Amperex 6922 overkill?

Before spending that INFLATED PRICE for amperexes get decent pair or whatever to see if you like the sound FIRST.
These people Are really making a killing on the "NOS" tubes Dont be stupid.

I have an AN 1.1 DAC and recommend that you first try the Ei Elite 6DJ8 ... it is a very similar tube to the Amperex house sound and will work fine in the AN. Where they don't work well is in high-stress preamps like Audio Research, eats those old Amperexes alive.

I have a large stash of old white label 6922s (even 1959 D-getters), Bugle Boys, Orange Globes, etc. and can tell you that, in this application, the Ei will serve you very well.

Next try a relatively inexpensive source for Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8s like Brent Jesse.

$400 for any tube is overkill. I agree with illenema2. Plus I would be concerned about how 'new' in terms of tube use the nos were. IMO this is where 'audio' merges into 'wine' and that's fine, but it's not the same hobby anymore at that point. Good luck!

$400 is too much for any tube, i don't care what it is

Agree with Tvad. Buy a few on E-Bay or start with the Amperex Bugle Boy Holland 6DJ8s for around $10 each used listed on Agon now to see if you like them first. You can always resell those and move onto the orange globes, pinch waist, gold pins, etc. That is how I learned along with reading Joe's Tube Lore and a few others here on Agon.

BTW I am not selling the tubes on Agon or any where else.

Happy Listening.

Gary,
I have the 2.1x balanced dac and I used mullards which I love. any tubes you put in the dac will give you more than a $400 improvement over the sound of the sovtechs.

Tube prices are ridiculous. They have been for a while. I guess they remain that way because audio'philes' are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money for them. Just look at some of the ads here on the 'Gon. I suppose when my stash is gone I'll be selling my preamp.

Gary. i also have a 2.1x dac and have tried a lot of tubes and for the money the Mullards ( silky rich and smooth ). The Amperex bb are more dynamic but still retain a rich and smooth sound for this dac. These two tubes to me sound better than E88CC telefunkens. Hope this helps, for $400 you can buy 2 pairs of each and be ok for tubes for the next 15 years with that dack.

Redster,

$400.00 is to much for any tube, i don't care what it is

Your gear at retail, $130,000, + ?????????????????????????

Gary

oh, i know this hobby can get very expensive, and i have spent a considerable amount on it, i can justify spending money on a beautiful piece of equipment, but it really bothers me, when people try to take advantage, and sell tweaks at excessive prices, or make false claims about the amount of performance enhancement

Have some experience with 6DJ8's and 6922's in my Audio research pre... tried the Sovtecs, Bugle Boys, Amperex PQ's both USA and Holland, Amperex Pinched Waist, Telefunken CCA's Chinese 6DJ8's, Siemens and Halske 6922 Cca's amd a few others..... They all sound different .. quite different. $400 for PQ's is a pure rip. The most expensive NOS 6922's out there (EBAY) are the Telefunken and Siemens and Halske CCa's. A matched pair of Siemens and Halske CCa's NOS NIB just went a bit over $210 last week + a few $ shipping. Beauty of eBay is buy, try, sell until you get to buy try keep. The right tube will be like a 5X over equipment upgrade. .. a true eye opener.

Midareff

How do you avoid the, seemingly endless stream, of rip-off artists on ebay?

PLEASE DON"T ENCOURAGE THESE JERKS THAT SELL TUBES FOR INSANE PRICES. If no one pays that kind of money- the price will fall.
My second beef is with the companies who almost invariably use the worst tube around in current production (Sovteks) for multi thousand dollar pieces of gear. They are very cheap tubes but There are current production tubes which are better and only cost a few dollars more.How cheap can you be! I can see why it would be impossible to use NOS tubes but the consistent use of Sovtek tubes is absurd how are they voicing their products, don't they realize that they are damaging their reputations. It requires you to roll the tube. This has happened to me on 3 occasions.

Glory,
You might ask douglikesaudio, who also has an all Audio Note system and a 2.1 Sig DAC. He's tried a few 6922's, I believe. I've tried the Mullards in several applications, and for around $90/pr, I find them sound great. Not overly detailed, not overly lush. In our 300B integrated amp, they were the only tubes aside from the crazy expensive Siemens CCa's that I found to be musically satisfying.
Best of luck,
Howard

That's easy....... www.audiotubes.de Heniz is the real deal.

Mechans... absolutely agreed. The amazing part is how they can get anythung equpped with Sovtecs to sound like music ... it really doesn't. Ahhhh but with the right tubes, that's a different story

and Gary... those are waaaay over priced.

On EBAY I got Amperex 6299, PQ, White Label,US(Shild,Gold Pins)$75.00 Pr. For AN MK2 Sig. Dac.
Amperex B/B, Holland EL84 Quad, $228.00 from EBAY for OTO amp. Also have Sylvania 5751's, Gold Brand, Grayplate, Gold Pin and Amperex B/B, 12AU7's, Holland (Brent Jessee) in the OTO.

Thanks for your help.
Gary

Just posting to let interested parties know that I've got two sets of 1960s US made White Label Amperex PQs (6922s & 7308s) up on the Mart.  All tested as new when I bought them and have only been sitting in storage since.  Had to pack up my stereo and am clearing out some extras items that weren't going to get used.  Not making any money, just hoping to find them a loving home...  

check out matsushita national 7dj8 at upscale audio and if you don't like them I'll buy them from you.
Matsushita / National PCC88 / 7DJ8 – Upscale Audio

I haven't bought any 6922 type in a few years, so not up on pricing. Don't have a 6922 amp anymore but have found I like the Bugle Boy best as an all around tube for the money. Brent Jesse has a version of bugle boy that is cheaper than perfect print Bugle boy, it is same exact tube but cheaper, just can't remember how it is listed. I found the amprex orange globe a little bright, SQ's slightly tipped up not as bad as Orange Globe but still a little bright for me. I did like the Valvo for being a little warm.