Very nice Bob. I’m curious what rectifier you had in the CSP-3 before you replaced it with the STR?

Nigel,
Ordered but wont arrive for another week at least.
Bob

Uh oh... Canada Post says that my STR should be delivered today...

Wow. This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe that what I am hearing is happening in my living room. Chills, goosebumps, the whole deal.

On the downside, something is rattling in the room that didn't use to rattle. Gonna have to track that down...

I had a set of 866A mercury vapor tubes and scrapped one immediately by starting the STR at 10v instead of 5v. Don't do that. No matter, the PSVANE 805A pair that came with the STR are leaving me with no complaints at the moment.

I think this is "it." I don't know what else I could possibly want from home hi-fi after this. And to think that I have a new Reed tonearm coming soon as well.

I have dinner plans in about 45 minutes and I think I'm going to have a hard time leaving the house.

FWIW, I was prepared with a dedicated SDFB for the STR, along with a Super Sluggo. I put the Sluggo in right away, so I can't comment on the difference, but I'm sure it's not hurting anything! lol

Sorry to hear the 866a yikes moment.  I plan to identify each tube’s voltage with a sharpie pen to avoid getting the voltages crossed up which is easy to do.  Also, Al advised me to calculate the wattage to make sure I don’t go above 50w cumulative on my 104 to avoid transformer excessive stress/damage.  A lot to learn with all the variables on these STR’s.

Bob, That works out, that way you can get a feel for the 805As before swapping to the 845s.

Bloodlemons, Yahoo! It will season and get better with hours too. I’m going to plant the seed for you to try the STR on the CSP too.

Bummer about the 866As, I accidentally turned on a pair of the jumbo tubes on 5v. Fortunately didn’t seem to damage the tubes.

So glad both you guys are also getting tangible improvements. After 6 weeks I’m still really happy with the STR. Finally ordered a pair of Linlai 211s.

Hearafter, Nice selection of possibilities,  looking forward to you sharing your experiences.

Now that some more people are getting the STRs I hope anything that sounded like hyperbole is now seen in a new light lol. It still is hard not over selling how much I’ve enjoyed the improvement with the STR.

James, I have.... sort of.

The way the STR works is each phase of the AC is handled by 1 socket. So If your component has one rectifier tube you need to have two of the same rectifier in the STR to be full wave rectification.

My amp uses two rectifiers in parallel. I removed both the SE Aqua IIs and put them in the STR. Sounded better with the STR. I preferred a combo of one Aqua II and the 3B22s. I liked the combo of 3B22s and 845 even more.

For the TRP DAC my goto rectifier is the EML 274b mesh. I haven't tried just that in the STR as it would be half wave rectification. And the 845s give me a sound I love.

Wait, so if a tube can handle 10v, is it not safe to run it at 5v?

OK. Good to know! Thank you!

STR-104 has arrived and right out of the box this is a winner!  I am using the 2 stock 3B22 tubes and everything just sounds better.  Headroom and bass is a definite step up.  I had to adjust my sub down.  Using it on my Torii Jrv2 along with Westinghouse OA3, Sylvania 6SN7 GTA, Philips JAN 5933(807).  Nice combo.  Plan to try 2A3 and 866a next.  The fun has just begun

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Fun glow light tonight.   Mercury Vapor RCA 866A first sighting.  Paired with a stock 3B22 they sound great together…excellent tone, very clear, detailed and airy.  Music seems to float for lack of better description.  Also, tried  an EH 2A3 with the 3B22 and they sound slightly different but very good, just not as airy with a bit fuller midrange/bass…splitting hairs here.  All sound much improved over 5UG4, 5GY4….installed into the amp.  Live music is mesmerizing.  I keep saying to myself What, How, Why?  I Look forward to hear how it sounds when some hours are logged on it. Thanks GS for starting this thread

GS- Those tubes surrounds look great…starting to look like my Supratek  preamp.  I feel like a boy in a toy store and can’t stop playing with the toys. These SR’s are tube rollers delight or curse.  So far in 2 days my fav’s are 866A/2A3, 866A/3B22, 3B22/2A3, 3B22/3B22, 5U4G/300B, 5U4G/5U4G. All sound significantly improved over a single tube in my Torii.   I tried using 2- 3B22 with the 300B and it just didn’t sound right - a bit off.  One of my 3B22’s top glowed/flickered like a fire purple. Looked concerning. Talked to Al and he said that was Ok due to different voltage running parallel  through the  adapter.  3B22’s glow more as voltage increases.  Have you used the  2 tube adapter?  Not sure I even need it with all these other choices that sound so good. I am thinking about building/adding Walnut sides on my Str-104 .  Easily done and should give it a more finished look.  Hearing is Believing! Tom

If interested, I found a positive review of the STR along with a remarkable number of tubes that might be used with it here: https://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/space_tech_str104_e.html

Well, I'm back on (a) waiting list .

