Shuguang Treasure tubes....


I'm not sure if this is in the right place but this is about the tubes in my amp so here goes....Has anyone else given these Shuguan Treasure tubes a try?

I recently bought a used tube amp(VAC Phi 110) and the tubes that came with it were shot so I started poking around for some new tubes. I was looking for some Shuguang tubes, which are what I believe VAC supplies as standard/stock, and ran across Shuguangs limited production Treasure tubes. I poked around and did some reading, found a review or two and decided to give the only distributer for N. America(Grant Fidelity) a call. I spoke to a very kind and helpful lady who was patient with me(quite the task I might add!), was very nice and helpful and was darn knowledgeable on the tubes. Before I knew it my wallet had leapt out of my back pocket and I had splurged and ordered a matched quad of the Treasure Tubes, KT-88s. Within a couple of hours I had a tracking number and about a week later a box labeled "FRAGILE: GLASS!" was waiting for me when I got home from work.(A quick side note; during the short wait for the Treasure tubes to arrive I was using a borrowed quad of stock VAC KT-88 tubes and they were wonderful, great sounding tubes that I could live with forever....or that is until I found the Treasure tubes anyway.)

When the Treasure tubes showed up I ripped into the box and was shocked to see that each pair comes in a really nice presentation box with each tube very well protected in a foam insert, very classy. I removed the tubes, admired their beauty(they really are sweet looking tubes!) and popped them in the VAC and let them warm up for about 15-20 minutes. I then set bias on them and hit the play button expecting the usual tube break in time-wrong!...right out of the box these tubes sound fantastic! Seriously, I am shocked how at just good they sound fresh out of the box. Smooth clean highs, strong deep bass and all the other audiophile words we so endear. If they're this good right out of the box I can't wait until I get 100 hours or so on them. I'm no reviewer but I can say that these tubes offered a noticable improvement in my system and are worth every penny of their asking price, no doubt about it! So far they are chugging along and sounding beautiful and hold a rock solid bias, ZERO fluctuation.

Please understand that I have no affiliation with Grant Fidelity but when I run across a company that treats their customers so well and offers a product that performs at this level I feel I should share my experience with others, I'm one VERY hapy audionut!

Yes I actually do have a question and here it is; They(Grant Fidelity/Shuguang) also offer a 6SN7 substitute called the "CV-181", this is supposed to be a direct replacement for standard 6SN7's and I'm very interested in those as well. Has anyone else had the opportunity to give these tubes a try? Thanks for your replies.

Sincerely,
John
128x128johngp
Bought the CV181Z A brand and one tube was making a wind storm in my speaker. Vey disaponting to say the least. Shipping them back @ my cost to Canada was a PITA. To much $$$ to ship back out of my pocket because someone could not test/hear the wind storm before shipping.

So here I am waiting to hear from GF to see if they got the tubes back 7days+ or lost in shipping. I guess I will Email them.........
I purchased 8 KT88's and 4 CV181Z's, all Shuguang Black Treasure grade A tubes, from Grant Fidelity about two weeks ago for my Cary 120S amp. The CV181Z's replaced the EH 6SN7 driver and input tubes. The KT88's replaced EH output tubes. I drive the 120S with a Cary SLP 03 with stock EH tubes (am awaiting TJ Full Music 12AU7's to replace the EH stock tubes). The speakers are Harbeth Compact 7 ES3's. The sound from the stock EH tubes was very nice, no complaints but as one who is always looking for a little more, I ran across a few reviews of the Treasure series tubes and decided to give them a try. I contacted Rachel at Grant Fidelity (wonderfull people to deal with) and had the above mentioned tubes about a week later. My initial impressions were "Wow, they sound pretty darn good right out of the box". They have about 95 hours on them now and continue to improve. I am at a loss for words trying to explain how much of an improvement they have made. The little Cary sounds like one of there SET amps but with a very powerfull bottom end. The music seems to flow out of a solid black background with a naturalness that has to be heard to be believed. I am learning to live wih goose-bumps all over again. I am usually a fairly skeptical person but I believe I have stumbled upon something very special. If anything changes (good or bad) I will post further thoughts. Dave
The CV181-Z is not disappointing me in the least now that it they are fully broken in. The have replaced my TS RB 6sN7 as my new reference tube.

I need a quad for future use they are that good.
I have had the kt88s in my ayon spirit for a couple of months now. I aggree with Dave from Thehub. Outstanding tubes. And that is coming from Genelex Gold Lions, another excellent tube. I also have a quad of the new Genelex Gold Lion 12AU7s. They were great right ot of the box, but a little hot on top. After a few hundred hours I just couldn't be happier with the sound I am getting from this combination. Very enjoyable.