Forums - JJ 6CA7s

Gopher

Senior Member

Posts: 96

JJ 6CA7s
09/20/11 at 03:41:54

I figured it may be appropriate to start a new thread rather than posting in the Black Treasure thread.

So far they're showing a lot of potential, but haven't surpassed the BTs yet.

The OA3s were very interesting with them, really cleaned up the presentation, but made things slightly lean by comparison compared to my VR75 (purple glowing regs) which is the opposite of what I expected.

It will be one to re-visit with additional burn in time.

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Pale Rider Seasoned Member Posts: 1271	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #1 - 09/20/11 at 05:44:42 Gopher, you sound like ou and I are in a similar place on these. I will probably end up with four matched quads as backup inventory (remember that I am stocking the shelves for my kids ).
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will

Seasoned Member

Posts: 806

Re: JJ 6CA7s
Reply #2 - 09/20/11 at 05:50:54

Gopher, Are your purple glowing regulators VR-75? If so I think they are they are OA3s. And are they ST coke bottle shaped?

I have noticed that the straight VRs like the OA3 I got from you, are much more open/cleaner than STs, the STs being much softer, rounder and darker...perhaps you could say warmer. I have a pair of straight OC3s that are very clean as well, whereas all my ST shaped tubes are warm.

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« Last Edit: 09/20/11 at 05:51:39 by will »

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Rivieraranch Seasoned Member Posts: 1109	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #3 - 09/20/11 at 12:59:47 First, I would be very leery of any JJ octal tube. I had a pair of 6V6 die prematurely on me. Second, the 0A3 that I have seen glow orange, not purple. From the picture on the DECWARE site, the 0B3 glows violet; the 0C3 glows lavender and the 0D3 glows purple.
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datman

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Posts: 22

Re: JJ 6CA7s
Reply #4 - 09/20/11 at 18:06:46

Now that my JJ's are pretty much broken in, I have some observatiions compared to the Treasures.

Initially, I couldn't put my finger on what I liked so much about the JJ's. After significant listening, I think I have figured it out.

The Treasures are an excellent tube. Linear, clean and polite. This is exactly what I DIDN'T like about them. I want my tube amp to SOUND like a tube amp with the voluptuousness that only tubes can produce.

I found the Treasures to be somewhat sterile in overall presentation. Where the JJ's have a fully developed bottom end, the Treasures go as deep but without the energy. The JJ's are at least as extended on the top as the Treasures, but they seem to produce the "glow" in the highs the Treasures lack. It is in the mids that I hear the greatest difference. The Treasures are smooth and detailed throughout the mids. Where I find them lacking is not putting "flesh" on the images. The JJ's just sound more real to me. I find the JJ's give me more of what I expect from a tube amp, that reach out and touch palpability.

I do not have enough experience with JJ tubes to comment about their long term reliability. Since these are part of a series of new tubes for them (introduced in 2010), I will say there have been no indications of any reliability problems so far. I will be optimistic and say I do not expect to have any problems.

Time will tell.

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« Last Edit: 09/21/11 at 07:48:31 by datman »

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Lon Seasoned Member "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. D*ck Posts: 5233	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #5 - 09/20/11 at 18:53:58 Interesting, and thanks for your impressions. will here had a failure of a tube. My quad shipped to me today so I'll have some to try this weekend or early next week. Good listening ahead by all accounts.
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will Seasoned Member Posts: 806	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #6 - 09/20/11 at 19:10:54 Datman, Excellent explanation of your sense of the tube! Thanks.
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Gopher Senior Member Posts: 96	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #7 - 09/21/11 at 02:44:51 my purple glowing tube is labeled JAN 38250 and looks like this: I do not think they are 0a3s.
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C.E. Verified Member Posts: 20	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #8 - 09/21/11 at 02:51:40 I believe that to be an 0D3.
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will Seasoned Member Posts: 806	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #9 - 09/21/11 at 04:56:30 Nice looking tube. My OA3s are VR75 and glow orange. OB3- VR90 and glow blue OC3s VR105, glow more lavandar OD3s VR150, glow lavandar
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Lon

Seasoned Member

"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
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Posts: 5233

Re: JJ 6CA7s
Reply #10 - 09/21/11 at 22:24:38

My JJs arrived. Nice looking tubes. I just have a very little bit of time on them, but very powerful sounding tubes. My Winged Cs may have been a bit more tired than I thought. Anyway, I'm playing some very early jazz ('twenties stuff by the California Ramblers, Charleston Chasers, and Miff Mole and Red Nichols groups) as I tend to be less focused on sonics when these are playing and so I can get some time on the tubes today.

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Gopher Senior Member Posts: 96	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #11 - 09/22/11 at 01:55:58 I'm way too impatient for these things. They were sounding dead, lacking drive and excitment today--and, after the wife agreed things weren't sounding good, I plucked them again in favor of the BTs. Really glad about the auto-biasing!
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Lon Seasoned Member "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. D*ck Posts: 5233	Re: JJ 6CA7s Reply #12 - 09/22/11 at 02:38:45 Mine are sounding pretty good with the DVR tonight. But it's really only about five hours into their life.
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will

Seasoned Member

Posts: 806

Re: JJ 6CA7s
Reply #13 - 09/22/11 at 03:32:26

I have about 80 hours on mine, most with the National 7DJ8s, and maybe 1/3 of that was the Esoteric break in CD.

Lately I had been listening to the very linear, open and extended cryo'd Ruby fat bottle EL34s (Shuguang), and with them I was liking some relatively warm Mullard 6922 pulls from Partsconnexion.

With the Mullards, when I just stuck in the JJs, the open and textural warmth the Rubys allowed them to reveal turned to a thickish, veiled quality. Some macro detail remained, but micro detail got pretty much squashed and the low mids down became a thuddy.

I stuck in some new Ei/Philips 7DJ8s, changed from straight OA3s to straight OC3s, chilled down the gain on the Zstage a little, and beauty filled the room. Wetter, texture, body and warmth without veils, extension and what I think of as the really cool thing about this tube....that big tube sound...something about the dynamic tightness of the hits, be they cymbals, drums or a string bass, and then the easy transition from body to natural ambient information. It sounds really good!

So I think I will have no problem completing the break in on these tubes now. Trouble so far in my evaluation of the tube, they are very finicky as to who they play well with. But I think they are extremely promising.

Gopher, I think you should get good sound from them with your National 7DJ8s, it just may take longer than you or I like to get there. I wonder too. Does the breakin CD work on tubes at low volumes like it would on high volumes?

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Gopher

Senior Member

Posts: 96

Re: JJ 6CA7s
Reply #14 - 09/22/11 at 03:56:06

Well my first impression with these tubes in there with my National 7DJ8s, RCA 5u4gs (1954) and the picture power regs was very positive, so I suspect it the quad will eventually make its way back there--I just hate to break in during my critical listening time. I have a 15 month old son who monopolizes my living room when awake and a wife to compete with when he isn't so for the hour or so I get to listen critically, I don't like 'hearing potential' I just want to be transported.

I'm not sure how the Isotek works in regards to tubes and the volume of the music playing, but I generally use pretty low volume as my listening room shares a wall with the master bedroom... I figure its ATLEAST as effective as actual music.

Right now I've got a few variables changed from my normal listening arrangement. I'm using my Shuguang Black Treasure 6CA7s with the National 7DJ8s, RCA 5u4gs, and straight bottle OA3s, and this is being fed by a Dodd buffer with a 6H30-DR tube from the 1980s.

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