[shipsupt]

Gave the CV593 rectifier a little time earlier this week.  I liked a lot of things about it, but it lost so much low end impact that I just couldn't keep going with it while using the HD800's.  Things were just so thin and bright.  The GZ34 went back in and my low end was restored. 
 
I will eventually try it with a few headphones that might not be impacted as much, say the D7000 or some such.
 
I have to say I'm a bit surprised at how much difference I am hearing between some of these rectifiers, I had always thought they made less of a difference.
 
On a side note, FWIW the CV593 is one of the coolest glowing tubes I have for my 6SE.

 

[hodgjy]

Rectifiers are quite a bit of a sonic enigma.  But, since the rest of the circuit draws the DC current off the rectifier, it makes perfect sense that they will impact the whole sonic signature.
 
Quote:

 
I have to say I'm a bit surprised at how much difference I am hearing between some of these rectifiers, I had always thought they made less of a difference.
 
 

 

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

 The GZ34 went back in and my low end was restored. 

So wait, is this the metal base tube?  How do you like it overall?
 

 

[shipsupt]

It is. It's a '56 Amperex Bugleboy metal base. I am very pleased with it. It might not be quite as wide as the EML or princess, by a small margin, but otherwise I think it outperforms them on all fronts. Well worth a little investment, and the tips you guys gave me made sure I got one without breaking the bank...patience and careful shopping was the key.

 

[ckunstadt]

Quote:

On a side note, FWIW the CV593 is one of the coolest glowing tubes I have for my 6SE.

I totally agree. There is a very cool blown-glass effect that bounces the glow around beautifully.
Hmm. Seems like I should have posted a pic. no tri-pod, though.

 

[bobeau]

 
Quote:

It is. It's a '56 Amperex Bugleboy metal base. I am very pleased with it. It might not be quite as wide as the EML or princess, by a small margin, but otherwise I think it outperforms them on all fronts. Well worth a little investment, and the tips you guys gave me made sure I got one without breaking the bank...patience and careful shopping was the key.

Cool, glad to hear that worked out. 

 

[Johmem]

I'm new to all of this, but I am having a really hard time hearing the differences between rectifiers in my WA6.  I've been switching between a Sovtek 5U4G and a Tung Sol 5U4G, and  there should be a difference there I would think.
 
I think it takes so long to power down, let it cool, swap tubes, warm up that my brain can't detect the difference.  They both sound good, and thats all I can tell.  Guess I need to grow my audiophile ears.  Maybe I need different test music that magnifies the differences?  I've been using Alice in Chains-Unplugged and Yes-Fragile 24/96 for critical listening.

 

[archigius]

Quote:

I'm new to all of this, but I am having a really hard time hearing the differences between rectifiers in my WA6.  I've been switching between a Sovtek 5U4G and a Tung Sol 5U4G, and  there should be a difference there I would think.

Sovtek and Tung Sol 5U4G (if the Tung Sol is the modern version) are about the same tube. These are built in Russia, probably in the same factory and have minimal differences in construction, with the Tung Sol Being slightly better.
 
I swapped various rectifiers during a test on the 6SE: me and a friend of mine tried some Mullard GZ34, military Mullard GZ37, RCA 5U4G, Sophia Princess 274B, Shuguand 274B and Emission Labs 5U4G.
 
To my ears, with the HD800 and Tesla T1, the EML was clearly the best without discussions: better bass extension, the right smoothness, big soundstage, lots of micro-details; really outstanding!
 
Sophia Princess was close, but had slightly less smoothness and a less deep bass, with a more ethereal sound, but with less body to it.
 
I also liked a lot the RCA 5U4G: very balanced tubes, smoother than both the Sophia and the EML with a very good soundstage, but also less airy and detailed.
 
The two Mullards had about the same sound: very very smooth, with a slight treble rolloff and a big bass; but both sounded a lot less airy and dynamic than the EML and Sophia.
 
In the end, the Shuguand 274B: this was the worst rectifier of the bunch: sounded sterile, thin, with little soundstage and a marked grain in the highter frequencies, that made the listening experience very fatiguing.
 
I really don't understand why mr. Woo ships his amps with this Shuguang; my old Woo 6 was shipped with an Electro-Harmonix 5U4G and while that was not a great tube, it was decent sounding.
 
If I had to judge the 6 SE with the Shuguang, I thought it was a bad sounding amp.

 

[Johmem]

Quote:

Sovtek and Tung Sol 5U4G (if the Tung Sol is the modern version) are about the same tube. These are built in Russia, probably in the same factory and have minimal differences in construction, with the Tung Sol Being slightly better.
 
 

Here is a picture of the 5U4G tubes I have to try.  From left to right Sovtek, Tung Sol, RCA.  My Tung Sol must not be the modern version you are talking about, it is marked made in USA.  You can see the plate structures of the Tung Sol and the RCA are similar and a lot longer than the Sovtek.  I was listening to the Sovtek for several days, trying to get used to it so when I changed to the better tubes I could hopefully hear the difference.  I have not been rolling the driver tubes, just leaving a pair of sylvania 6DE7s in there.
 
I have a Sophia as well, but was hoping to become more familiar with how different rectifier tubes change the sound before I tried it.
 

 

 

[hodgjy]

Nice looking tubes.
 
