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Supratek Tubes and Tube Swappin' for Everybody

I will have a Supratek Chenin in my set up in a day or so. Since so many folks are rolling tubes around here I was hoping to garner a comprehensive list of everybodies favorite tube compliments. Be it NOS or NIB or WLATB (Whatever's layin around the basement)
Being that the "Deal of the Century" thread is a little more like a novel I figured this would be a good place to post questions and answers related to one subject of Supratek amps and pres.
On to the subject of me. I don't have immediate plans to swap tubes as I've figured that Mr. Maloney would supply us with something listenable for the break in period. But, since so many have reported such dramatic improvments I want to ask this question:
What is your favorite compliment for quietest gain and dynamics in the phono stage?
I will be using the Chenin exclusively for vinyl ( I don't have a CD player) and listen to loads of early rock and roll and Jazz bands, smaller jazz bands mostly, quartets and quintets. Some classical, the usual Beethoven and Mozart, but usually just a lot of loud garage rock.
Ok, now lets see what happens.
mc5baby
wc65mustang
524 posts
 
Larry,
I use Herbie's on all of my signal tubes except the 45 mesh plates. Although my preamp is equipped to run 300B, I have not tried them yet so I can't answer your question. As I posted prior, the 45's are much less microphonic than the PX/4 which I never plan to use again. No dampers in the power supply as there is no need.
I do not use 6SN7 as Mick's personal choice is the 76 in that position. I replaced the stock 76 with a pair of 1942 RCA VT-37 which made a significant improvement in the mids.
I took Whoopadeedoo's advice and ordered a pair of the special Russian 6H30 yesterday.
To address your first concern, yes there is a fair amount of microphonics with this preamplifier; it's the price we pay for greatness. Believe it or not the best device I've used and settled on is one of those Gingko rubber ball platforms. I tried cones, roller bearings, and Symposium but for this particular application the Gingko works the best. Give it a shot; they offer a money back guarantee. You'll need the Cloud 11 which is the larger version of the Cloud 10.
cello
645 posts
 
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Wc & David,
.
Thanks for advice.
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Do the 45's require the same voltage as the 300b's or the PX4’s? Can I put the 45's in my system if it can handle both the PX4's and the 300B's ?
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Wc, have you ever listened to the 6SN7's in your system ? I just sent Brendan an email ordering a pair of 7308's per your recommendation and a quad of 6F6GT's. Presently, I have a set of Symposium Rollerblocks under both Grange boxes. Was it the Symposium Roller Blocks that you tried ? I will look into the Ginko Rubber Ball platforms.
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David, what do you think that the differences between the 6SN7's and the76's might be in my Grange ?
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Rgds,
Larry
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wc65mustang
524 posts
 
Larry,
No I have not heard the 6SN7 as my Grange is not configured for that tube only the 76/37.
Voltage for the power tubes is:
2.5V 45
5V 300B
4V PX/4

I can switch among all 3 voltages. Nice option.
wc65mustang
524 posts
 
Larry,
Sorry I forgot to address your vibration question. I was using the Symposium Super Plus Platform alone and in conjunction with both Aurios and Final Labs roller bearings (only one brand at a time of course). Surprisingly the roller bearings actually exacerbated the microphonics in my rack but as always YMMV. I then tried the Gingko with and without the roller bearings and after all the smoke cleared the Cloud 11 alone works best. My power supply is sitting on a 2" maple platform from Timbernation which sits on a set of Final Labs Daruma 3; no problems there. Don't give up and you'll find the right piece(s) or combination thereof.
Congrats on the 7308; you're going to flip. They're that good.
ecclectique
509 posts
 
Hi Larry. A tough call on the choice of either the 76 or the 6sn7. The 6sn7 uses an octal base whereby the 76 uses a UX type base so there is no substitution option for comparison. The 76 is also a single triode whereby the 6sn7 is a dual triode. The single triode equivalent of the 6sn7 is the 6j5 which is electrically very similiar to the 76 with a slightly higher amplification factor. There are different flavours to be sampled in both choices however my only bone to pick with the 6sn7 is that there are really only 3 or 4 examples of the 6sn7 that will sonically compete with a 76 as well as many other single triodes like the 37,56,7168,6j5,6c5,6p5. The few that do will cost you a small fortune. The only down side to the 76 is it's a 50 year old tube and somewhat difficult to source these days and even then it's only a fraction of the cost of a tungsol round.
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