Author Topic: Newbie and Not-so Noob Thread: Questions (FAQ) on anything Tubes (Read 98660 times)

arnoldc · « **Reply #360 on:** Apr 12, 2006 at 03:17 PM »

Quote from: Larry_Boy on Apr 03, 2006 at 01:21 PM

have the following questions as well:

1) what set of tubes should i change first which will affect/improve the sound of the amp the most? (i.e. pre, output, etc.)

2) aside from mullard, any recommended brand for a 12ax7 tube? for a 12au7? for el34?

i just want to know your preferences so that i will not start from scratch.

maraming salamat!!!

Again, the sound of the amplifier will depend on the overall design and the chosen operating points.

Mullard, Telefunken, and all those exotic and ridiculously expensive 12AX7, 12AU7 will be beaten by other cheaper tubes.

Why not use Svetlana EL34, Ei 12AX7LP, or RCA grey plate 12AU7 that are cheap and should sound good. If the amps still does not sound good, then change the amp!

Dracula · « **Reply #361 on:** Apr 12, 2006 at 03:28 PM »

Quote from: arnoldc on Apr 12, 2006 at 03:04 PM

Dracula, I thought you got the PrimaLuna with the auto-bias board? Hindi kailangan ng manual bias for that.

Unang labas ng Primaluna yung nakuha ko and it didn't come with the auto bias board yet.......was going to get the board retro fittted before I left the UK pero the parts didn't arrive early enough and we already had to leave....

arnoldc · « **Reply #362 on:** Apr 12, 2006 at 03:39 PM »

Ok, in the absence of the auto-bias board, you should see a bias adjust potentiometer for each power tube. You will need a digital voltmeter and you should check the manual for the bias voltage settings. you should adjust the bias as the tube heats up. Adjust after initial turn on, adjust after 15 minutes, adjust after 30 minutes and in one hour it should settle down.

If it is covered by warranty, I usggest you bring it to Audio Den who are the official disti for Prima Luna.

acquin · « **Reply #363 on:** Apr 12, 2006 at 05:38 PM »

i replaced my stock EL34 tubes on my Cayin A50T with Svetlana (non-winged C).

The reviews were right - mids and highs were fantastic. Bass is decent. good tubes for vocals at a reasonable price 3000 per quad set. also, replaced the stock 12ax7 with westinghouse 12axta/5751. Noticed less noise and more focus.

I am hearing mixed reviews on the winged c version, some say it's too boomy and mids are not as good. haven't tried it though.

Larry_Boy · « **Reply #364 on:** Apr 17, 2006 at 12:14 PM »

Quote from: arnoldc on Apr 12, 2006 at 03:17 PM

Again, the sound of the amplifier will depend on the overall design and the chosen operating points.

Mullard, Telefunken, and all those exotic and ridiculously expensive 12AX7, 12AU7 will be beaten by other cheaper tubes.

Why not use Svetlana EL34, Ei 12AX7LP, or RCA grey plate 12AU7 that are cheap and should sound good. If the amps still does not sound good, then change the amp!

sir arnoldc, thanks a lot . . . very informative for me! i have a cayin mt35 amp so i think there will be no problem if i get the more affordable ones.

ianmorales · « **Reply #365 on:** Apr 19, 2006 at 01:09 AM »

sirs, okey lang ba ikabit ang ss pre-amp to a tube integrated amp? I will use the pre-amp as my phono stage. dont know if its also okey to connect my dvd player to the pre-amp. And thus its sound will be the same?

Jagner · « **Reply #366 on:** Apr 19, 2006 at 10:50 AM »

Quote from: ianmorales on Apr 19, 2006 at 01:09 AM

sirs, okey lang ba ikabit ang ss pre-amp to a tube integrated amp? I will use the pre-amp as my phono stage. dont know if its also okey to connect my dvd player to the pre-amp. And thus its sound will be the same?

pre-amp as phonostage? Kung yung ss pre-amp mo may built-in phonostage puede yan, pero kung yung pre-amp mo walang phonostage (yung may RIAA equalization circuit) di puede gamitin yan as a phonostage.

SS pre-amp to a tube integrated amp? puede yan pero assuming na tube integrated amp na gamit mo, kadalasan, may built-in na pre-amp circuit na 'yan.

iceman90a · « **Reply #367 on:** Apr 19, 2006 at 12:11 PM »

Quote from: ianmorales on Apr 19, 2006 at 01:09 AM

sirs, okey lang ba ikabit ang ss pre-amp to a tube integrated amp? I will use the pre-amp as my phono stage. dont know if its also okey to connect my dvd player to the pre-amp. And thus its sound will be the same?

if your SS preamp has a phonostage , yes you can connect it to your tube integrated amp, but use the REC Out of the SS preamp. this will provide a fixed output going to your integrated amp

as to connecting your dvd player to the preamp as well - why?

ianmorales · « **Reply #368 on:** Apr 19, 2006 at 06:50 PM »

sirs, i only use the ss pre amp as a phono stage. I also want to connect my dvd player thru the pre-amp, i use my dvd plyer as my cdp. Thus the audio output will be the same as direct to my tube amp?

