PSVANE Discussion & Impressions Thread

Is there a webpage that differentiates the differences across all series of Psvane tubes? I am sure there are a lot of people interested in what the new series has and why is it better than the any previous series that it’s replacing. If if is not replacing a previous series, then how does the new Horizon fit into the marketing to attract us as customers? I see data points concerning filament design; however, what does that mean to us as customers? Does the Horizon take some technology form the reference Psvane Treasure series? Really, want to see what are the differences in categories so that we can depict what we are getting. I have used the Psvane MKII series for years. Where does Horizon fit against the previous MKII series. I can’t find anything on the Internet which gives one an overview of all the Psvane series. Thanks. 

@ampus,

Message received. I want to follow up, but add some of my information regarding experiences with the Psvane T series Mark II and Reference series. The reference series are gold plated pins with gold etching on the glass compared to the normal Psvane series. Same with the T series MKIi. From my recollection, the reference series was replaced with the T series MK11, and perhaps, now called WE and ACME.

I used RFT, Siemens, JJ, and Sovteks in the 12AU7 position on my Octave Jubilee reference preamp. The Psvane imparted just music, nothing more nothing less. No overemohais of bass, highs, or mids. Just all fell in place. Yes, other tubes may have had more mid range but lacked bass, or that sparkle up top. This is my system so that is my impression. Compared to the classic Psvane, which sound more like Sovteks and JJs to me, the original Reference and MKIIs are stellar in performance.

With all the changes that have occurred over the years, my biggest question is how do we obtain the reference/MKII replacements? Is the Art series the new top of the line? Has the Art series replaced the MKII/Reference? I am little confused as I don’t see any ACME Psvane tubes. 

@ampus,

Congratulations to you for obtaining the Octave Jubilee preamp. The Octave Jubillee has been my reference component for a while. You will have many happy listening hours with this unit. 
 

Don’t get caught up in the tube rolling merry go round at first. Listen to the Octave to determine and understand its characteristics before making any changes. 
 

In a previous review of the Octave Jubilee, it mentions that the audio section employs four tubes all of the ECC82 family, and that the E80cc can be used in the input stage.  
 

I responded to you. Hopefully providing some insight on the use of NOS tubes. 

@ampus 

You should try the Psvane Art series 12au7s for your Octave preamp. As we both have the same pre, Octave Jubilee, I have experimented with many NOS, including the original JAN, Siemens, and RFTs that Octave specs with the Jubilee. I find the Art series in the Octave Jubilee to be great all around tubes. They do need some good hours for break in, approximately 20-30 hours or so. I use all the same specs for all 4 spots in the Octave Jubilee, including the selected position. While NOS may sound good, sourcing them and reliability issues are detractors to me when I want to listen to music without any disruptions due to tube failure. 
 

@ampus,

I can certainly understand the defect concerns; however, that can be stated for any tune, new or NOS. I personally have had no failures with any variants, MKIIs or Art series. My failures were with NOS tubes. 
 

Also, the Octave Jubilee does not drive the preamp tubes hard. There is a high and low switch for gain. The Psvane tubes are in both high and low gain positions. I currently use the low gain setting due to having horns. 
 

I am not advocating or endorsing the Psvane but merely stating the facts as I know them from using the Psvane 12au7 Art and MKiI based on real world experiences. 

Since the Horizon is new and not that costly, I am going to order a set to experiment with. 

@hdm,

For sure. I will provide immediate feedback and likewise after roughly 20-30 hours of use. 

I received the Psvane Horizon tubes today. At first, I thought the order was messed up as the boxes they came in are printed with Psvane Classic series tubes, not Horizon. When I opened the boxes, that is when I saw that the tubes had Horizon etched on the glass.

Also, the Psvane web store states within the Amazon portal that these are matched, but there are no measurements scribed on the boxes, nor any indication that these are matched tubes. These are sold as a pair and are advertised as matched. I just don’t see any measurements to validate that they are in fact matched. One other thing is I don’t know if these are tested for low noise like when I purchase from other sellers. My preamp is sensitive to mismatches and noisy tubes. It will be a leap of faith for me to try these tubes in my preamp.