Tube rolling in the SAS Audiolabs 10A

[Bunky]

i swapped out the Siemens E88CC A-frames for a pair of Pearl Cryovalve JJ Tesla's that Maxwalrath also sent to me when i was lucky enough to buy his 10A from him.the bass tightened up a bit with the Pearl Cryovalves and i think i prefer them by a slight margin in this particular circuit.thanks....WCW III

[steve]

i swapped out the Siemens E88CC A-frames for a pair of Pearl Cryovalve JJ Tesla's that Maxwalrath also sent to me when i was lucky enough to buy his 10A from him.the bass tightened up a bit with the Pearl Cryovalves and i think i prefer them by a slight margin in this particular circuit.thanks....WCW III

Thanks for the info Bunky. Siemens is one tube I haven't tried yet. Cryoing seems to also make a difference to my ears.

Sometimes a current tube beats a nos.

 

[Bunky]

I was digging around in my cabinet and came across a quad of NOS Amperex USA 7308 goldpin tubes that were my favorite tube in my Anthem pre 1L preamplifier that was my very 1st tube pre. I took out the Pearl cryovalve JJ 6922's that were in my SAS 10A and rolled in the Amperex USA 7308's.  very nice indeed .thanks....WCW III

[steve]

Hi Bunky,

     What do you think between the two? Inquiring minds want to know.   

Thanks.

[Bunky]

Hi Bunky,

     What do you think between the two? Inquiring minds want to know.   

Thanks.

The Cryo JJ's are really nice but the Amperex 7308's seem to have better Bass.The 7308's were very expensive tubes.The beauty of the 10A besides the performance aspect is that it only uses two tubes so that means i have a set of spare matched and balanced 7308's on hand 

[steve]

Thanks for the info Bunky. Much appreciated.

Steve

[Ray Bronk]

Thanks for the info Bunky. Much appreciated.

Steve

Hey Steve,

I thought the 10A used the 12a-7 tubes? if it uses the 6922, then have you considered the 6H30? Supposed to be like $20 I don't think it's a direct plug in though.

Ray Bronk

[steve]

Hi Ray,

     As you mentioned the 6H30 won't sub. The 10A can be upped in the bass if one wishes too have it done.

Cheers.
Steve

[Ray Bronk]

Hi Ray,

     As you mentioned the 6H30 won't sub. The 10A can be upped in the bass if one wishes too have it done.

Cheers.
Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply. I am starting to look at tube preamps out there, and it's just as confusing as SS gear. I asked because a different manufacturer says that in his tests the 6H30 is a better tube than the 6922. Now, who am I to say different. I honestly in a tube preamp, don't know what to look for. That is I don't want the old tradishional tube sound. I'm not looking for a Carrie sound or a modwrite sound, or a jucy tube sound, or a Rite sound,  for that matter any sound but neutral. Just want to have a tube preamp that exhibits the character of what tubes are supposed to have going for them over the Solid State counterparts. Sorry to rant here Steve. But that's where I am. I don't have the wherewithall to go running around to audio stores and listen. So hence the little bit of frustration.

Maybe, you could give me a quick overview of what to search for here.

Thank you for any help or guidance.

Now before anyone gets in to a fit, I am in no way wishing to demeen any of the above manufacturers. . I do know that a lot of the newer tube gear out there sounds a lot better than it used to sound due to people rethinkinb circuit designs and such. I've always been turned off by the idea of tube rolling, because a lot of tube stuff out there is designed for specific tubes. For example, both Jucy and AVA gear kinda discourage tube rolling.

Anyway, that's that.

Regards,
Ray Bronk

[mboldda1]

i have the belles 21a preamp with the auracap upgrade and uses 12au7 tubes(2). this is great sounding pre.

[steve]

Hi Ray,

     You are not ranting at all Ray. And you are right about all the confusion out there. I design my products differently than the usual. Instead of choosing the so called right tube first and then finding the parts that suppose to fit, I worked for years testing parts and designs, and then found the right tube.

