Amperex JAN E188CC/7308
Tunsgram pcc88
Flying Leads Brimar CV4034
Siemens CCa grey sheild 60’s
Cifte 12AU7
JAN long plate 12au7
Gold Lion 12au7
Then I saw the post on 6sn7’s so I tried the Shuguang WE6SN7Plus to compare to what I previously listened to I was blown away. if you did a blind test of 6922 & 12au7 I’m probly not going to guess which is which however I’m certain I could pick the 6sn7 out 100% of the time its the most “tubey” sound I’ve heard from my solid state amp. however on my setup its lacking in punchy bass the bass is there just lacks the punch so I tried the sophia electric 6sn7 blues and they sounded a little to cold to me. I then went ahead and bought the psvane cv181-tii and H-O-L-Y SH… it was everything I was looking for I’ve never heard my music like this its really not even fair to compare it to 6922’s and 12au7’s the sound is just completely different.
I don’t keep track on my tube swaps…seems like way too much work , but I have a tester, and will recheck Mutual Conductance if they don’t sound right when I reinstall them in my equipment.
I finally changed the stock tubes in my BHK preamp - after about 1600 hours.
I installed a pair of Cifte 12AU7’s purchased from Upscale Audio…and holy cow…these tubes completely changed my system. more full bodied and realistic.
it is night and day difference…and the Cifte’s aren’t even broken in yet. wicked. happy camper.
edit: got my system fired up. playing familiar tracks…“LIghts of Taormina” on Knopfler’s Tracker album in hi res. the top end is absolutely opened up…unreal. The Maggies are singing dixie!
I started following this thread a couple weeks ago when I received my BHK Pre. the unit (used) came with a set of Sovtek 6922. I was not all that impressed with them. I then stuck a couple Amperex bb 6dj8s in and it improved, big time. After a week of solid listening I adjusted the current jumper-and WOW major difference in soundstage especially, the instruments seemed to have more depth to them. I’ve read some folks talk about the following… cifte 12au7, Amperex 7308 US Bethpage White label batch, Tele 6922, Siemens ecc88- and finally the Tungsram 7Dj8. I’m fortunate enough to have 3x 12au7 cifte from upscale in my stash, so I experimented. I really dig them, they felt a bit more “airy” ? And liked the vocals, but they did not have the richness of the Amperex 6dj8. I have a set of Tungsram 7Dj8 to arrive tomorrow and on the hunt for the aforementioned Tele/Siemens/Amp tubes. I’m curious what to expect given how good things sound now. I’m also having great synergy with my PrimaLuna HP (with 8x kt150s)- Wondering if anyone else drives the BHK pre with a PrimaLuna amp.
Expect to hear much more noise with the tungsram. In the preamp I liked the sound of the 7dj8 tungsram but could not put up with the hiss. It was a little less intrusive with the 4ma bias but that also compromised the sound. Hope they work out better for you.
Lol. That’s funny, Cos it’s probably true! Just wonder (sonically) how they compare to the Amperex 6dj8s I have now. Tube units have always given me a slight hiss or buzz through my speakers. So long as it’s not distorting or slightly heard over the music at low listening levels, it should be ok. I should also note, I have a consistent ringing in my ears that’s probably worse than speaker hiss. I also own a Moscode 300 amp with a buzz from the transformer, now that’s annoying.
You may be a little better off if our amp has less than 30 db of gain. That would help to hide the hiss from the tungsrams. Mine are the special select ones from Kevin and are not as noisy in the power amp. I am not fond of the way they sound in the power amp though!
@cocobean1 if your amp’s transformer is buzzing try a DC blocking device. It’s likely you have some DC on your AC mains and this causes the transformer to mechanically vibrate.
thank you, KC. potentially, but from what I have read about the Moscode 300-It is a common issue. Mine is pretty much restored, with exception of the buzz…I hardly use it. It is hooked up to another system
Been listening to the Tungsram 7Dj8 while working from home and got to say, these are pretty damn good! Although, they are a tad bit noisier, heard through my speakers when idle, and as I turn the volume up Some audible popping. That said, I like the realism in what I hear. On a side note some Amperex 7308s uo on eBay for I believe 70 per tube… seem to be a decent deal, but hear there have been some counterfeits out there. Anyone know how to tell the difference by looking at them?
I have been enjoying the tube rolling journey with the BHK Preamp and BHK 250 very much for the past few months.
My preamp is one of those that you can unplug the servo units behind each tube. I was wondering if they are interchangeable? I do encounter quite a lot of tubes that crackle on the left side and once I switch the tubes from side to side the noise/crackle is gone on the right side with the same tube( it happens with both New production and NOS tube at 6v and 12v with proper current clips adjustments).
Nevertheless, I do enjoy the preamp quite a lot once I find a set that works perfectly, but that limits my amount of tubes I could use or try.
Jaime-it’s a crackling that is coming from the speaker, correct? I’ve experienced the same issue, but have not yet found a solution, other than what you have stated about switching the tubes around. It has not solved the volume popping though. There’s a post from BHK in this thread that explains the importance of closely matched gain, which is the cause of such issues. Just not sure how adrift they can be before the popping begins. Perhaps that may be of some help to you.
Can someone provide input; Are 6922 tele’s worth the coin to roll into the BHK pre, game changer? Placed the Cifte 12au7 back in couldn’t take the volume Popping Tugsrams dished out. Sounded great outside that.
I can share this. I have tried all the 6922/6dj8 variations in my BHK and settled on the Tele 6922 as my favorite. The Tele 6922 has a unique midrange texture (lacking in most other tubes I’ve auditioned) which gives vocals a very realistic presentation. Best tube I’ve heard for female vocals. Very smooth and liquid while remaining exquisitely detailed.
, but I have a tester, and will recheck Mutual Conductance if they don’t sound right when I reinstall them in my equipment.