Tube rolling for the Cary SLP 2002

6H30 tube has less gain than 6922. Notice that many 6H30 preamps use multiple tubes to achieve high gain.

Amperex BB 6dj8 in gain stage and RCA 2 mica 5814 BP in output stage will give plenty of warmth.

Remove the tubes and reseat them, that may eliminate the noise. Also, Check all the press on connectors and make sure they are seated ( I hard wired my entire unit) Tighten the screws down on the 3 power transistors located on power supply bored.

There is a big difference between the SLP-2002 and the ARC series of pre-amps: LS-15,16,25,Ref1. The ARC pre-amps use FETs prior to the first tube gain stage, to boost gain/bandwidth. Plus the volume control is digital. The 16MK2/25mk2 go even further towards solid state, eliminating completely any tube in the gain stage. The Cary is Class A Triode tube gain stage (4 individual line amps) followed by a tube buffer output. The Cary is more "tuby" because there are no transistors in the gain stage to enhance the bandwidth from a gain perspective. Though, here are FET transistors in the Cary that act as current sources to feed the 6 volt tubes. Properly tubed, there is as much HF extension (perhaps more)than the LS-25MK1 that I owned. If you buy a pair of 6H30 tubes, go for the DR, as they have a wider bandwidth.