Thank sirs for your replies!

Jagner · « **Reply #369 on:** Apr 20, 2006 at 09:32 AM »

Quote from: ianmorales on Apr 19, 2006 at 06:50 PM

sirs, i only use the ss pre amp as a phono stage.

As long as your SS pre-amp has a phonostage, no problem with that.

Quote

I also want to connect my dvd player thru the pre-amp, i use my dvd plyer as my cdp.
Thus the audio output will be the same as direct to my tube amp?

What do you mean by "audio output"? If you're thinking that the sound will be louder with the dvd player connected to the pre-amp, it will sound louder as the pre-amp, I assume, has it's own gain. As for the sound to be better or not, it's for you to judge.

Cheers.

Jakob · « **Reply #370 on:** Apr 21, 2006 at 06:51 AM »

i have a matched quad set output/power(?) tubes, one went bad...

- can i just get another tube of the same kind/brand, to replace to the one dead tube?

- buy a pair, use it for either channel (L or R)?

- mix-match (brand) the tubes?

making a big mistake or ok lang?

ty

arnoldc · « **Reply #371 on:** Apr 21, 2006 at 08:35 AM »

just get one of the same brand. and make sure you re-bias.

Jakob · « **Reply #372 on:** Apr 21, 2006 at 10:46 AM »

Quote from: arnoldc on Apr 21, 2006 at 08:35 AM

just get one of the same brand. and make sure you re-bias.

thanks!

alexg · « **Reply #373 on:** Aug 03, 2006 at 03:22 PM »

I was at Glorietta yesterday and passed by Phasetron, and had a chance to listen to one of their tube amps using a CD player and I was very, very impressed with the sound.

I am thinking of getting a starter tube integrated amp and use my Marantz CD player on it. I have a NAD integrated amp and after hearing the tube amp, I am convinced that I NEED one!

Can anyone tell me how/where to start? I would prefer a very inexpensive system just to get my feet wet and later on, upgrade or replace.

I listen primarily to Jazz, instrumental and blues.

TIA.

Jagner · « **Reply #374 on:** Aug 03, 2006 at 04:17 PM »

Quote from: alexg on Aug 03, 2006 at 03:22 PM

I was at Glorietta yesterday and passed by Phasetron, and had a chance to listen to one of their tube amps using a CD player and I was very, very impressed with the sound.

I am thinking of getting a starter tube integrated amp and use my Marantz CD player on it. I have a NAD integrated amp and after hearing the tube amp, I am convinced that I NEED one!

Can anyone tell me how/where to start? I would prefer a very inexpensive system just to get my feet wet and later on, upgrade or replace.

I listen primarily to Jazz, instrumental and blues.

TIA.

Hi,

If you already have a pair of speakers, better bring them along when you audtion tube amps, as you need a proper amp-speaker matching to bring out the best of the music you want.

Hope this helps.

Dracula · « **Reply #375 on:** Aug 04, 2006 at 07:50 PM »

i want to replace the tubes on my amp.....can I do it myself? or do I need somebody to do it for me? where can I get the tubes? My amp's tube compliment is 4 el34, 12ax7 and 12au7....I've had the amp since 2004 but because we haven't sorted out the house we're moving into I haven't been able to set it up properly

Thanks in advance for the help

JojoD818 · « **Reply #376 on:** Aug 05, 2006 at 09:47 AM »

If your amp does not require biasing of the output tubes, then you just simply replace the old ones with a fresh stock.

alexg · « **Reply #377 on:** Aug 07, 2006 at 03:18 PM »

Does anybody sell DIY integrated tube amp kit in the Philippines?

Jagner · « **Reply #378 on:** Aug 07, 2006 at 05:27 PM »

Quote from: alexg on Aug 07, 2006 at 03:18 PM

Does anybody sell DIY integrated tube amp kit in the Philippines?

