Cryo Treated Vacuum Tubes

[eleazar]

I'm really really new to Tube gear I have an inexpensive tube preamp that I purchased recently.
I'm looking to try some other tubes than the $15 6922 tubes that it came with. ITR317 has some
vintage tubes for me the next time I see him. Would Cryo treating a vacuum tube be an improvement.

Consonance T99

Cryo Tubes Ebay

[richidoo]

Good lookin pre...

Some sales propaganda about cryoing tubes. YMMV  
http://www.tubedepot.com/bsctfaq.html
I have bought from them, the tubes were nice, but did not compliment the circuit I used them in. I would only buy cryo tubes again IF I already knew they were a good match for my amp.

Contact Lee at Cryoparts, he is a AN sponsor and has lots of experience with cryo treatment, including tubes for his own use. I don't know if he offers tube cryo as a service. Also contact Black Sand Audio, John does cryo treatment and has done some tubes, and is always full of excellent advice.

My fav 6992 is Matsushita from 1970s.  New JJ signal tubes sound excellent, but you need a spare. As for the Electro Harmonix tubes sold by Cryoset, I would not be surprised if they still sound a lot like the uncryoed version which is a little edgy, not terribly refined but dense and strong, very reliable. I think I would invest in some decent vintage tubes rather than freeze the EHs. But I never used these, maybe they are awesome!

[rollo]

  Sweet ! What is the character of the Pre as is ? warm ? Bright ? neutral ? That would determine what 6922 you might try.
  My Consonance Cyber 211 amps loved the Matushitas as well as Mullard. both on the Yin side of the equation. the other factor is how the 6922 is used. if used to its maximum in the circuit then the NOS may not last long. some preamps are hard on tubes others not. find out how the tube is utilized from Consonance before you try anything. I have zero experience with Cryoed tubes.
  Have fun trying. 


charles

[AcidJazz]

I use EH6922 (4 of them) in my pre, they sound neutral/detailed to me, not edgy and unrefined, but what do I know? I'm no tube expert. 
I have tried cryoed tubes( from Cryoset) but they were EL34's and 12AT7, but didn't compare to non cryo versions...

[Bigfish8]

I'm really really new to Tube gear I have an inexpensive tube preamp that I purchased recently.
I'm looking to try some other tubes than the $15 6922 tubes that it came with. ITR317 has some
vintage tubes for me the next time I see him. Would Cryo treating a vacuum tube be an improvement.

Consonance T99

Cryo Tubes Ebay

You are about to embark on a very steep learning curve, he, he!  Experimenting with different tubes is similar to sampling different flavors of ice cream as a kid.  Some flavors you liked better than others and it is exactly the same with tubes. 

My advice, for whatever its worth, is to forget about Cryo treating tubes and experiment with different tubes until you find something that is right for you.  If you have not rolled tubes before you will be astonished at the differences you will experience.  Unfortunately, you will also learn that there are some jewels to found at attractive prices but most of the better sounding tubes are highly sought after and thus can be expensive. 

Lastly but not least is tube rolling is addictive - trust me, I know.

Have fun!

Ken

[etcarroll]

As I understand it, cryo for tubes isn’t supposed to make them sound better, but last longer. After all, the work a vacuum tube does occurs in the vacuum between electrodes within the tube, you can’t freeze a vacuum. So the question is, does freezing/cryo the electrodes within a vacuum tube improve the sound?

I’ll let someone else test that out.

As mentioned, the adventure is collecting and trying different type/manufacture of tubes. I showed you my box and a half of 12au7s/ECC82 tubes for the Purity, now I'm collecting ECC83 tubes for the EAR 834P, starting with Mullards from the Blackburn plant in England made in the '60s, as that's what's in the Purity.

Oh, and that last part is part of 'the steep learning curve' already mentioned. I didn't know anything about a plant in England making tubes prior to the holidays, much less know how to decipher the codes on the tubes to learn this info, but I do now! 

Start tube rolling, and you soon will as well. 

[eleazar]

Thanks all, I guess there is no one answer I'll start off with a pair
and go on from there...........Bill

[Bigfish8]

Thanks all, I guess there is no one answer I'll start off with a pair
and go on from there...........Bill

Bill:

I believe what we are trying to tell is that there is no single 6922/6DJ8 Tube that is right for all of us.  The NOS Mullards are very highly regarded but they are quite expensive.  If you have never experienced tube rolling it really can be a combination of fun, frustrating and expensive.  Don't be trying to buy your "ultimate tube" at this point.  You might want to try several flavors of new tubes and try some value tubes off Ebay.  You will be able to learn how tube rolling impacts your system, or doesn't without spending $150.00+ on one pair of tubes you might not like. 

I run a pair of NOS Mullard 6922 and a pair of 6H30DRs in my Moscode AMP.  I honestly went through many tubes to arrive at this combination. 

Good Luck,

Ken

[etcarroll]

If I might take the liberty of speaking for Bill, I don't think he was asking for 'what's the best tube' so much as 'does cryo treatment of tubes make an appreciable difference to sound?'.

My response was most likely not, at least not as much as outright tube rolling would make. But my only experience has been with smaller 'signal' tubes, so I could be completely off-base here.

[tmazz]

If I might take the liberty of speaking for Bill, I don't think he was asking for 'what's the best tube' so much as 'does cryo treatment of tubes make an appreciable difference to sound?'.

My response was most likely not, at least not as much as outright tube rolling would make. But my only experience has been with smaller 'signal' tubes, so I could be completely off-base here.

Even if cyroing does not make a give tube sound better, if it can make some of the high priced NOS tubes last longer it is a winner in my book.   

[philotechnic]

I had one of the early generation Modwright CDP's with a tubed output section.  The 'stock' tubes where Tung Sol and the holy grail tubes where Bendix Redbank, the Bendix tubes where significantly better sonically and also significantly more expensive.  Dan sent me a pair of the stock Tung Sol tubes that had been cryoed - they where better than the stock version and as good as the Bendix, also much cheaper than the Bendix  So in this instance my small exposure to cryoed tube sonic performance was positive.

The only downside was that one of the cryoed tubes lost is vacuum.  As an ex-material scientist I struggle with applying cryo treatment to old fragile tubes that are made with different materials (glass, glue, metal) that have different thermal expansion coefficients - this has the potential to stress these tubes.  Because of this concern, which may or may not be valid, I don't feel comfortable risking cryo treatment with rare expensive tubes.  On the other hand I believe cryo treating low cost tubes is a worthwhile exercise to see if you get a sonic improvement.    

  

[jazzcan]

I've tried a pair of cryo'd 6H23 in my Audioprism Mantissa and was very impressed.

I've always favoured old Amperex 6DJ8 (Holland, Bugle Boys), but would also strongly recommend the Genalex re-issue 6922.   They are quite an amazing tube.  (Jim McShane is your man)

Try the tube before getting it cryo'd.

Good luck.

Rich

[etcarroll]

Rich -

You're a funny boy!

[richidoo]

strongly recommend the Genalex re-issue 6922.   They are quite an amazing tube

Thanks for the tip. I've heard good things about their KT88 also.

[rollo]

  Several have stated "better" after cryo treatment. How are they better or just different ? Clarity ? focus ? bass ? Soundstage? imaging? Quieter ? What already 


charles