[danne]

@Skylab, Will we be seeing a reveiw from your side on the WA22 of yours soon? 

 

[Nova13]

Do others have experiences with loud 5998's?
 
I am about to roll my first new tubes into my WA3, and I was really hoping to get rid of that slightly background hum/noise you hear at high volumes, and was considering the TS 5998.  I don't want to spend the money if its going to get worse.
 
If its notoriously a bit louder than other tubes, what would be a good alternative?  (Perhaps a Sylvania 7236?)
 
 

 

[mikemalter]

Question. 
 
Has anyone else noticed that when they leave the same set of tubes in their amp for a while, the sound is smoother?  If I am tube rolling sometimes I get a combination that I do not like and it seems that I hit a rough patch and even when I go back to my good tubes, they don't sound as good the rest of the day. 
 
I'm thinking it's not an amp thing but a physical human thing.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

@Skylab, Will we be seeing a reveiw from your side on the WA22 of yours soon? 

Probably not a full review, no - I tend to only do that for new products.  But I am sure if you are following this thread you will find a lot of blathering about it by me

 
The good news is (and Wedge I hope you are reading this) is that the hum is now basically gone, and it would seem that this was an issue of tube run in.  I wish I knew WHICH tubes needed the run-in - Wedge and I have had a fun PM dialog on this, where we have been hypothesizing that it may be the rectifier tube that actually might need it.  The tubes I am using right now were all 100% for sure NOS when I put them in, so it's not a surprise that something might have needed some break in.  Yes, I popped the cherry on like $400 worth of NOS for this amp - that's how much I want to hear it at its best!  When I first put in the initial tube set, and had the hum, ONLY the rectifier was NOS - the other tubes has plenty of burn in already from use in other amps.  So this leads me to believe that what I was getting was hum due to the need for some rectifier run-in (I did all the usual routines to make sure there was no ground loop, but since I dropped the WA22 in right where the WA2 had been, that seemed unlikely anyway).
 
 
That said, right now the LCD-2 still seem a little dull on it.  I switched back to the HD800, and the HD800 are actually pretty nice sounding on the WA22 - which means that the WA22 is warming and softening them.  The LCD-2 don't want to be warmed and softened.  So at least right now, with this tube set, I like the WA22 better for the HD800 than the LCD-2.
 
More later, though.

 

[musicman59]

Quote:

yes, the cost is drawback, but...
 
There are a lot of great dac's... just for now my properly set up DAC1 with WW Starlight usb cable is more than good. Looking forward to try EAT tubes - hope that it will be better than Shuguang 300B-Z. 

 


 

Please post you impressions of the EAT. I have a pair of EML 300B Mesh in my WA5-LE and normally roll a pair of Mullard ECC32, Brimard CV1988 Black Base/Black Glass and Sylvania 6SN7WGT Brown Base/Chrome top at the driver position and EML 5U4G Mesh, Mullard GZ37 or Brimar 5R4GY at the rectifier position so I am looking for a second a pair of 300B.
 
 
 

 

[mikemalter]

Quote:

Do others have experiences with loud 5998's?
 
I am about to roll my first new tubes into my WA3, and I was really hoping to get rid of that slightly background hum/noise you hear at high volumes, and was considering the TS 5998.  I don't want to spend the money if its going to get worse.
 
If its notoriously a bit louder than other tubes, what would be a good alternative?  (Perhaps a Sylvania 7236?)
 
 

Some people experience them as loud.  As for myself, yes I find them very loud and I have to use the low impedence setting.  Others here do not find them loud at all.
 
 

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

 
You could always go SS.  No rolling there!

I actually enjoy tube rolling, though I've stopped for now. I also used to use an equalizer with ss amps! At times I'm just befuddled by my audiophile logic.

Different sound perspectives is good--who wants to wear the same clothes all the time, right?
 

 

[nututubes]

Quote:

I have quite a few 6520's - some with 5998 innards, and some with 6AS7G innards.  Which are you using?  Thanks!
 

I know (think) that they are not the 5998 inards because?????, because they don't look like any of my other three pairs of TS 5998s. They also produce the less volume or power than the 5998s do at the same volume knob setting).
I do use both, more recently the 6520 6as7 with classical chamber music...baroque if you will. They seem great to me with period accoustical music and top notch recording @ 24/96.
 
BTW, thanks for the link to Bob Putnak. I will be getting one of his tube testers soon.
 
 

 

[nututubes]

Quote:

Question. 
 
Has anyone else noticed that when they leave the same set of tubes in their amp for a while, the sound is smoother?  If I am tube rolling sometimes I get a combination that I do not like and it seems that I hit a rough patch and even when I go back to my good tubes, they don't sound as good the rest of the day. 
 
I'm thinking it's not an amp thing but a physical human thing.

I do feel it's all about psychoacoustics, the human thing that you refer to. The same piece of music will sound different to me, depending on time of day, my mood, my alchoholic content

, etc.
 
When tube rolling, I often doubt my senses because of this. Things like expectation bias...you know, you just bought a pair (or 2) of Mullard ECC32s, and they sound better than TS BGRPs I think?

