Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi Cello. Regarding the 6c45.... I have very little experience with russian tubes other than to say I am not very impressed with most of the ones I have tried whether they are output tubes, input tubes or drivers.As far as the WE 437a being a drop in replacement,sorry I can't help here,I am not so sure without comparing the tube data and curves. However,that said...not all of the russian valves are bad. The miltary version [6n23ev] equivalent of the e88cc/6922 is a very good sounding alternative to nos tubes,it is extremely quiet,very rugged and sounds nothing like the god-awful sounding current sovtek 6922. Bwhite....I am very surprised regarding your observation on the siemen cca relative to the telefunken in the phono of the cortese. I have both the Klimo merlin and the ARC sp-10 preamps that both employ the e88cc/6922 family of tubes. The klimo employs it in its line stage and the sp-10 mk2 throughout. In the sp-10's phono stage,the siemen cca trounces any other equivalent tube on the planet[telies,mullards,amperex's,valvos,or anything else out there for that matter] and it's the same conclusion in the klimo or just about any other application I have employed it in. Both of these preamps are legendary in the high-end industry and are fabulous sounding preamps by anyones standards. Yes... I really like the telefunken sound... but the cca is in another league and I would select any siemen equivalent e88cc,e188cc,7308 over the telie in any of my gear[other than telefunkens own cca version].The sound of a lot of nos tubes can be very system dependent and infact, the telie may be the one that works the best in the phono of the cortese. Most designers today are voicing their equipment with currently made tubes so tube rolling and experimentation is the only way to reach any conclusion. I must say...I am still somewhat perpexed as to the comparison though.

Ecclectique - well... In the Supratek, the Siemens Gold Pin CCa's were a nightmare. The ones I had (two pair) were purchased from two separate dealers at different times. I had read how "great" they were so.... I paid the bucks and purchased some. They were open sounding that's for sure.. to the extent of being obnoxious - even etchy or bright - downright screachy!

Given the reputation of the Siemens, I suspect its me and not the tubes.. but.. I would never recommend them to anyone. There is also the possibility of these tubes being candidates for counterfeiting due to their very high price.

I forgot all the "claim to fame" and specifications for this particular tube but it took me a long time to hunt them down. The pairs I had were from the early 1960's (1962) and gold pin.

In the Cortese, Telefunken CCa sounds superb - however.. I use Mullard ECC32's in the line stage. That must be considered as a part of the overall sonic signature. The stock Philips JAN tubes sound fine but ultimately do not have the clarity & resolution of the Tele CCa.

As I said earlier, the changes in the Supratek resulting from changes made to phono stage tubes are not exactly as substantial as the improvements acheived through changing the line stage and power supply tubes. But there are improvements none-the-less only here (in the phono stage) you REALLY have to pay for them.

Hi Everyone

My Chenin should be here on Monday!! I can't wait to see it. I have one novice question. How many rectifier / regulator / power tubes do I need. Two of each? I have been browsing through some of the tube sites, and found GZ34 rectifiers for sale as singles. Do they come matched or unmatched? Do I need 1 or 2? You can tell I don't know what I am doing.

Regards Tim

1 rectifier, 2 power, 2 line stage. But, don't screw with the tubes until you get about a hundred hours on it. That way, you can try the tubes one at a time after you get it broken in a little. That's the only way you will be able to tell what works for you in your system.

Welcome to the Supratek club! As always, you only need to look through this thread to find the answer to any question you might have. If it's not here, ask and you shall be answered.

Congratulations Saint! Glad to hear your wait is finally over. The wait is painful but makes the experience somewhat sweeter I suppose.

I am currently waiting for my turntable to be completed and I'm pretty excited about it. Judy Spotheim-Koreneeff sent me photos of it today as she was doing the final testing.
It should look magnificent next to the Supratek.