Tube types

+1 on the Matsushita 7DJ8  I use those myself and they sound great and are very strong and rugged. My preamp uses 6 6dj8 types so always looking for a good NOS tube that's a good value this fits the bill perfectly.

The E188CC was my favorite. I think I still have a couple, in my stash, as well as a couple Amperex. After listening to a few different CCa’s, the grey shields became my nine-pin miniature of choice. My CDP takes six. Glad I bought a few spares, before the supply dwindled and the prices increased.

Every tube, tried in that pre(there were a number), made a distinct difference in the system's presentation.  

Which one impressed you the most?

I also(as wlutke) owned an ARC SP-9, some decades back.    I ended up with a Siemens E188CC, in it's main gain circuit.   Hadn't tried a CCa yet, back then.    Every tube, tried in that pre(there were a number), made a distinct difference in the system's presentation.  Of course, some more profound, and better/worse, than others    Again: so many variables!

@jea48 thank you for the link. There's a lot for me to learn...

@dill thanks for the link. Never heard of them... they sound like a bargain if the performance is that good.

@wlutke thanks; I appreciate posting your experiences. 

@rodman99999 good to know that switching just one of the tubes in my pre to a premium would make a big difference. 

@jea48- I mostly agree with Joe S, as well. I’m guess he didn’t have any late 50’s-early 60’s, grey shield, CCas. They command a premium price, for a reason. There’s much more difference, in the presentation of the upper-crust Siemens tubes, between their years of manufacture, than he mentions. They vary at least as widely as the Amperex iterations, which he seemed to have in abundance. So many variables, in this aspect of Audio!

"Have you guys found that switching to premium tubes has been a significant improvement?"       Absolutely!     Less painful, when you only need one.

The Telefunken E88CC has much longer life (10,000 hrs vs 2000 hrs) and sounds fuller and smoother than the ECC88.  I had ARC SP-9 MKII and MKIII.  The E88CC sounded better in the MKIII, the ECC88 better in the MKII.  

I have tried many makes & variations of this tube, including the CCa and recommend the Matsushita 7DJ8 as an great performer at a reasonable price.

https://www.upscaleaudio.com/products/matsushita-national-pcc88-7dj8?variant=21830008005

@ infection


From my limited tube rolling experiences I found myself agreeing with Joe S.

Joe’s Tube Lore
https://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#6DJ8

Jim

@rodman99999  thank you. I'll certainly take a look. I guess tube rolling could potentially be rather expensive in order to find the best combination 

Have you guys found that switching to premium tubes has been a significant improvement?

You may find these interesting: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/6922-tube-review-17-top-6922-6n23p-e88cc-cca-7308-e188cc-tubes.761078/ and: https://wallofsound.ca/audioreviews/vacuum-tube-shootout-6dj8-types-part-1/ Keep in mind; there are a plethora of variables(individual tastes/biases/aural acuity, speaker system response/accuracy, electronics, etc) ie: Read Paulo’s post(Wall of Sound site), with which I’d have to agree, 100%(far as audio equipment comments).

@yogiboy  thank you. I wasn't aware of the CCa version. I see they're expensive! 

Here ya go!
The 6DJ8 is a dual triode preamp tube. ECC88 is the European designation for this tube. 6922 and its European equivalent E88CC are premium versions of the 6DJ8. 7308 and E188CC and the CCa are super premium versions.  

@jond  thank you, that's great. Appreciate your help. 

Yes you can and there is further discussion on that subject here:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/6922-vs-6dj8-vs-7308