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Replacing OA2 tubes with Zenier Diodes in Preamp

To all you electronics experts out there....(because I don't know electronics at all...)

In a preamp power supply that has (2) OA2 tubes for voltage reference and (2) 6EM7 regulator tubes, what would be the pros and cons of replacing the OA2 tubes with Zenier Diodes?

Thanks.
coffee_nudge
muzcal
66 posts
 
Mostly cons. Zeners can be very noisy and can tend to dry up the sound when compared to tube references. You may lose that little bit of "give" in the base response. Ditto for replacing the tube regulator with solid state.
webmaster5a1c
12 posts
 
The other advantage in keeping the 0A2/6EM7 combination is the fact that they act as a soft start circuit. By replacing the 0A2's with a zener diode you will put voltage directly on the 6EM7 before it's had a chance to start conducting, usually 10-15 seconds. This could limit the life of the 6EM7. If you are trying to tighten the bass performance of this product, I suggest you try something else and keep the tubes in the power supply.

G. Garfield
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