Four, he only did one channel.
jeffreybehr saidI have new coupling caps, Jupiter Copper Foil Paper and Wax 600VDC, awaiting the amps’ arrival, but probably I’ll wait until I’m thoroughly satisfied with the amps before taking a soldering iron to them.
Will be eager to hear if you end up proceeding there with your soldering iron and whether you hear a substantial enough benefit with those Jupiter caps!
And please include some photos of the process, too!
How many hours a Tungsram PCC88 takes to burn-in? Minimum and maximum.
Mine got 11h now.
Thanks!
I have purchased tubes locally and on eBay from German sellters, such as euroklang, and from US sellter such as tubemonger. If you have a locally available tube tester, so you can test them when they arrive, this approach has been safe. Also, although there are counterfiets of tubes and cables out there – if you buy from the PRC, especially Hong Kong – whatever you receive will be counterfeit, Joe’s Tube Lore is a great website with tips on how to spot counterfeits.
I have found the tubes I prefer: Siemens mid-60s E88CC (or rebranded 6922) with the halo or O-getter. I think it is the most significant tweek available for the BHK Signature 300 monoblocks. Good luck with tube rolling and in perfecting you PS Audio amps. I think I have said all I have to say on this topic, which my wife will tell you is a rare occassion.
How did you get on with the Siemens CCa in your BHK 250?
Hello,
I did not try the siemens cca because at the moment I couldn’t find a pair at a decent price.
I still plan to try these one day…
Regards
I switched to 6 volt. I have a pair of Amperex Bugle Boys 6dj8 in there now. Sound pretty sweet. I did not change the other jumpers. What does that do?? What sonic differences did you hear.
Didnt change them because the 12 v to 6 v jumpers were really kind of a pain in the … to change so small. I watched the video. I have no idea how he did that with his hands. No way. I need a pair of needle nose plyers and it took me a bit.
hi everybody
I found a pair of affordable siemens cca and could briefly try them before one of them failed and blewn 2 of the fuses in my BHK 250 grrrrrr
Compared to my amperex PQ, the siemens are cleaner, more detailed, they can be (too) bright on some recordings. They excel in the bass: very deep and clean, with the appropriate impact. In a word: wow !!!
Where the amperex are better is in the midrange frequencies where there is more meat on the bone. Also the amperex have a better soudstage depth.
I keep the amperex for 2 reasons: first, one of the siemens makes the fuses of the amp blow, second I find the the amperex closer to the real thing. I will just regret the bass of the siemens…
The Siemens tubes should not blow fuses. I run Siemens E88CC’s in my BHK 300’s and they handily beat out Amperex. Test the tubes for shorts.
I agree with @watchdog507. I am using Siemens E88CCs in my BHK 300s. In my system, and this is system and room dependent, the Amperex are not as good. I think the Siemens are more detailed but not bright. Always test tubes for shorts.
One more approach is to contact PSAudio and ask tech support about the signal path and what is connected to the fuses they can tell you about what would cause the problem. So at this point these amps have been around for a while tech support will know.
Hi All
My New Sublime BHK 250 has been in use for the past 3 weeks it replaces an E.A.R YOSHINO 890 Power amp which it bettered significantly.
Just replaced the stock valve with NOS TELEFUNKEN PCC88 specifically selected by Watford Valves here in the UK,the difference is night and day!
More detail
More slam
Deeper bass
Superb imaging
I encourage anyone to change the stock valve which is good don’t get me wrong but this TELEFUNKEN is something else .
Of course I didn’t mean that the CCA in general blow the fuses, but it seems that one of the tubes I used is defective. I have ordered replacement fuses. If the fuses continue to blow out with the stock tubes then there is something else wrong and in this case I will contact ps audio.
However from what I heard the Siemens sound cleaner and sharper than the amperex but I prefer the amperex. I will make a comparison with TV screens. Siemens is 4k and amperex is 1k. Sometimes, I would even say often, the 4k is artificial to my eyes. Same for the tubes and my ears.
I’m using Siemens CCa I believe as well- they have gold pins. I read they are the industrial version and can last longer than the standard seimans.
Ccas’ heater life should be good for about 10,000 hours.
The Siemens E8CC’s have gold pins and they are rated for up to 10’000 hours however PS Audio rate the tubes for 1-2 years. So they are being used more aggressively in BHK amps.
There are 8766 hours in a year so if played continuously, life would be 1-2 years.
this may not be very scientific or precise, but perhaps is worth sharing. i have owned my BHK amp and pre for a few years. Recently i replaced the old 6922 tubes in the preamp with a new set of Upscale tubes, 6922, as the older set had about 1000 hours on them. just for fun i took them and put them in the amp which was running a set of the stock tubes that had about 800 hours on them. it was obvious that the sound with the 6922 tubes was better. more open, more detail, and more engaging. i do have a new set of the 6922’s coming along with a set of the Telefunkens mentioned above. should be interesting.
I’ve been on a tube purchase/rolling bender. Quads that I’ve used in my BHK300’s in order of preference:
- Phillips Miniwatt 7308’s. Best I’ve heard in my system. Detailed music and no exaggeration of frequency that I can spot.
- Siemens E88CC’s, great music just not as strong a presentation as the Miniwatt’s.
- Telefunken E88CC’s both premium gold pin and regular pins. Great tubes just behind Siemens E88CC’s. Strangely the regular Telefunkens without gold pins and premium matching sounded better to me.
- Tungsram PCC88’s OK tubes but easily bettered.
I have Phillips/Mullard RTC PCC88’s and Lorenz PCC88’s en route. I’m eyeballing some CCa’s from Siemens and Lorenz. Opinion in a few weeks.
thanks for that. i just got a set of the Telefunkens but have not put them in my 250. did you ever audition with the stock gold lions?