I put my 6n1p back in my amp after Steve made that post, and I have to say it's not there now.  I left it for a good week or so, with a fair amount of use so there are no burn-in issues (it also was used for the first 6 mo. or so that I had the amp).  In a certain way it sounds sweet or something, but IMO not in a way that I like.  There is sweet and better like I got by putting the PIO coupling caps in my amp, and then there is just warm and foggy that I seem to get with the 6n1p.  It is in some respects very easy to listen to, but it seems to accomplish this by sucking the life out of the music and putting a thin veil over it.  I put a few different 6dj8's back in (Amperex Bugle Boy, Mullard, Siemens 6922) and they all sound warm and clear and detailed and pleasing.  No negatives with respect to the 6n1p and quite a few positives, the life is back in the music.

Just my opinion of course.

Dave

500 ft. from the high-point in Brooklyn

I agree, and I'm not saying that others will necessarily prefer what I prefer.  But I guess I was making the comparison based on Steve's comment with regard to the 6n1p supplied stock with the Zen amp.

And I'm certainly not saying he's wrong, just that I'm one person that doesn't agree.

Dave

I LOVE the laid back position of my C.  Admittedly, I have had decent rooms to put the system so far.  I will miss it, when my wife lets me upgrade.

SH

[quote author=Steve Deckert  link=1150659727/45#54 date=1150940275]In an effort to further improve the sonics the bias switch has been eliminated.  The tube is now biased exactly inbetween the two original settings of the prior model. So far I believe this was a wise decision, time will tell. [/quote]

I also almost never use the aggressive bias, but also prefer the laid back position. The rare occasion for using the high bias position has been when listening really really late at night, and everything is turned down to a vanishingly low volume. Extreme low volume listening can be a smidgen better in the high bias position once in a great while. It's still not a favorite sound, though, and wouldn't be missed.

If ordering the select in the newest chassis, I'd probably call and have the bias customized to the original laid back setting. For me it would be a speaker issue, as my 98's are already very live and up front enough as it is, and benefit from the current low bias position.

Back to the 6n1p for a driver in the select. I recently acquired a cryoed version of the military type 6n1p. Having used the exact same tube before cryoing, it seems a great deal better. It still surprises me this cryo thing would make such an obvious positive difference. It still doesn't quite beat the BB 6dj8, but I could live with it. Somehow, the 6dj8 has better mid range texture, especially with piano recordings, but going to keep the 6n1p in place to burn in for another week or two of evaluation.

Karl

Thnx Lon,

On your advice it seems like a good idea to leave the 6n1p in for a bit longer without rolling, and see what happens after maybe a month or so. The cryoed 6n1p is certainly encouraging me to give it a try as it's a lot more vivid sounding. It sounds "basically" the same, but in its uncryoed state was definitely hazier; using the BB 6dj8 as reference. We'll see???

Karl

To the contrary, I get the best bass with this 6N1P.  The Svetlana 6NiP was very light on the bass, the Sovtek had bass but the highs were rougher; this cryo'd military 6N1P is just right.  (For me and my monoblocks).

[quote author=Lon  link=1150659727/60#71 date=1151926526]To the contrary, I get the best bass with this 6N1P.  The Svetlana 6NiP was very light on the bass, the Sovtek had bass but the highs were rougher; this cryo'd military 6N1P is just right.  (For me and my monoblocks). [/quote]

I wrote an article on tubes that I'm still deciding if I will publish... probably will...  One of the points it tries to get accross is that we worry too much about brands without realizing the same brand tube can sound differernt from batch to batch.

ALL SV83/6P15P output tubes AND all 6N1P signal tubes that we find were made by a Factory in Russia called REFLEKTOR around 1986.

There were two basic flavors of the 6N1P, one was a milspec version with plated pins, one was not.  Both are good.  Sovtek, and Svetlana are marketing names painted on these tubes.  There is no difference between them.  In other words, they are the same tube.  We have been buying ours  directly from Russia so they carry no fancy name painted on the glass, only the original Reflektor logo.

So when you read that the exact same tube sounds different because one has Sovtek painted on the glass and the other has Svetlana you have to wonder how this is possible.  I mean if you need more bass just scrape off the paint that says Svetlana and replace it with paint that says Sovtek I guess...

No I'm not picking on Lon, I'm just setting things up for the article I plan to publish since it offers some possible explinations for just this type of thing.