Anyone compared 6922 Sovtek & Electro-Harmonix


In Audio Research Preamps?
alan2
I tried Sovteks and EH's in an ARC SP10II. Compared to the Sovteks (and NOS 6h23's) the EH's were dullish and muddy in both the line and phono stage.
I can advise of both in a Quicksilver Pre-amp. I find the EH much smoother and more lush. As Newbee mentioned I too find them a bit muddy in the bass department.
Sovteks have better bass but can be a bit edgy with vocals and symbals with my pre-amp.
Sorry I do not mean to digress from your question on ARC.
Go to Upscale Audio's website and search for 6922/6DJ8 - you will see some reviews of the EH listed as type 2 I believe, there is a review from a user of the EH tube with respect to his LS-16.
I've used both in my BAT VK-P10 phonostage. Switched to the JJ gold pins. More money but worth every penny. I agree with the above posters on the EH vs. sovtek. EH smoother but slow, Sovtek a little to edgy for my tastes. The JJs have proved to be the most reliable of the three also.
I tried the E-H 6922 gold pin in an ARC LS16 and didn't care for it; kind of bland. Liked the Sovtek 6922 much better.
I am presently using JJ E88C/6922's in my Audio Research preamp and find them to be very good. Of course my first choice would have been Amperex or Siemens, but I just couldn't afford to spend over $1,000 for 8 tubes.

http://thetubestore.com/teslaecc88.html
ARC LS-7 here. Agreed. Thought it was just a burn-in issue. However, it does appear that the EH tubes are notably more polite than the Sovteks.
I stopped using the Sovtek 6922 at the same time ARC did. They are just too inconsistent. I would measure one and it would measure great, measure the next Sovtek and it measured poor. The EH's are a more consistent and don't measure weak after a few months of use.
How about differences between the two triodes in the same tube? I have problems the both Sovtek and EH in this dept. 6922s and 12au7s alike. But heck for the price I can have one in 3 tubes that are sub par and still be ahead.
Yes, that's an issue as well. As long as there not way off they should work just fine depending of course on the circuit. Honestly, there just isn't a really great 6922 on the market. If you can find inexpensive legit Amperex 7308's that's my favorite tube of all time and that was the top of the line. It went from top to bottom, 7308, 6922, 6DJ8.
The Russian Tubes 1990-2000 Blow the EH away in my Audio Research Ref I/1999 Vesion, BUT..I'm using 2 Amperex GOLDEN GLOBE/HOLLAND in the out put-stages/L/R
SOUNDS GREAT!!
Alan,
Amperex "GOLDEN GLOBE"? I must be missing something. I know there are Amperex 6DJ8/ECC88, 6922/E88CC, and 7308/E188CC with "ORANGE" globe logo. I've never heard of "Golden Globe" Amperex. ;-P

And I have several hundred of this tube type from Amperex in my collection.

Skipped the Russian tubes all together, they just suck the life out of the recordings. I had just plugged in some 80's Rusian 6h23n into my LS-25 and they sounded flat and murky.

FrankC
I think the Electro Hamonix 6922 tubes sounded pretty darn good for the price. But in a preamp that operates in pure Class A, they don't last very long and that is their achilles heel.
I wish the JJ E88CC was a better tube. Also unreliable and they become noisy in short order.
I was told by the previous owner of my Symphonic Line tube pre-amp that he had rolled several different kinds of tubes in and out of it, and that despite trying tubes significantly more expensive, the EH 6922s sounded the best in it.

So that's what I'm using, but I'd be interested to know of anyone's experiences with other tubes in this pre-amp.