favorite.
- Western 274A. Very slight hum from WA22. This tube has bit more of everything, Soundstage, detail, vocals, depth, etc. Very expensive tube. For less than a third of the price you can get the Valvo. You have to decide for yourself if you think these fairly slight differences are worth it.
 
Here is my list of favorites, though I'd be more than happy with any of the above rectifiers.
1) Western 274A
2) Cossor 53KU
3) Valvo GZ34 5AR4
 
As mentioned, I didn't notice a huge difference between the rectifiers. This might be because of my SACD player, preamp and headphones. As long as there is enough power, those headphones sound good anywhere. The only other rectifier I have due to arrive is a Philips metal base. This should arrive next week.
 
I've got a whole bunch of driver tubes to try out next.

 

[abvolt]

awesome write-up..

 

[leftside]

I tried a whole bunch of driver tubes today. I obtained most of these in one batch from the same seller. The tube pins were some of the dirtiest/dusty I'd ever seen, but they cleaned up really nicely with Deoxit cleaner and then were conditioned with Deoxit gold and left over night (I do this with all my tubes). Here's a pic of some of them:
 

 
There was also a 1940's Sylvania VT-231 and Tung Sol BGRP. All of these tubes were really nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them this afternoon. But, to be honest I couldn't tell much difference between them. Maybe subtle differences here and there, but I was expecting more. All dead silent with no hum.
 
The stand-out tubes were the Sylvania metal base and even more so the brown base Mullard ECC33. The ECC33's were really superb. The differences weren't striking, but they were definitely there with this tube. Almost sounded louder - so much so that I had to check the volume control. I also have the Mullard ECC31's and ECC32's, but after closer inspection it appears these are not matched, so I'm on the hunt for matching tubes. I have ECC34's and ECC35's arriving next week.
 
In the near future I'll start selling off some of these tubes, but I need to finish selling a bunch of vinyl records first. Which ones am I keeping? RCA red base, Sylvania VT-231, Tung-Sol tall boys, Sylvania chrome top/brown base, all the ECCxx, Shuguang Treasure and Sylvania metal base. Though that's probably still too much...

 

[kkcc]

Tube rolling on a WA22 is subtle.  

I tend to agree with this. Spent a ton of time and $$$ rolling over the years and end up settling for a set of nice but reasonable tubes: ts5998 vt231 and usaf596. They sound great with my hd800 and HE6 with Hugo.

 

[kyle1010]

I tried a whole bunch of driver tubes today. I obtained most of these in one batch from the same seller. The tube pins were some of the dirtiest/dusty I'd ever seen, but they cleaned up really nicely with Deoxit cleaner and then were conditioned with Deoxit gold and left over night (I do this with all my tubes). Here's a pic of some of them:




There was also a 1940's Sylvania VT-231 and Tung Sol BGRP. All of these tubes were really nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them this afternoon. But, to be honest I couldn't tell much difference between them. Maybe subtle differences here and there, but I was expecting more. All dead silent with no hum.

The stand-out tubes were the Sylvania metal base and even more so the brown base Mullard ECC33. The ECC33's were really superb. The differences weren't striking, but they were definitely there with this tube. Almost sounded louder - so much so that I had to check the volume control. I also have the Mullard ECC31's and ECC32's, but after closer inspection it appears these are not matched, so I'm on the hunt for matching tubes. I have ECC34's and ECC35's arriving next week.

In the near future I'll start selling off some of these tubes, but I need to finish selling a bunch of vinyl records first. Which ones am I keeping? RCA red base, Sylvania VT-231, Tung-Sol tall boys, Sylvania chrome top/brown base, all the ECCxx, Shuguang Treasure and Sylvania metal base. Though that's probably still too much...

Sooo I don't suppose you'd sell me those Sylvania metal bases huh? I searched around a bit and it's definitely not easy to find a pair of those.

 

[Contrails]

Ok, so I finally pulled the WE422a out along with the 5998s.  Sonic bliss, here I come or so I thought.  Turns out the WE422a, 5998 and ECC31 don't like each other.  The ECC31 has flashed a couple of times during play and the music has stopped for the quarter of the second during the flash but this is not good.  I had to turn the amp off.  I have seen the ECC31s flash during cold start up which I read is normal.  Do you think the adapters might be causing the issue? The 5998 haven't been used in almost 2 years and have about 20-30 hours on them. 
 