With that said, there an exception or two, such as I wanted a tube that did not need a buffer stage. That one criteria alone put to rest some tube types that had too high of Rp (plate resistance) since the highs would be somewhat sacrificed without an added buffer stage.

 I wanted a preamplifier that did not altar or add cosmetics to the sound to "enhance" it. Keep things simple and if someone wants to "enhance" the sound, they can do it with the source, amp, ICs, speakers, or some other brand of preamplifier. My designs are not SS or tubey sounding, but clear, transparent, letting through what is given to it by the source.

Hope this helps Ray.
Steve

[Ray Bronk]

Hi Ray,

     You are not ranting at all Ray. And you are right about all the confusion out there. I design my products differently than the usual. Instead of choosing the so called right tube first and then finding the parts that suppose to fit, I worked for years testing parts and designs, and then found the right tube.

With that said, there an exception or two, such as I wanted a tube that did not need a buffer stage. That one criteria alone put to rest some tube types that had too high of Rp (plate resistance) since the highs would be somewhat sacrificed without an added buffer stage.

 I wanted a preamplifier that did not altar or add cosmetics to the sound to "enhance" it. Keep things simple and if someone wants to "enhance" the sound, they can do it with the source, amp, ICs, speakers, or some other brand of preamplifier. My designs are not SS or tubey sounding, but clear, transparent, letting through what is given to it by the source.

Hope this helps Ray.
Steve

Hi Steve,

In your tube search, did you consider the 12B4A? There's a whole thread on building a preamp around this tube. Unfortunately, its PSRR is 0. So what supply you feed it with has! to be as clean as possible.  So much for hijaxing this thread.

Ray

[steve]

Hi Ray,

     More things to consider when contemplating a tube. I could use it, but there are several issues to consider.

1) Availability of the tube. Quantity, can one get it over time?

2) What parts would I have to change that I am currently using. Special order parts?

3) How will the tube sound in the design?

I see the 12 volt version is much less expensive than the 6 volt version. Still why change tubes when no one can tell when my pre is in or out of the system (Must be careful controlled listening tests to validate that claim) and the tubes are manufactured today, inexpensive, and readily available. I am looking for transparency and accuracy in my designs. It isn't going to get anymore accurate than what I am using right now.

I guess in other wards Ray, don't get hung up on certain tube types because Joe Blow says so. Most of those type of claims are either made because of one's personal experience without substantial testing protocal, or simply hype.


Cheers Ray.
Steve

[Ray Bronk]

Hi Ray,

     More things to consider when contemplating a tube. I could use it, but there are several issues to consider.

1) Availability of the tube. Quantity, can one get it over time?

2) What parts would I have to change that I am currently using. Special order parts?

3) How will the tube sound in the design?

I see the 12 volt version is much less expensive than the 6 volt version. Still why change tubes when no one can tell when my pre is in or out of the system (Must be careful controlled listening tests to validate that claim) and the tubes are manufactured today, inexpensive, and readily available. I am looking for transparency and accuracy in my designs. It isn't going to get anymore accurate than what I am using right now.

I guess in other wards Ray, don't get hung up on certain tube types because Joe Blow says so. Most of those type of claims are either made because of one's personal experience without substantial testing protocal, or simply hype to push sales.


Cheers Ray.
Steve

Hi Steve,

Those 12B4 Jan model is about $10 each.

The only problem with your 11A is its $2800 bucks. Out of range for most people. That's why your 7A looks to be pretty attractive. No offense here. i only mentioned the 12B4 because of your circuit design for the power supply.

Ray

[steve]

"Hi Steve,

Those 12B4 Jan model is about $10 each.

The only problem with your 11A is its $2800 bucks. Out of range for most people. That's why your 7A looks to be pretty attractive. No offense here. i only mentioned the 12B4 because of your circuit design for the power supply.

Ray"

Quite alright Ray. Yes, $2800.00 is not cheap but then it is doing quite well against the 5 digit preamps.

Take care.
Steve