 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

The vast majority of audiophiles shun amps with bass and treble controls for sound neutrality and transparency and yet we spend muito dinheiro, mucho dinero, lotsa cash, on tubes and such to alter the sound signature.

Huh?

Great observation, which always leaves me laughing... albeit, silently.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Do others have experiences with loud 5998's?
 
I am about to roll my first new tubes into my WA3, and I was really hoping to get rid of that slightly background hum/noise you hear at high volumes, and was considering the TS 5998.  I don't want to spend the money if its going to get worse.
 
If its notoriously a bit louder than other tubes, what would be a good alternative?  (Perhaps a Sylvania 7236?)

 
Quote:

Some people experience them as loud.  As for myself, yes I find them very loud and I have to use the low impedence setting.  Others here do not find them loud at all.

I used two different pairs of Chatham 2399 which are the same tube and have never had a noise problem on either impedance setting with my WA22.
 
 
Quote:

I do feel it's all about psychoacoustics, the human thing that you refer to. The same piece of music will sound different to me, depending on time of day, my mood, my alchoholic content

, etc.
 
When tube rolling, I often doubt my senses because of this. Things like expectation bias...you know, you just bought a pair (or 2) of Mullard ECC32s, and they sound better than TS BGRPs I think?

Agreed. It's all about one's ch'i/qi, or prana, at the time of listening.

 

[Skylab]

The issue with tone controls is how incredibly poorly implemented most of them are.  I use the tone controls on my vintage Pioneer SX-1980 all the time, because they are so well thought out - very small increments, and the turnover frequencies are both 50 Hz and/or 100 Hz for the bass, and bith 10 kHz and/or 20kHz for the treble.  Many bass tone controls are 100 Hz only, which I fine almost always useless - adds nothing but bloat, or makes things way too thin when used subtractively.  50 Hz is much more useful.  And many many treble controls operate at more like 6kHz.  Having a 20kHz control can add a little bit of air when needed without adding sizzle down below.  And the first step is 2dB. Very helpful.  And of course there is that all important master defeat button.
 
If more gear had well thought out tone controls like that. I think more people would use them.  Even the bass boost on the Leben is usually not useful, since it's smallest step is 3dB, which I find to be too much.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Question. 
 
Has anyone else noticed that when they leave the same set of tubes in their amp for a while, the sound is smoother?  If I am tube rolling sometimes I get a combination that I do not like and it seems that I hit a rough patch and even when I go back to my good tubes, they don't sound as good the rest of the day. 
 
I'm thinking it's not an amp thing but a physical human thing.

For me, the two E's (Emotions & Electrons) makes for a fascinating Explanation. With the former, same day experiences matter - what kind of day one is having. Additionally, an experience one might have had seven days prior may help or hurt their ability to emotionally connect to the music in the here and now.
 
With the latter, electrons like an environment at rest. Wanna test that theory? Make your swaps, move your cables, bend your cables, rearrange your gear.. and put it all back like it was. It won't sound like it did or be at its best until time has a chance to settle things.
 
Or buy a new cable that has a factory burn-in recommendation of 100 hours. Excited, one cooks it on their solid-state gear 24/7 - smiling at day 5. And they note a change in sound signature. Well, depending on the cable's design and materials used, it's going to need a certain amount of time to settle, no matter how fast one arrived at the total hours of run-time recommended. So, one may see another change yet again, say 21 days after installment. 
 
These are my views from my own experiences inside my listening room. Admittedly, while I have an open mind, I'm also hungry. And may have a different view on a full belly. 

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

I do feel it's all about psychoacoustics, the human thing that you refer to. The same piece of music will sound different to me, depending on time of day, my mood, my alchoholic content

, etc.
 
When tube rolling, I often doubt my senses because of this. Things like expectation bias...you know, you just bought a pair (or 2) of Mullard ECC32s, and they sound better than TS BGRPs I think?

 

I agree with this 100%. Every single time I listen to a combination of equipment, it sounds a little different to me than the last time -- and it should, because the combination of mood, music and environment creates a unique context for listening that can never be duplicated exactly.
 
As a result, I sometimes look back on comments I've made here in the past and think, man, that must have been a three-Scotch evening for me to have felt that way...

 
 

 

[grokit]

I have a lot of different tubes for my WA22 and I'm looking to streamline so I thought I would offer up a couple of trades if anyone is interested. I will put them up for sale soon if no one responds, along with a grab-bag of other tubes.
 
First up is my EML 5U4G, which is a recent replacement from Tubes USA that only has a few hours on it from a single listening session to confirm functionality (perfect). I would like to trade it for an EML 274B in similar condition, as they sell for the same price. Basically I am leaning towards selling it because I prefer the Sophia Princess which is also a 274B, and want to try EML's version of that tube. This tube comes in the fancy gift box.
 
I also have an extra matched pair of Chatham 2399 (same tube as Tungsol 5998) tubes that I purchased last year; this is the better pair that I just used for a couple of listening sessions before rolling in the other pair so they are "almost" NOS. I would like to trade them for a matched pair of of NOS Sylvania 7236 tubes in similar condition, which I'm pretty sure fetch a similar price. I have the boxes for these tubes as well.
 
Photos are available these tubes upon request.