I will substitute some 6su7gty instead of the ECC31s.
 
Edit: The TS 6su7gty are getting along very very well with the WE422a and 5998. They have a higher gain for sure. But oh man the WE422a.  The holographic soundstage, extends beautifully in both directions.  Instrument decay, dynamics, oh man this is one gorgeous tube to look at and listen too.  Coupled with the 5998 (next test will be with Bendix 6080wb power tubes)... Sonic Bliss finally.  

 

[leftside]

Sooo I don't suppose you'd sell me those Sylvania metal bases huh? I searched around a bit and it's definitely not easy to find a pair of those.

Afraid not. They are hard to find, but quite often appear on eBay (though tough to find exact matches in good shape for a decent price). I wanted the metal base "set" (i.e. power/driver/rectifier) and should have that complete this week.

 

[leftside]

  Ok, so I finally pulled the WE422a out along with the 5998s.  Sonic bliss, here I come or so I thought.  Turns out the WE422a, 5998 and ECC31 don't like each other.  The ECC31 has flashed a couple of times during play and the music has stopped for the quarter of the second during the flash but this is not good.  I had to turn the amp off.  I have seen the ECC31s flash during cold start up which I read is normal.  Do you think the adapters might be causing the issue? The 5998 haven't been used in almost 2 years and have about 20-30 hours on them. 
 
I will substitute some 6su7gty instead of the ECC31s.
 
Edit: The TS 6su7gty are getting along very very well with the WE422a and 5998. They have a higher gain for sure. But oh man the WE422a.  The holographic soundstage, extends beautifully in both directions.  Instrument decay, dynamics, oh man this is one gorgeous tube to look at and listen too.  Coupled with the 5998 (next test will be with Bendix 6080wb power tubes)... Sonic Bliss finally.  

Yikes. My Mullard ECC31's are fine with a similar combo. Must be your ECC31's or adapter.
 
Let us know how it goes with the Bendix. Those are hard to find....

 

[kyle1010]

Afraid not. They are hard to find, but quite often appear on eBay (though tough to find exact matches in good shape for a decent price). I wanted the metal base "set" (i.e. power/driver/rectifier) and should have that complete this week.

Haha I hear ya. Just wishful thinking. I'll set the alerts on ebay for em. Not in a huge rush. My WA22 hasn't even arrived yet..two more days ugh.

 

[leftside]

Haha I hear ya. Just wishful thinking. I'll set the alerts on ebay for em. Not in a huge rush. My WA22 hasn't even arrived yet..two more days ugh.

Just two days? You're going to love it. If it's new then you might as well break it in with the stock tubes.

 

[Contrails]

  If it's new then you might as well break it in with the stock tubes.


 

 
Bingo.  And from the main woo thread, instead of going all out on uber tubes, another possibility is to upgrade the DAC too.  

 

[kyle1010]

Bingo.  And from the main woo thread, instead of going all out on uber tubes, another possibility is to upgrade the DAC too.  

Roger that. Aw man. The dreaded break-in period. Luckily I really liked the sound of the brand new straight out the box stock WA22 at CanJam. If it gets better from there holy crap I'm in for a wild ride. I'll more than likely only grab one more rectifier and one set of driver tubes and call it. My nightstand can't really hold much more than the Mojo now as far as DACs. Plus for the music I listen to, and the fact that I only use Tidal via iPhone to feed it, a better/bigger/more pricey dac wouldn't make sense right now.

Anyway, you guys are a huge help. Thanks for taking the time to write those tube impressions! I think I'm gonna grab a WE422a and those Sylvania metal base drivers and be done with the rolls cuz I need to concentrate on upgrades to the big system in the living room. I'll definitely be posting my thoughts when the WA22 gets here Thursday..oh..and pics!

 

[Contrails]

 I think I'm gonna grab a WE422a and those Sylvania metal base drivers and be done with the rolls cuz I need to concentrate on upgrades to the big system in the living room. I'll definitely be posting my thoughts when the WA22 gets here Thursday..oh..and pics!

 
And a couple of 5998s.  You will be set for a very very long time. 

 

[abvolt]

yeah the 5998's are for me extremely nice sounding..

 

[kyle1010]

Fresh out the box, on the nightstand, and breaking in!