Looking For Candidates For That Mythical 6922 Tube

So I have been down the road of several of the Amperex, a couple of Siemens, Tungsram, Telefunken, and I forget what else. Never been a fan of a Mullard that I heard, one of those tubes would have to be far different than what the typical Mullard house sound is. 

What I really want is a tube that sounds like a good transistor! I don't want tube warmth, sweet highs, or gobs of texture. To be honest I used to be a tube guy, especially SET, but these speakers have no interest in playing nice with tubes. Even just one lousy pair in the pre drive stage of the amp. 

So why am I torturing myself? Well I own it, and I wouldn't care if I sold it, but as you may have noticed with COVID19 very little audio equipment is selling, its not a high priority for folks right now. So I own it, and figure I might as well as try as hard as I can to get this thing voiced to where it works well with my JBL 4365. Now I put a pair of Maggie 1.6QR in front of it and I am looking for a tube like those Amperex, as that speaker is much more upfront and wants a bit of that tube goodness. 

But with the JBL I want a tube that sounds like a quality transistor. 

Oh speaking of Amperex 6922pq. Bought a pair of those too. Not enough clarity and transparency. Too much of that tube warmth to work in this system. Nice tube...for a different system.

@janpro8

Well I am waiting for some tubes to arrive. This might be my last ditch effort to find a working combination. I ordered a couple pair of the Voskhod 6n23p with the single wire and getter, We will see how these work out.

As a wild card, I also ordered a pair of JJ gold pin 6922 to try. I remember quite awhile ago when searching for tubes I ran across someone who got the type of sound I am looking for with this series of JJ. Not sure its really going to work, but I have tried a few of the well regarded European tubes and had mixed results. So far the Telefunken 6922 is still the best suited for what i need.

Last weekend I did reinstall a First Watt F7 into the system. I enjoyed the sound quite a bit, but I wanted to put the BHK back in for a parity check. I liked the F7, but I could use a bit more power than its 20 wpc, but it has a presentation that I gravitate to. It seems to say that SS is what I am really searching for, but since I own the BHK 250 Signature I thought I would take one last chance to find a sound that can satisfy. I have tried the Tungsram 6922, and they are favorable, I just care for the tonal presentation of the Telefunken over these. Perhaps there is a Tungsram variation I would like, but I just wonder at what point I should call it a day, and quit trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

One thing I had considered regarding SS is I know where a pair of AVM Essential mono blocks are. Te AVM gear is hard to find info on in the US, and information on the Essential products is non-existent here. From what I can tell they look to be in line with what I am looking for, but I sure would be more comfortable buying a set if I could find more details about owners experiences with them. 

So yesterday the JJ 6922 goldpin tubes delivered. Out of the box they were a bit bright and harmonically lean. I chalked it up to being an inexpensive tube, but I did notice its tonal balance was more in line with what I wanted to find. So I kept the tube running hoping that they would smooth out, but really kind of doubting it. Played all afternoon and then mid evening the sharp edges started to wear down. I listened more before I went to work this morning...which is really my dining room table for the forseeable future...and then when my day finished. 

Its not bad at all. I can listen to this far easier than I could the various Amperex, Siemens, and some other tubes I tried. It bodes well for the Voskhod that are on the way. I have to wait till May 8 for delivery, so I got a bit of time to run these in. Its not bad though at all, and there might be a possible solution for keeping the BHK here after all.