As far as I know, wala. What you can do is either purchase a kit from DIY Hifi Supply in HongKong; or download a tube amp circuit diagram and buy the parts yourself

Hope this helps.

oweidah · « **Reply #379 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 07:10 AM »

sirs,
pwede paki-explika - tube buffers

what is decware's zsla-1? nakalagay sa descprition - single ended triode - stereo line stage, pero sa schematic diagram heading - tube attenuator / buffer.
http://www.decware.com/linestage/zp1.htm
click- "specs" on the left side of the display, schematic will appear at the bottom of next display

sa link na ito - http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1154211013&read&3&4&
may nagtanong tungkol sa tube buffers, at may sumagot to the effect na di lagi kailangan o advisable na gumamit ng tube buffer, depended sa gamit na gears.

eto po setup na balak ko insert tube buffer*---> dvdplayer -*- tubepreamp (12au7) - t.amps

worry ko baka "over"/"redundant" instead of improving the sound eh makagulo pa?

maraming salamat po

RU9 · « **Reply #380 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 08:22 AM »

Quote from: oweidah on Aug 16, 2006 at 07:10 AM

sirs,
pwede paki-explika - tube buffers

is decware's zsla-1 same as a buffer? nakalagay sa descprition - single ended triode - stereo line stage, pero sa schematic diagram heading - tube attenuator / buffer.
http://www.decware.com/linestage/zp1.htm
click- "specs" on the left side of the display, schematic will appear at the bottom of next display

sa link na ito - http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1154211013&read&3&4&
may nagtanong tungkol sa tube buffers, at may sumagot to the effect na di lagi kailangan o advisable na gumamit ng tube buffer, depended sa gamit na gears.

eto po setup na balak ko insert tube buffer*---> dvdplayer -*- tubepreamp (12au7) - t.amps

worry ko baka "over"/"redundant" instead of improving the sound eh makagulo pa?

maraming salamat po

I believe the Decware zsla-1 is a tube buffer with a volume control. By itself it can act as a preamp.

I liked the zsla-1 concept, so i requested Jojo to convert my Tono preamp to a passive tube linestage with zero gain. This is the result:

12AU7 Unity Gain Preamp

Photo by JojoD

More info:

http://audioslavery.proboards43.com/index.cgi?board=DIY&action=display&thread=1107836033&page=69

I was very happy with the result. Mated it with a Rotel RB-03 (70 watts). Galing sa Rock and ROll.

I would be redundant to add this to tour system. Just convert your tube preamp to passive one.

LOuie

bumblebee · « **Reply #381 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 08:25 AM »

From what I understand, a buffer decreases the output impedance of a signal. The Decware you mentioned uses triode tubes but is unity gain kaya buffer lang sya.

A preamp is a buffer/attenuator/ and may or may not have gain.

dana · « **Reply #382 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 08:40 AM »

As I understand, a tube buffer/preamp will addup/spice some sonic flavorings to ur setup, especially with the addition of what they say as even order harmonics to ur current digital set-up, rich in odd order harmonics.
As they say, these even harmonics is synonymous to what makes it 'tube-sounding'.. Other than that, a buffer could act as a possible impedance matching correction/interface.
Mr Owediah, i think there is no harm in trying with that kind of your set-up.
Finally, your hi fi ears will decide...
Tsaka, sayang kung hindi naman magamit....benta mo na lang sa min

'Real Audio, Glows In the Dark'....daw

oweidah · « **Reply #383 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 09:11 AM »

thanks sir ru9 & bumblebee.

Quote from: dana on Aug 16, 2006 at 08:40 AM

Tsaka, sayang kung hindi naman magamit....benta mo na lang sa min
'Real Audio, Glows In the Dark'....daw

tnx sir dana, baka kasi sa dami ng rekado di ko na malaman kung ano ang nagpasarap ng lasa? sabagay ganun din chopseuy - masarap

benta? amperex6922PQusa white label? o yung singkwentaykwatro aNyOS? sige 300/pin...joke!

glow in the dark ko - ambilyts from 168

ATJr. · « **Reply #384 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 11:32 AM »

hey oweidah,

anything you put in front of the power amp is a pre-amp, so aside from the above mentioned, you can also try just a passive attenuator, or a transformer type preamp..you have many to choose from...

devo · « **Reply #385 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 03:49 PM »

Guys,

I have on one of my amps a GE5751 installed, recently got a tube printed JAN GE 5751 from Spin. Does the JAN label mean the 2 are of different versions? Haven't installed the JAN version yet since I am still trying out
the Sylvania which I also got from Spin. TIA

Devo

ATJr. · « **Reply #386 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 04:20 PM »

JAN means "joint army navy" they are military grade tubes and are tighter in specs...

CO2 · « **Reply #387 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 04:26 PM »

Hi bros. just asking some help where can i buy a premium volume control for my vintage tube amp (pioneer sx 2000). I tried to diagnose the signal problems of the amp's left channel and the first thing i noticed was the worn-out surface carbon of the volume control input terminal. I will try to replace it first before i go farther. Thanks in advance.

bumblebee · « **Reply #388 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 04:27 PM »

Pot? I think Silver Strings carry Alps. And DACT.

CO2 · « **Reply #389 on:** Aug 16, 2006 at 04:49 PM »

Thanks sir bumblebee can i ask their exact locations please...