Pricey devils
Did make me wince but then so was the preamp. Are we nuts or what???
Absolutely, I’m nuts but I love the sound. What happened to the Brimar CV4003 that you were using recently?
They’re nestled in their tube drawer next to the…(too embarrassed to say). I was thinking of getting an old Ford F150, breaking one spring and riding around the neighborhood like the old knife sharpener guy, except I’ll be yelling: “tubes! Get ya tubes. I gotcha tubes right here”! “Ok lady, ya wanum cryo or not?”
Nothing nuts about that at all. I also bought a back up pair, because they are just the ticket for me and my system. And I find the preamp to be a bargain (sold my VAC Ren Sig II after getting the BHK).
I tend to go a little nuts on tubes I like with a favored piece of gear, so I could work in tandem with you on that neighborhood trolling! I’ve got 40+ Ei KT-90’s that are not getting any use, now that I am depending upon the 300 monos… And then there are the dozens and dozens of 5751 tubes, 6AQ8’s, 12AU7’s…
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Dozens? Funny, I thought you said “dozens”—but I drank merlot tonight. God knows anything can happen now.
I love this forum.
I’ve been using the 7308 RTC by MULLARD in the BHK Pre lately and I’m very pleased with the presentation. I’m hearing details that I didn’t realize existed.
Interesting that you mention “details” with a Mullard tube - - I typically expect a warmer, perhaps less detailed presentation with a Mullard (true for 12AX7’s and 12AU7’s that I have tried). I look to Mullards to warm up the system if it needs it, but I almost always find them to be too much of a good thing on the “richness” side for my system and tastes.
I am unfamiliar with the Mullard 7308. How would you characterize its overall sonic signature?
My experience with the Mullard 7308s were just that - overly warm and lacking in detail. Siemens 7308s wiped the floor with them. Then again, every system will have some differences.
I’m currently running Phillips Miniwatt 7308’s in my BHK 300’s and I ordered a pair of the Mullard RTC 7308’s for the Preamp. I buy pairs to see if I like them and I buy quads if they get a pass. Yes the sound is warm, but I wouldn’t say it lacked details. Pretty much all of my cabling is Siltech silver/gold alloy.
I did find that the Mullards did darken the highs a little more than I wanted. But obviously this is all to taste.
I liked the Brimar CV4003, but I had one fail (milky white on top) and I got replacements but haven’t used them since. The Amperex 7308’s are sublime. I’m done changing tubes with these in place.
Funny that you mention Brimar failure. I’ve had a string of Brimar’s fail. They came from a well know British provider. I gave up and moved on to other manufacturers.
RonP: yes, sublime is how I find the Amperex 7308’s in the BHK Sig preamp. I had 10 pairs of different 6922 and 12AU7 variants lined up to try, but I stopped when I hit the Amperex and have not had any urge to try any of the others (they were the 4th pair, as it would happen) - - I’m happy as it stands.
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There seems to be differing opinions (crazy I know) as to whether cryo treatment helps or hurts tubes/valves. Those that have compared lots of sets, have you tried compared cryo/non-cryo of the same tube? What did you conclude?
I’ve been buying my tubes from Upscale. Kevin explained that the cryo process, in his opinion, makes the tube last a bit longer and that’s all. And the cost is minimal, so I just check that box.
I feel the same way I tried 4 different quads in the BHK 300’s and the Miniwatt 7308’s just sounded right. Although the Siemens E88CC’s are really a good tube in both the preamp and the amps.
I really really like the Brimar CV4003 in the pre. I use the Tungs BHK selects in the BHK mono
Unfortunately I had a string of Brimar failures with tubes that I sourced from Langrex. They were understanding but at the end of the day they were 50-60 year old tubes. The failure rate was to high in my opinion and I haven’t had this problem with Phillips, Mullard and Siemens, or Telefunken.
Hello everyone,
I am a very long time PS Audio owner of a multitude of their products.
2 weeks ago received a new BKH Preamp in silver.
Anyway, I have been reading on the Form about ‘tube-rolling’ with the BHK Preamp.
From what I can gather, the recommended choice is Tungsram.
With that in mind, I ordered from Upscale Audio a pair of Tungsram 12AU7 ECC82 tubes.
I now have about 40 hours on them. While reading this morning on this Thread I am wondering IF I made the wrong choice in ordering the ‘882’ tubes instead of the Tungsram ‘PCC88/7DJ8’ tubes?
The ‘88’s’ are less money then the ‘82’s’ so now I am confused.
I like a lot of people/Audiophiles have been involved in SS and have never ventured into the Tube arena before.
I would really appreciate some guidance in this matter and in particular which is the better soniclly-speaking of the two?
Thanking you in advance.
Ian
No one can tell you which sounds better to you. Everyone’s system and taste is different.
Personally, the tubes that Kevin Deal describes as the ultimate in the BHK Preamp sound a bit too crystalline to me. Those are the Tungsram 7DJ8.
My favorite after many different tubes over thousands of hours are the Amperex 7308. But that’s my old ears and my system. It’s fun trying different ones but make sure you give each tube time to settle in to the preamp and also your ears. And be absolutely meticulous about jumper settings and powering sufficiently down before sticking your fingers in there.