6922 Replacements for BAT VK-300x

Chris, I just purchased 6 tubes from Andy over at VTS. He's still in the business, but not for long. You know who to call after you get the 'goner scoop. best, warren :)

Hi Chris,

I was using a VK-3i/VK-200 combo (just sold the 3i) and bought some replacement 6922's from Jim McShane, whom I met over on AA. These were EH2 series & along w/the Tung-Sol reissue 6V6GT's made for a nice quiet presentation. Jeff

Hi Chris,

My personal preference is towards Amperex 7308 PQ's. However, if you prefer a warmer sound, I'd recommend a pair of Mullard 6922's.

I figured I'd end up with a Mullard or Amperex, but didn't know if anyone had tried one of the newer production tubes with success. The Sovtek's are OK, but strictly OK.

Outside of Andy and Upscale, I haven't purchased tubes anywhere else. I guess I'll have to do some looking around while I keep trying to reach Andy.

Jeff,

I think you and I did a transaction about a million years ago. Do you live in Virginia? Do you have Jim McShane's contact information?

Chris

It is extremely difficult to find a NOS pair of 6922 tubes that are NOT microphonic. One has to lower their standards/expectations when using this tube type. A truly highly microphonic tube will feeback thru the speakers when music is playing. Or even when then volume control is turned up. Tubes that exhibit microphonics only when taped on, or when switches are thrown, are 100% "normal".

Hi Chris,

Yes on all accounts. I looked it up & it was in 2001. Wow, time sure does fly when you're spending money!

I'll email the info.

Jeff

The tube/s in question are current production Sovtek, not NOS. I'm not an expert by any means...maybe microphonic is an incorrect term. When the input was changed from one to another, a "ting" or "ping" sound was heard. The replacement pair of Sovtek tubes does not do so. I'm sure someone with much more expertise than I possess would know whether that is microphony, a short, whatever.

Regardless, I need to replace the tube/s. The spare set is going into a Cary amp I'm going to be selling.

Thanks, Jeff!

Chris, for a nice selection of NOS tubes and possibly better price than Upscale, try Brent Jessee Recording and Supply Inc.

I checked out the site, thanks. It's a very informative website. I'll have to get in touch with him after the Holidays!

I agree with trying Brent Jesse Recording. I have bought tubes from Brent on numerous occasions. He is a top notch tube seller. He has several varieties on hand, and is quite knowledgeable. If you are not happy with your selection, he will allow you to return them and try something else. You can't beat that.

really got the tube of choice dialed right in for the Bat. Siemen tubes are sonically the clear winner in every way. They better any of the other nos amperex's[bulgle boy's included here],mullards and the telies. Another decent sounding tube for the Bat is the russian military nos 6n23ev's. These are "not" the same tube as the current sovtek 6dj8's or 6922's. They are smooth, have great bass weight, and are dead quiet,The best is they will last forever in the hard running Bat . The Bat's have always had a penchant for shortening the tube life of the 6dj8. As a matter of fact,the siemen e188cc was my tube of choice as it will handle a higher bias voltage than the gold pin e88cc and typically give one close to 5000 hours of tube life.One should only expect about 1/2 that life from the typical nos ecc88's. Hope this helps? at least it's a different view of the question...As for the vendor of these, I'm sure Kevin, and Andy are good to work with. However, make sure you place the Kat's up at the TubeMonger on your radar. Great service, inventory, no hidden agenda, and very knowledgeable.
cheers
8^)

Hi Chris, I'm using a pair of early 70's Amperex made in Holland 7308's from Tubemonger. These sounded better than the early 60's US Amperex that I tried with my 300x. Refined yet detailed. I've been using them for almost a year with no problems whatsoever. Good luck with your search and Happy Holidays, Gary

You will be amazed by using ECC85 in place of the ECC88/6922. I have done this in every piece of equipment I have ever had with these awful 6922 tubes that always sound tonally lean. The ECC85 brings life colour and presence to the music. I have so far dumped the internal ecc88/6922 tubes in the following amps and used ECC85's Audionote DAc 2.1 balanced, Audionote M5, Musical fidelity X10D,etc etc. An expensive mullard ECC88 will be easily improved upon by the cheapest ECC85 everytime. So you can imagine that the Mullard ECC85 is the ultimate.

the best replacement is any make of ECC85 i have replaced my ecc88/6922 in my audio note equipment and mf x10d with dramatic results.

Thank you, so much, to all the respondents. I did check out the Brent Jesse site, and I may place an order soon.

I've been in touch with a couple of vendors, and it looks like a good short-term replacement is going to be the 6N23...Mang53's suggestion was repeated by Jim McShane.

I also picked up a pair of Mullard 6922's from a fellow member. I'll be leaving the cover off of the BAT for a while during my experimentation.

Chris

Chris I am confident that an ECC85 of the cheapest make will always beat a Mullard 6922, you will get that natural tonality much more with the ECC85.

Luke

Luke, are there any compatibility issues in the BAT? I don't want to end up frying something...

Good point, but i have directly exchanged the 85 for the 88 in numerous products, and there has never been any issues. But you are right to be careful.

Eventually, I'll get around to touching base with BAT to get their feedback on the 85 for 88 exchange.