Most Musical 6NS7 tube for a Preamp?

Buy a used with remote deHavilland Ultraverve. I got a used one without the remote and immediately sold my 12Au7 based pre amp. The mods bigkidz mentioned sound nice and you may can have them done within your budget if you buy used. And thanks for the update on Kara. Hope she is ok. Great to deal with. I liked my Ultraverve so much I had her build me a modded Mercury III. I am keeping both preamps. Have fun! Oh, I have used several tubes in the Ultraverve but the Ken Rad is my favorite. Fun to try different ones since there is only one.

My vote is for the Ultraverve also.  I have had mine for about 12 years and, as a result, have tried an amazing number of different vintage 6sn7’s. There are at least a dozen really good ones...each with their own personalities.  That said, each of these tube are all very relative to your particular rig configuration.  I run my Ultraverve through a big Bryston 14bsst ss amp and then on to B&W 802’s. As a result, my favorite 6sn7’s are what works for my system...and to my ears.  I will say that swapping out this particular tube in the Ultraverve can make dramatic tonal changes in the sound of your system. As Kara Chaffee describes it, experimenting with different 6sn7’s is akin to trying different wines! Also, the Ultraverve is built like a rock with point to point wiring, choice of remote or not, and designed to put very low stress on the tubes. I had Kara raise the 5aw4 tube seat to accommodate a bulbous 5au tube. She also updated my Ultraverve with Dueland caps and wiring about three years ago.  It sounds amazing and I get the best of both worlds, the warm musicality of the tubes along with effortless power of the sis amp. 

I've had both the Ultranerve and LTA mk2 ( currently have the Microzotl preamp).The UV has your classic tube sound. The LTA more linear with a touch of tubiness,Read the reviews of each, They are spot on.

@bdp24  Roger and I disagreed about his assessment of the 6SN7. For some reason he only used the early Tung-Sol documentation to support his views of the tube as you can see in the YT video. The issue was corrected by Tung Sol in later versions and by different manufacturers.


I agree with his assessment of some of the 'boutique' fuses. If they have a Teflon tube inside, the fuse will not blow correctly and so can damage the equipment its meant to protect!

I second the suggestion of reaching out to Aric of Aric Audio! I have the original Motherlode mated with a pair of XA60.8's and it is total audio nirvana. Far outperforms my old Pass XP20, Mac 2300, or Arc Reference 5.