Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi Guys,
great posts.
Loving my Syrah.
Just bought another pair of Sylvania 6GK5s & a pair of Western Electric 5842s for the phono section.
The 6GK5s are duplicates of whats in place. The Western Electrics seem to hang an image centrally a bit better than
the Raytheons it came with. Tried some Creatura tube dampers on the 5842s - they have worked well for me in the past but I worry the valves are so small, the dampers may be
making them run too hot?
Not tried the NOS MullardGZ34 yet as the guy I bought it from said the 5AR4 was better - maybe the Mullard is below par?
As a matter of habit I have sat both pre & psu on Final Labs Dharumas so that both units 'float'. I can feel no vibration getting to the units even in my small listening room.
The new pairs of valves were bought as one or more of the valves in the phono section was a bit noisy - nothing too troublesome - the new ones have the same problem - ah well I knew I would have to buy at least 3 different pairs to get a quiet set !
Love the amp & can't wait to try some different power cords - using a PS Statement at the moment but will probably end up using a Shunyata of some description to keep
synergy with the rest of the system.
Tried the gain setting at 3 which gives solidity to the sound but bloats the bass a bit over setting 2 (Pass Labs X-250). Will just keep experimanting but any pointers welcome

Tung sol 5881 red/brown base mil spec
Sylvania black base 6SN7s
and the aforementioned in the phono/rectifier sections.

Happy listening,
Si

Ecclectique,

Thanks for the very "educational" explanation on why the chugging sound on the 6106 and not on the 5AR4. As a habit, I researched all the things you said and they are spot on frrom what you said as far as the difference between the two tubes are concern. For me, I will keep the 5AR4!

Anybody looking for a NOS (not even a minute used!) 6106 and a used pair as well? :)

While we're back on tube rolling in the Supratek pre's, I thought I'd offer a suggestion that I haven't seen yet. I believe it was the "Supretek Tubes for Everyone" post where someone talked about how much they liked the sound using a 5y3. Later, in that post and here, it was correctly mentioned that this tube should not be used since it is directly heated. There is an alternative. The Mazda 5Y3GB. Characteristics wise, this is a 5Y3. Where it differs is that it is indirectly heated. This rectifier has an ST shaped bulb and has a pretty cool filament glow to it. I've been using one in my Syrah for several weeks now with no ill effects. It's currently replacing a NOS metal based Philips GZ34 and drops the voltage to the regulators by approximately 20vdc over the GZ34. The tube is not yet fully broken in. As such, I would characterize the main difference in sound to be that the circuit does not roll off the HF as much with the 5Y3GB as with the GZ34. This is in both the line and phono stages. If you have bright system, this tube may not be for you. I had to back off the mid frequency L-pads on my Altec Model 19's due to them being overly bright after this swap. The 5Y3GB is relatively inexpensive and can be had at several different online sites. A search will quickly show these vendors.

Do this at your own risk, YMMV, and all the other usual disclaimers.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the post. I was the guy who said he liked the sound of the 5Y3 rectifier. This sounds like an interesting alternative. Do you feel that this tube sounds pretty much like other 5Y3's?

Slowhand,

I really can't say. I have little experience with 5Y3's. I primarily use or have used GZ34's, EZ81's, 5U4's, and 5R4's. This is an interesting tube, though it's too early to say whether I'll keep it in circuit or go back to the GZ34. My feeling is that this tube would sound best in a system that is on the warm side or lacking a bit in the HF area.

I think it's important to note that like any other tube rolling, the sound one hears with a tube change is so dependent on the circuit, components, room, ears, etc. that in my opinion, it's pretty darn subjective. The sounds and levels in the music that I hear may be completely different from what someone else is hearing, even in the same set up.

Steve