Hi, all,
I haven't posted in a month. Can't believe how much has been written!
Just wanted to report back on my Chenin (yes, still lovin' it).
I had replaced the stock rectifier with the Bendix 6106 and the regulators with Sovtek KT66's. A small investment really with huge improvement in clarity, detail, imaging, bass. I think most of the long-term experienced posters on this thread would agree that these are the big bang for the buck improvements. And the other good news is that it mostly solved the 'image wandering' that I was experiencing when I first got the unit.
I also picked up a NOS Philips Miniwatt GZ34. The bass is incredible, huge and amazingly tight. But the music seems a bit more constrained overall than with the Bendix. I understand that rectifiers take a long while to break in, so am going to have to wait a bit for a real shoot out with the Bendix. Anybody out there compared the Mullard GZ34 against the Philips and Bendix? Your observations?
I've played around with the phono tubes quite a bit. The stock 6922's were labeled "FSCM" on the box and nothing on the tube itself. I have no idea what they are. I tried a whole bunch of phono tubes, finally settling on a pair of Amperex 7308 white label PQ's.
Now, for those of you who can't find or can't afford 7308 PQ, I have REALLY good news! The Cable Company (aka fatwyre.com) found some Russian military NOS 6HN23-EB that are drop in replacements for the 6922, 6DJ8 or 7308 tube. They had them for $60 each low noise and $90 each for cryo'd ultra low noise -- but, have just put them on special for half price!!! I bought a matched pair of the cryo ultra low noise for $90.
After a warm up listening session for my ears, dropped them in in place of my Amperex 7308's. Holy s--- Batman! They are THAT good. I have about 6 hours on them now, so I'd say they're half broken in. By the end of the weekend, I should be able to pop the Amperex back in and really compare.
But what I can say for now is that they are about 95% as good replacement for a legendary tube at a fraction of the price (if you can find it). Their bass extension is ever so slightly less full, but they have all the air, detail, crystal clarity and 'presence' of this classic tube. I am going to buy another pair to have on the shelf as backup.
Go to http://www.fatwyre.com/newspecials.html for more info.
[oops...when getting the link above, I checked the page and it looks like they changed the price of the cryo from what I go mine for, but you can still get a matched pair of low noise for $90 - a great deal]
I am using the EH 6SN7 and from many of the comments I've read, will probably stay there. However, the stock are the silver pin. I've seen (on eBay) gold pin cryo'd EH 6SN7's and I contacted that vendor to see if they sell matched pairs. Answer: no. Does anyone know of a source of EH gold pin matched pairs, with or without cryo treatment?
OK, last item. I have a problem with my mute switch, and it seems to be affecting playback. Power up sequence is standard: with switch set to mute (back), turn on preamp, wait for tube warm up, turn on power amp, wait for for it to load, turn off mute by moving switch forward, play music.
Sometimes the switching of the mute switch causes a popping sound through my speakers, other times...NO sound comes out of my left speaker! Flipping it again once or twice and the sound comes through both speakers.
That is a nuisance, but the real problem part is that I still get some image shift in music playback. A vocalist's voice that should be in dead center stage is a foot or two or three to the right. In fact, the whole soundstage (if it isn't centered) seems to be right-side weighted. It is never to the left. Happens with both CD and records.
Anybody else ever have a problem with the toggle switches on their Supratek? I'm about ready to e-mail Mick and ask him to send another switch. Any other recommendations?
What a great community! You guys are the best.