Quote:

 
 
I have a Sophia as well, but was hoping to become more familiar with how different rectifier tubes change the sound before I tried it.
 
 
 

 

 

[archigius]

Quote:

Here is a picture of the 5U4G tubes I have to try.  From left to right Sovtek, Tung Sol, RCA.  My Tung Sol must not be the modern version you are talking about, it is marked made in USA.  You can see the plate structures of the Tung Sol and the RCA are similar and a lot longer than the Sovtek.  I was listening to the Sovtek for several days, trying to get used to it so when I changed to the better tubes I could hopefully hear the difference.  I have not been rolling the driver tubes, just leaving a pair of sylvania 6DE7s in there.
 
I have a Sophia as well, but was hoping to become more familiar with how different rectifier tubes change the sound before I tried it.
 
 
 

Your Tung Sol is the NOS version, i think it should be better than the Sovtek. Usually Sovtek are decent, but nothing more.
 
I don't remember if the RCA that i listened to was exactly like the one you have, because the tubes were owned by a friend of mine, but the RCA sounded very good. Did you try your RCA?

 

[Johmem]

I only tried the RCA to confirm it was functioning, no critical listening.  Same for the Sophia.  I really like the looks of the Sopia, with the exposed filaments in the mesh and extra size, but i wanted the tube rolling experience rather than starting out with the premium stuff.
 
I also have a decent little selection of fat bottle 6FD7s and 6EW7s.  My amp has the smaller holes for the driver tubes so I'm not sure how much experimenting I can do with all the alternate driver tubes that take various adapters.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

Sovtek and Tung Sol 5U4G (if the Tung Sol is the modern version) are about the same tube. These are built in Russia, probably in the same factory and have minimal differences in construction, with the Tung Sol Being slightly better.
 
I swapped various rectifiers during a test on the 6SE: me and a frind of mine tried some Mullard GZ34, military Mullard GZ37, RCA 5U4G, Sophia Princess 274B, Shuguand 274B and Emission Labs 5U4G.
 
To my ears, with the HD800 and Tesla T1, the EML was clearly the best without discussions: better bass extension, the right smoothness, big soundstage, lots of micro-details; really outstanding!
 
Sophia Princess was close, but had slightly less smoothness and a less deep bass, with a more ethereal sound, but with less body to it.
 
I also liked a lot the RCA 5U4G: very balanced tubes, smoother than both the Sophia and the EML with a very good soundstage, but also less airy and detailed.
 
The two Mullards had about the same sound: very very smooth, with a slight treble rolloff and a big bass; but both sounded a lot less airy and dynamic than the EML and Sophia.
 
In the end, the Shuguand 274B: this was the worst rectifier of the bunch: sounded sterile, thin, with little soundstage and a marked grain in the highter frequencies, that made the listening experience very fatiguing.
 
I really don't understand why mr. Woo ships his amps with this Shuguang; my old Woo 6 was shipped with an Electro-Harmonix 5U4G and while that was not a great tube, it was decent sounding.
 
If I had to judge the 6 SE with the Shuguang, I thought it was a bad sounding amp.

I actually had the complete opposite feeling regarding the SP and the EML. The EML was a lot more neutral with less impact and a heightened treble response (when comparing the two with the same driver tubes).. Tracks that seemed harsh with the EML were less so with the SP. One thing the EML did best the SP was with soundstage and micro details (that I agree), but all in all, as you stated they are both great tubes for the Woos with slightly different sound signatures. 

 

[archigius]

Quote:

I actually had the complete opposite feeling regarding the SP and the EML. The EML was a lot more neutral with less impact and a heightened treble response (when comparing the two with the same driver tubes).. Tracks that seemed harsh with the EML were less so with the SP. One thing the EML did best the SP was with soundstage and micro details (that I agree), but all in all, as you stated they are both great tubes for the Woos with slightly different sound signatures. 

Yes, it's really the opposite. For me, the difference between the two was not so much in the treble, but in the body. The EML sounded really fuller, more low mids, deeper bass.
It's strange, maybe it depends on the different headphones we were using for the test, with the 800 and T1 being hight impedance. Or it depends on our musical taste, or source and cables pairing.
 
My impressions about the Sophia 274b and EML 5U4G are very similar to those of the user in this post:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/428570/woo-audio-amp-owner-unite/13755#post_7751607
 
 
 
 

 

[bobeau]

 
Quote:

 
My impressions about the Sophia 274b and EML 5U4G are very similar to those of the user in this post:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/428570/woo-audio-amp-owner-unite/13755#post_7751607

 
I concur as well.  I felt the SP 274B and EML 5u4g (which is the same tube in the post, I sold it to grokit) were fairly similar, the SP was less refined, a bit less body and more edgy in the treble.  That said, the SP I have is at least 3-4 years old so it might not be truly representative of what they put out today.  I would put these tubes in a sort of 'middle ground'.  
 
Of the other tubes I tried in my comparison, the EML 274b and metal base GZ34 seemed to occupy the other ends of the spectrum, the EML being the most spacious/relaxed, the GZ34 being the most detailed/dynamic but a bit more closed in than the others.  
 
The only other tube I tried was a RCA 5u4g coke-bottle, which I was pretty ho-hum about but I don't know how it measured, it just didn't seem to be competitive with the others.