Forums - Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes

Gopher Senior Member Posts: 96	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #90 - 09/08/11 at 03:06:25 awesome input, Steve. I'll be picking up a quad in the next month or so to compare with my treasures and see what is what. The price is certainly right.
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datman Verified Member Posts: 22	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #91 - 09/08/11 at 03:13:56 I am the tipster and yes, I think you will like them. The Treasures are not in any way bad, its just the JJ's sound more like music. To me this proves that yes, there IS a Santa Claus!
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Pale Rider

Seasoned Member

Posts: 1271

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #92 - 09/08/11 at 06:15:28

My Treasures had about 500-600 hours on them when I learned about the JJs. So, I am not at all sure that I had them, and definitely not my Toriis fully broken in yet. So, when I swapped the JJs in on Torii #2, I am sure I was swapping in a "volatile" test bed. Among other things, the Toriis were not fully broken in and the JJs were still fresh. Still, I took some notes and made some preliminary observations:

1. The JJ 6CA7 tubes are much more musical and engaging than the stock JJs out of the box.

2. The JJs are definitely a much netter value than the Treasures. There really is no contest.

3. But the JJs are not, to my ears more musical than the Treasures I have played for several hundred hours. Granted, that is likely an unfair comparison, but it is the only one I can make right now. The Treasures are both more accurate and more engaging, a good—but expensive—combo.

But if I had to do it all over again from scratch, I would almost certainly opt for the JJs. If I hadn't already spent the money, I wouldn't spend it in the first instance and likely won't again. YMMV.

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« Last Edit: 09/08/11 at 06:16:34 by Pale Rider »

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Gopher

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Posts: 96

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #93 - 09/14/11 at 19:33:12

Welp, I sold my quad of Winged "C" el34s that came with the Torii and used the proceeds to order up some JJ 6CA7s. If nothing else, it sounds like they'll be a great backup tube to my black treasures, which I am digging.

If the performance is close enough, maybe I'll even sell the BTs to re-coupe some funds and consider the JJs a 'free' upgrade over stock.

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datman Verified Member Posts: 22	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #94 - 09/14/11 at 21:14:15 That's what i did and boy am I happy that I did.
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will

Seasoned Member

Posts: 806

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #95 - 09/14/11 at 21:56:01

Gopher,

Please let us know your thoughts comparing what you like and don't like about the two once the JJs are all burned in. I had a set and after about 80 hours they were beginning to sound pretty impressive in many ways, but then one went funky....some breakup when the music saturated. I have a replacement quad coming, but just when I was thinking I was beginning to hear what the tubes were about! I am so over burnin Sad

Datman,

My guess is these could easily need 150 hrs or more to get the full feel of them. Do you recall?

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datman Verified Member Posts: 22	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #96 - 09/14/11 at 22:20:31 They seem to improve quite a bit for the first 50 hours. The improvement continues after this but a a slower rate. At this point I do believe the JJ's are superior to the Treasures. Who knew? Mine was the first Torii built with Treasures as output tubes instead of SED's.
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Gopher Senior Member Posts: 96	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #97 - 09/16/11 at 01:43:47 They're due to arrive tomorrow from UPS. I don't know if I'll throw them in for Friday's session (assuming I have one) or wait till I go to bed and leave 'em on playing tones. I have little patience for burn in. In most instances I PREFER buying used for that reason. That said, it should be fun.
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will Seasoned Member Posts: 806	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #98 - 09/16/11 at 01:50:55 Gopher, I am with you on burnin, and from my experience with the JJs I would tend toward the tones all night if you can do that. And probably the next night too!
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stone_of_tone Seasoned Member Listen Often/Listen Deep Posts: 269	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #99 - 09/16/11 at 06:11:20 I'm liking all this input about the JJ's now coming with the Torii. I am going to hook my new III up to my Dish Network Box/DVR and let Serius Sat. music play through it for 150 hours and watch some TV too here and there of course. Stone of Tone
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will Seasoned Member Posts: 806	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #100 - 09/16/11 at 07:14:24 That's exciting! Looking forward to your impressions of the amp in your system. 150 should give a nice start for the Torii and its tubes revealing their sound.
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Gopher

Senior Member

Posts: 96

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #101 - 09/17/11 at 03:13:40

I ended up throwing them in this afternoon after work. I only got to listen for an hour or so before I had to go to a BBQ, but my first impressions were very positive.

A very different, very pleasant presentation--far more meat on bottom and plenty of top end extension--I was a little concerned it might be a darker tube, but I'm not finding it to be so. I actually perceived a little more resolution, picking up on some distortion I didn't know was present on te MOFI reissue of Cowboy Junkies, Whites off earth.

It will be interesting to hear how these things develop over time, but at least my first impression is that they have a more natural presentation as well.

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Lon Seasoned Member "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. D*ck Posts: 5232	Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes Reply #102 - 09/17/11 at 13:47:03 I ordered a matched quad to try as my current Winged C quartet is just past half its life cycle. Should be good by these reports!
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Gopher

Senior Member

Posts: 96

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #103 - 09/17/11 at 18:24:43

They ran all night playing the Isotek burn in tones disc and when I woke up today I wasn't as thrilled about what I was hearing. Sounded a little more ambiguous and less engaging. Kind of a distant presentation--I popped 'em out and threw the Treasures back in.

I know the JJs have potential and can see they'll be capable of a lot, but I've got the house to myself today and I want to listen to music, not burn in. I'll probably throw them back in overnight and keep 'em burning in behinds the scenes.

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will

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Posts: 806

Re: Question About Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z Tubes
Reply #104 - 09/17/11 at 18:53:08

Mine moved around a fair bit for a long time. Seems like power tubes usually sound OK right at first, then move through mostly less-than-stellar stages to get to their sound...after about 80 hours, mine started more seriously revealing the detail again, and within the darker matrix finally began to result in what I think of as "warmth." A slightly rich, textural tonal signature that is not transparent but feels that way...colored a little toward the dark in the mid to low mids but also having a lot of pleasing detail, macro and micro, bringing out textures, sparkle and air. And the JJs did give a nice tight bass thing, with big body and good ambient information. But I only got part way through burn in before one started to fail! I hate that.

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