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Author Topic: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!  (Read 10606 times)

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IamwutIam

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #20 on: April 02, 2013, 04:25:01 PM »

I've generally had really good luck with small lots from e-bay, but I remain pretty picky about who I buy from and I often grab "Buy it Now" deals at realistic prices instead of going on the cheap in an auction.  I usually stick to the lower priced tubes as well, leaving the high price stuff to dealers etc...

That said, I miss having my tester, it's still back in the US.  I got a quad of Tungsol ECC83's for the GES and they are causing me to occasionally blow a fuse.  Without the tester I don't have a good way to check them out.  Of course they were the best tubes I had for the GES by far. 


I've been using eBay for tubes lately. Results have been mixed.

The experience of buying individual matched pairs has been positive so far: Sylvania and Hytron 12SN7s and Marconi 6SN7s arrived well packaged and as specified from three individual sellers.

However I also ordered a small lot of 15 or so 12SN7s from another seller, and the packaging on this left much to be desired. Basically the tubes were thrown into a box filled with packing peanuts, completely loose without any wrapping around each tube. Several of them were damaged and rattle when inspected. Could have at least wrapped them in tissues or something to keep them from smashing into one another during transit.

It seems a lot of you use EBay to find your tubes. I'm guessing you are getting better prices, but I would get discouraged real quickly if I did'nt receive visibly perfect, well packaged tubes every time, screw the price. ( I justify the prices for myself, by the fact I usually replace tubes to try "different flavors" when the sound starts moving past neutral & slightly toward dull)

Discovering "Tubemonger" may be the only good thing I got from "Head Fi". (& it's kind of surprising I came across mention of it, as the group over there were buying most of their tubes from each other  & one particular gentleman who appeared to be using the thread as "his store"; they had a version of "Tube Old Boys" over there.)

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Anaxilus.

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #21 on: April 02, 2013, 06:21:01 PM »

I buy from sellers w/ >99% feedback that also have 14 day return policies.  You can't go wrong, never had a problem unresolved.  If any issues arose, they usually resolved better than I could have hoped for. 
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Mr.Sneis

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #22 on: April 03, 2013, 08:06:38 PM »

I've had great success getting my NOS "glass" through Tubemongers. They can be a bit "pricey" but I've been dealing w/ them for a few years now & I have'nt gotten any bad tubes(or any I've not been satisfied w/ for that matter) yet.

Hey, what else can we spend money on that gives back as much enjoyment, time after time
(Now that I stated this, watch... The pair of Mullard '61 wrinkle glass CV4035/12AX7s I have in transit(these things have too many damn numbers) won't be up to the "standards" of all the other tubes I've gotten; I should delete this before I jinx my success rate)

That's funny, one tube I really like was bought from tubemongers by a PO of one of my amps.  I know it was theirs because the box has the tube name all over it and tubemonger on the label.  The tube is basically junk though :(  Sounds great for about 15 minutes and then it just sounds like a disaster.  I'm real scared to buy tubes these days; eBay seems like a major hit or miss and the markup at the online retailers hurts.
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The Alchemist

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #23 on: July 25, 2014, 02:13:38 AM »

Hello fellow Pirates!

I need some help/advice. So I have a Valhalla 2 and the Valhalla 2's input tubes can be subbed out for any 6DJ8/6922/ECC88/ECC85/6BZ7 types, including NOS. Currently I am just using the stock standard 6N1P input tubes but was wondering if any of the other input tubes that the Valhalla 2 can be rolled with would be any better than the stock 6N1P's.

The Valhalla 2 sounds great with stock, but it doesn't seem to have the warmth of the original Valhalla. I like a warm, tube sound that fellow Pirates may think would sound better than the stock 6N1P input tubes.

Any Help or advice on which tubes my fellow Pirates would suggest would be extremely helpful. I believe only the input tubes are rollable.

Thanks!
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The Alchemist

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #24 on: July 30, 2014, 03:30:02 PM »

Hello fellow Pirates,

I was looking to get a pair of 6BZ7 matching tubes for my Valhalla 2 and I was looking on eBay and I am not sure what kind to get (I have never tube rolled before). Marv suggested checking out 6BZ7's so that is what I have been looking at. I don't know what brand I should get, if I should get matching tubes, or NOS. Can some fellow pirates give me some suggestions on tubes for the Valhalla 2? Should I get matching? NOS? What brand?

Thank you for any help and advice anyone can give!  :)p7
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Puma Cat

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2015, 09:06:50 PM »

I've got a Valhalla 2 as of yesterday, and as you can sub in 6922s, there are lots of nice options for those tubes.

Two "classic" options are the orange-label Amperex, and the famous Amperex Bugle Boys. Another very nice 6922 is the Ediswan, which is available from Upscale Audio.

The newer released Genalex Gold Lion 6922s are excellent for the money, also.

I will probably end up with Ediswans in my Valhalla 2, though they are pricey at $95/ea.
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Ringingears

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2015, 05:43:30 AM »

Has anyone tried the NOS GE 6BZ7's from Schiit that they sell for the Lyr amp in a ..........Valhalla 2 ?  Better than the stock Russians? No difference or worse? Just wondering if the price was worth any improvements over stock. Saw a reference to Marv liking these tubes. Marv, could you clarify?

Jason: could you tell us the reason you use the NOS GE in the Lyr and the Russian type in Valhalla 2?  Thanks.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2015, 11:05:23 AM by Ringingears »
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Puma Cat

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #27 on: February 01, 2015, 08:06:45 AM »

I just rolled some vintage Amperex 6922s (Orange PQ label) into my Valhalla 2 and they essentially transformed the already excellent performance of this headphone amplifier for the better. See my post in the Valhalla 2 review thread for more information, but man, was this an improvement! I was thinking of rolling Ediswans into the Valhalla 2, but I just may stick with this tube; it takes the Val 2 to a completely different level.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2015, 09:51:59 PM by Puma Cat »
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bmichels

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Re: Tubes, Tubes, Tubes -- Resources for Rollers!
« Reply #28 on: February 13, 2015, 12:55:20 PM »

hello here tube lovers

On my Eddie Curent 445 tube Amp, I would like to try to replace the 6C45 driver tubes by some WE417A.  this should mahe the sound signature more tubey, more warm.  the 6C45 is too analytical and too SS for my taste.


 I have been able to find the  WE417-to-6C45  adaptors   :-\     

--> So now I need to find a pair of NEW and matched WE417A driver tubes. ... and a new DAC ( TotalDAC D1 or Analog DAC...)

can someone help ? that are quite hard to find (in NEW and matched)

thanks in advance

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BleaK

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