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What tubes are you using (Read 14080 times)
drumsgreg
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What tubes are you using
04/02/09 at 17:35:15
 
I just picked up a used Torii mkII, sounds great  looks great , but does have alittle hum in it, did all the thing listed on this site about hum and I think it the 5u4 tubes. The hum is in both channels, you can hear it in the hornshoppe horns about a foot away. What tubes are you guys using in you amps, thanks Greg
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JimR
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #1 - 04/02/09 at 23:08:38
 
Hi Greg,

Well, a foot away on 96-97 dB speakers is quite a bit better than 7 or 8 feet away on 88 dB speakers, but in our earlier correspondence I neglected to tell you that I had a pair of 1950s RCA 5u4gs that were quite a bit quieter than the Rubys, and sounded quite a bit better too, but the noise dropped even further when I put in some current production TAD GZ34s.  Of course the sonics changed as well, and you'd have to figure out if you like the gz34s/5ar4s better than the 5u4g -- they're both nice, just different.  And yes, the short bottle and more rigid structure of the 5ar4 probably contributes to the lower noise floor.

Good luck,

Jim
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drumsgreg
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #2 - 04/03/09 at 01:18:20
 
Jim, I want to thank you again for your help. I did order today a set of JJ GZ34 /5AR4 to try out an see if that will lowe the noise floor alittle more, most of the music I play is loud Jazz and fusion and Blues, with some Rock, I can`t here it when I sit down and you can`t hear it with the music I `m playing, but the room is dead quite and it does get under my sin alittle when I get near the speakers to change albums or CD. I do like the sound of this amp alot and I believe I can get it to sing soon , thanks again . Greg
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #3 - 04/03/09 at 01:27:06
 
I bought Bob Z'a amp and I'm going to have that in three weeks or so I believe. . .according to his description I'll be using OA-3 tubes as regulation tubes.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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drumsgreg
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #4 - 04/09/09 at 21:09:55
 
Just an update on the tubes, I did get some JJ GZ34/5AR4, this did lower the noise in the speakers alot and did give much better lowend to than before. But what really shocked me was the sound of this amp driving my ET LFT-8B to output levels of my old amp. That amp had three times the output power of the Torii MKII, the Torii sounded better in every area and then some over the other amp, dynamics, speed , detail, soundstage, the space this amp gave around instruments was scary, the drums..... sounded like wood drums instead of tin cans. I know this setup won`t play levels that my hornshoppe horns will play, but boy...... did it sound great . Greg
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #5 - 04/22/09 at 20:00:16
 
I'm clearly wrong above.  The tube bob mentoned is the voltage regulation tube.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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Stone Deaf
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #6 - 04/23/09 at 04:49:07
 
Does anyone know if GZ37 could be used in place of GZ34 in these amps or a Taboo? Mullard GZ37 are easier to find and cheaper.
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #7 - 06/29/09 at 01:07:12
 
Don't have tthat answer Richard.

I've been trying some of the new Tunsg-Sol EL34Bs (a matched quad, cryo'd) in the Torii Mark II.  A different presentation than the Winged Cs.  Bolder, seems louder.  Bigger sound.  Less of a lower mid range emphasis and makes things seem more open, a bit less warm, equally dynamic.

I'm not sure they're completely broken in yet, but they're sounding good.  I have wanted to try these as I had very good results with the Mullard reissues which I believe come from the same factory. I bet these would be good guitar amp tubes.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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veryoldcat
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #8 - 06/29/09 at 08:01:55
 
A couple comments I'd make about the Mullard EL34 reissues:

First, I tried a quad of these "reissues" to replace some original Mullard EL34's that I was very accustomed to hearing on a daily basis for a year, that I'd dearly loved the sound of.

Well, I held my breath thinking it was very likely I wouldn't care for the new ones, but was shocked at how similar the reissues sounded to the originals.

The one negative experience was the premature death of one of the new tubes within about a month (a sudden short that also blew a fuse).  

Hopefully that was just a fluke, and the overall reliability is good, because they are not particularly cheap.

Karl
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #9 - 06/29/09 at 11:00:23
 
Karl, of four Mullard reissue tubes I'd bought, I have one that has a problem, so the quality control isn't what it should be yet. But the sound is very very good as you know!

I went with the Tung-Sol because they were offered at a better price and I was curious.  Results are pretty good right now I must say.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #10 - 07/09/09 at 13:02:53
 
Well, after a lot of testing the Winged Cs have won out over the Tungsol reissues, but not by much, I'll put the Tungsols back in in time and won't be very disappointed I wager.

Also, I've moved from cryo'd 6N1Ps to the 6N2Ps I was using in my CSP2.  I really prefer the tonal balance of the 6N2Ps, lusher, more analog like to my ears, even though you do get a headroom decrease.  I've ordered some 6N2P "R" version which is supposed to have twice the longevity, just to see if they make a difference. Should have a few pairs soon. Smiley
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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Lon
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Re: What tubes are you using
Reply #11 - 07/09/09 at 13:03:47
 
And I also think I now have a pretty good idea of what this amp sounds like and is capabale of; I'm ready for the Retail Radials soon, I think they'll sound awesome.  (I hope!)
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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