Hi, guys,

I know I haven't been around for a while, but life things change, sometimes.

I have a long awaited pair of Zen Cs and I want to goof with a variety of tubes. I know if the search engine was working, I could probably find this info in a number of threads, but it's NOT!

(Did you know this, Steve? It gives me an error message, no matter how simple I make the inquiry. GRRRR)

I know that I can try a variety of rectifiers and I have a modest selection on hand, but I want to be sure that I don't "break anything" by switching stuff around.

I would love to have a n00by type list of tube types which I can use in the Zen C, all in one place. Don't hesitate to comment or recommend certain combinations, because I am fairly new at this.

If you guys don't remember me, I am an old time "sand scratcher" with lots of pro audio experience, (and several fashionable old sand amps as well) working the hair bands of the eighties, but only a bit of audiophile knowledge. I have very little experience with tubes, which aren't distorting in a guitar amp.

There are no comments too simplistic from which I can gain. Please, feel free to pontificate, admonish, harangue or minister to me as you see fit.

If you look at the classifieds, "roblikestubes" has some "Cryo'd 6P15P-EVs" which are in my mind THE RITZ for output tubes. These are the military sv83's. I've listened to them in a couple of Selects (stock and heavily modded) and also in the Taboo, and I also love and use them in my Select.

It continues to amaze and bother me a bit that the cryo process should make any diff, but it sure does with these.

The uncryoed version sounds quite good and is now the stock output tube included with Decware gear (better than the  more lightly built Svetlana branded sv83's), but the cryoed version is faster and more transparent in the upper mids to highs. They also have a more solid sound than the Svetlana's, overall, whether cryoed or not.

I second Eli's impression of the Bendix 6106. Sounds great and really rugged. My absolute fav 5y3's are the Mullards, but they've been a little more fragile, besides ghastly pricey.

For the driver tube you can use 6n1p's, 6dj8's, 6922's, or 6n2p's. The 6n2p is over-the-top sounding in my Select, but as I understand sounds particularly good in the Decware EL34 based amps.

Good to see you post, Dirt. Sorry about all those years of suffering with sand kicked in your, uhh, ears.

Whatya gonna use for speakers??

Karl

veryoldcat wrote on 01/07/08 at 03:36:00:



Thanks for all the info, guys.

Speakers?

I have a number of vintage JBL, AR, Yamaha things still around. The flattest sounding to my ears are the eight inch, two way, near field JBL Monitors, but by far the sweetest are my own creations. I use an open back configuration with a Visaton B200 over dual modified JBL fifteens (they are 2235s) which matches my tiny room with aplomb. I use a big coil on the fifteens, which are parallel four ohm drivers, with the parallel Visaton taking over in the mid hundred cycles.

I am mostly sold on open back systems. Mine seems to measure out around 1.9 ohms (even with the big hand wound coils) and the sound with Decware amps in mono is awesome.
I have brought home to demo a set of Klipsch (dual eights and a horn, can't remember the model number), but they were quite harsh, although quite efficient, also.
I work at a Best Buy store now and I have also tried the two Martin Logans and a Definitive they carry. I like them all in some ways, but none has a neutral ear appeal like the open back Visatons, over the dual fifteens wall of cones sound.  Mine are more efficient than the Martin Logans, not as flat, but much more musical and personally involving.

I also brought home "The Source" Hybrid Electrostatic speakers and I opened the brand new boxes myself, but one had a defective power supply. I was extremely disappointed, because I don't get many chances to try out stuff that has just arrived. I could tell by listening in mono that they are fairly respectable speakers. Not efficient at all, though. I was running out of juice with the Zen C in mono. These will not really work for us, although the one speaker really came into its own with a couple hundred McIntosh sand watts across it.


I guess my point is that I am still playing with speakers, but I have found my amps. If the speakers don't sound good with my Zens, then they don't deserve to stay.

Dirt,

I think you are trying to establish the kind of tubes you would like to use. For this you would have to listen to them, and see the sound you prefer. The JJ's would sound different from other EL84's, but may sound good with a combination that you like. If that is arrived at , then you can add to that sound by cryoing.

shreekant

Dirty_Dawg wrote on 01/08/08 at 19:30:55:

Those above mentioned cryo'd output tubes are the most satisfying I've had in my Select. Prior to getting them I was using Mullard EL84's (also very nice tubes)
                                                                                                                       Don

Dirt,

One thing I've noticed (and Terry brought it up on the *other* forum) is the cryoed military sv83's really open up hugely after they've been played hard for a month or two.

I just got out a pair of cryoed but unplayed tubes last week to compare, and the difference was truly dramatic.

Karl

I don't think you'll regret the cryoed tubes (which still surprises me). I have some un-cryoed of the same, and they sound good, but not near the transparence and open-ness of the of the former.

Happy listening,
Karl

I've basically used www.tubeman.com for the last years.  Great service, selection, decent prices.

Wow, you forgot to mention that the Tubeman flippin' RoX!!

I got my first order in two days.

Thanks for the linkage, pal!


I will definitely order from this place, again.