Ayon CD-1. Balanced, tube output. Bought a real nice used one off of Audiogon. Jack was very clear that to get the full benefit of the WA22, balanced sources were a requirement. I cant argue with that. The Ayon pairs extremely well with the WA22. Im still doing all my listening with the balanced T1's. Have a set of balanced Audeze LCD-2's Ive yet to plug in. Maybe give those a try next week.
It is easily the most detailed and accurate CD player Ive ever listened to. Its hooked to the WA22 with a pair of Acoustic Zen silver reference II XLR interconnects.
I had this WA22 built with 2 balanced input pairs. For $90, Woo will delete the RCA's and install a second pair of XLR inputs. Im shopping for a balanced DAC to hook up to the second pair. A good starting point looks like the Wyred 4 sound DAC-2, but Im still looking.
Currently using Tung-sol 5998 power tubes, Treasure drivers and the stock rectifier that came with the amp. I have an EML mesh on order, and just bought an NOS Mullard GZ37/CV378 rectifier out of England. In going to order a matched pair of NOS Mullard ECC32 drivers very soon, and am very close to buying a couple pairs of NOS GEC A1834 power tubes from overseas.
The Beyer T1's have been converted to balanced cables and the sound rivals anything Ive ever heard come out of a headphone. But this is my first headphone setup.
A quick question to all: has anybody dabbled in re-gluing their loose tube bases or has a preferred method of doing so? I have a few like this, but the other night one of my beloved Sylvania bad boys had its base come loose. It was tight the last time I put them in their boxes so I'm kind of clueless how it happened, but it is now bothering me. I've read clear nail polish is a good trick that helps the original adhesive re-bond, has anybody tried this out? I know the tube can be left as-is (I may still do that rather than risk one of my most expensive and hard to replace tubes), but it is a shaky kind of loose that concerns me.
Considering the sockets themselves are labeled I can't see how anybody could make such a mistake. Certainly inspires confidence in the review doesn't it?
A quick question to all: has anybody dabbled in re-gluing their loose tube bases or has a preferred method of doing so? I have a few like this, but the other night one of my beloved Sylvania bad boys had its base come loose. It was tight the last time I put them in their boxes so I'm kind of clueless how it happened, but it is now bothering me. I've read clear nail polish is a good trick that helps the original adhesive re-bond, has anybody tried this out? I know the tube can be left as-is (I may still do that rather than risk one of my most expensive and hard to replace tubes), but it is a shaky kind of loose that concerns me.
The collective wisdom over on tubes asylum seems to be that it's best to leave the bases loose. Very few glues can stand up to the heat produced by tubes. If you search there, you will get some recommendations on glue that will work, but as for me, I prefer just to leave them the way they are. Just be sure only to grip the tube by the base when rolling it (something that should always be done).
It's just a cool 50ºF foggy Saturday morning in San Francisco so:
I decided to place an NOS RCA 5U4G tube in my WA22. A half an hour later the doesn't glow and then 10 seconds later it starts to pulse. The music leaves my amp. I turn off the 22 and pull the rectifier out. I put the 5U4G in my TC28 tube tester and it tests really BAD--like dead--there's no glow. I wiggle the 5U4G in the tester and it comes alive again. It tests strong. I pull it out of the tester and put it back in the 22--nothing. I put it back into the tester and it tests dead. I wiggle it a little bit and it comes on after a few crackling sounds from my tube tester. I throw the darn rectifier in the trash. I bought this tube new about 15 months ago. It tested good and I put it away. Now a little over year later I want to use it and it's dead. Ah--bad luck I suppose. Also I noticed that the flashing from the getter in this tube was almost nonexistent. Just a ghost of a trace. Does the flashing dissipate over time even when the tube is not in use? Maybe I should retrieve the darn tube from the trash and sandpaper the pins a bit and try it again but the pins looked clean.