Just sent in payment for a STR-1002 Super. AL said about 4 weeks until it ships out. I got the 300B adapters, am also going to get 845 and 211 tubes.

Got my second pair of 866A tubes today to replace the the ones I fried on my first attempt by accidentally running them at 10v. Giving them a first spin right now. Very nice! Presentation is a little more laid back, but very full and lush. I think they're adding back a little of the sweet midrange I lost when I moved up to KT88s in the ZMA.

These are nicer than the 805A tubes that came with STR. I am definitely glad I decided to try mercury vapor sooner than later.

I, uh.... have no idea. Al seems to think they'll work just fine. Maybe I'll shoot him an email.

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FYI you might be interested in the type 83 tube which is a 5V mercury vapor rectifier with a 4 pin base. However don't confuse it with the 83V which is also a 5V rectifier with a 4 pin base, but is the 4 pin version of the 5V4G.

Thanks, CAJames! I'll look into it!

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FYI/FWIW what AL told me is the thing that matters is the size of the tube and distance from the cathode to the plate inside the tube. So the 300B is big, but the transmitting triodes are at a whole different level.

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Yeah, I feel like that is much more about the current than voltage drop. Different rectifiers have different voltage drops anyway, I think that is one of the big factors that makes rectifiers sound different. But JMO and all that.

Bob- Thanks  for the DAC reply.  If you don’t mind, keep us updated as you get some more hours logged on the DAC.  Curious if you see much change.  Do you have a super rectifier built in the DAC or one in your system?  I
think if I pulled the trigger I would get the 512 with the SR built in.  I have the Lab12 Ref NOS tube DAC now which uses just 2 E188CC’s.  I do like it a lot but have not done any comparisons to higher quality DACs or large tube DACs.

Quote:


Not directly related. Yesterday I was at my brother’s, he adjusted the voltage out from the PSAudio P20. The bias was moving with the voltage change. It also jumped 5-7mA when going from multiwave to standard or the other way around I don’t remember which.

Running 1x 300B and 1x 845 was a nice sound and one I would be happy to listen to for a long time. This morning I changed to 2x 845s and the sound is bigger and bolder, seems to have more power behind the music. Still maintains the crisp, airy and floating highs.

The Linlai 211-TAs landed in New York, hoping they clear customs quickly.

STL offers a large range of DACS from $2,200 to $12,000.

My brother ordered a pair of Linlai 2A3s to try in the STR along with the Linlai e-845s. I’m guessing they will arrive before the STRs so I’ll get to try them and report back.

GS- Interesting info.  Al is getting busier by the day👍.  
Well I just had my first “Oh Sh#!” moment forgetting to switch the 5v to 2.5v before hitting the power on. Lost a 3B22 and a 2A3.  I guess it happens to the best of us .  Let us know how you like the Linlai 2A3 (and which one they are) if you try them out.  I may be in the market for a pair to run in my 2 tube adapter. So many different choices with Linlai and Psvane.  

James- “Exchanging Currency For Sound”

I discovered an excellent ebay seller for new well priced NOS military surplus if anyone is interested.  Picked up a pair of 3B22 and a type 83.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163550994098?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&s...

James, I will let you know they arrive Tues.  i bought Sylvania 0A3’s and Type 83 prior from this seller and they have been fine.  The OA3 are the same ones Steve included in most of his amps prior to sourcing his Russian NOS tubes.  This Cetron 3b22 is the same one Al includes in th STR with same date period.
The 83 I am using in my Hickok 605a tester.  I wanted a backup and I wanted to try one in my STR.  I agree 80’s military surplus tubes have not been high on my list but some are excellent but be very selective. I recently bought a quad of Phillips(formerly Sylvania) 5933 military black square plates military surplus and they sound very nice in my Torii Jr.

Bloodlemons- yep that darn switch got me…what’s sad is I have a feeling it won’t be my last.🤞.  
Wow that tube puts out 40 watts could be tough on the transformer.  Did you run it by Al just to verify it's a go in the STR? Really cool looking tube.