It's just a cool 50ºF foggy Saturday morning in San Francisco so:
I decided to place an NOS RCA 5U4G tube in my WA22. A half an hour later the doesn't glow and then 10 seconds later it starts to pulse. The music leaves my amp. I turn off the 22 and pull the rectifier out. I put the 5U4G in my TC28 tube tester and it tests really BAD--like dead--there's no glow. I wiggle the 5U4G in the tester and it comes alive again. It tests strong. I pull it out of the tester and put it back in the 22--nothing. I put it back into the tester and it tests dead. I wiggle it a little bit and it comes on after a few crackling sounds from my tube tester. I throw the darn rectifier in the trash. I bought this tube new about 15 months ago. It tested good and I put it away. Now a little over year later I want to use it and it's dead. Ah--bad luck I suppose. Also I noticed that the flashing from the getter in this tube was almost nonexistent. Just a ghost of a trace. Does the flashing dissipate over time even when the tube is not in use? Maybe I should retrieve the darn tube from the trash and sandpaper the pins a bit and try it again but the pins looked clean.
If I were Bayside right now, I'd stroll over to The Palace of Fine Arts, sit down and have lunch. Perhaps, pizza or a grilled tuna sandwich. When finished, I'd put on my M.E. hat and retrieve the body (the tube) from the trash for further examination while I sought answers.
Unfortunate that it happened, but could make a good case study going forward...
The collective wisdom over on tubes asylum seems to be that it's best to leave the bases loose. Very few glues can stand up to the heat produced by tubes. If you search there, you will get some recommendations on glue that will work, but as for me, I prefer just to leave them the way they are. Just be sure only to grip the tube by the base when rolling it (something that should always be done).
Thanks Rob, I will just leave them be. I made the sad mistake of twisting one (not the Sylvania thankfully) a bit before finding out that is a very bad idea. There is always more to learn about tubes it seems. Hopefully I didn't damage any wiring in that tube.
I checked Tubes Asylum out and the best suggestion seemed to be using acetone to re-activate the old glue if you can, if it doesn't work it will just evaporate away.
It's just a cool 50ºF foggy Saturday morning in San Francisco so:
I decided to place an NOS RCA 5U4G tube in my WA22. A half an hour later the doesn't glow and then 10 seconds later it starts to pulse. The music leaves my amp. I turn off the 22 and pull the rectifier out. I put the 5U4G in my TC28 tube tester and it tests really BAD--like dead--there's no glow. I wiggle the 5U4G in the tester and it comes alive again. It tests strong. I pull it out of the tester and put it back in the 22--nothing. I put it back into the tester and it tests dead. I wiggle it a little bit and it comes on after a few crackling sounds from my tube tester. I throw the darn rectifier in the trash. I bought this tube new about 15 months ago. It tested good and I put it away. Now a little over year later I want to use it and it's dead. Ah--bad luck I suppose. Also I noticed that the flashing from the getter in this tube was almost nonexistent. Just a ghost of a trace. Does the flashing dissipate over time even when the tube is not in use? Maybe I should retrieve the darn tube from the trash and sandpaper the pins a bit and try it again but the pins looked clean.
You have a bad solder connection in one of the pins. If you have a soldering iron some times you can just heat the pins up and let the solder re flow or you can
add solder to the bottom of each pin. This is common in old tubes.
A quick question to all: has anybody dabbled in re-gluing their loose tube bases or has a preferred method of doing so? I have a few like this, but the other night one of my beloved Sylvania bad boys had its base come loose. It was tight the last time I put them in their boxes so I'm kind of clueless how it happened, but it is now bothering me. I've read clear nail polish is a good trick that helps the original adhesive re-bond, has anybody tried this out? I know the tube can be left as-is (I may still do that rather than risk one of my most expensive and hard to replace tubes), but it is a shaky kind of loose that concerns me.
The glue that holds the rear view mirror to the windshield can be got in any auto supply. I also use this glue to re glue the grid cap back on 6F8G tubes if they come loose.
It's sort of a pain first you have to apply the activator let dry then put on the glue and hold it together for awhile. It will never come loose again.
^ Using glue that's purpose is to cement glass products to plastic (or most anything else) makes perfect sense. Thanks for the DIY tip. Now I have to learn how to wield a soldering iron and I've it made--maybe.
Don't get that confused with the recommendations for using clear nail polish as an adhesive. Anyways Glenn's suggestion sounds like a great, permanent solution if a bit of a pain, assuming that the automotive adhesive he recommends is heat-impervious which it doesn't have to be for its intended purpose. But I would tend to trust his experience in tubular matters, as well as Skylab's recommendation to leave well enough alone if possible.
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