Tube Rolling Update in latest balanced Golden Gate...

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La Dolce Vita

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Lampizator tube rolling update...

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I removed the quad of EML Anniversary Globe tubes from my balanced GG and put in a quad of EML 300B Mesh. I recall trying 2 of these a long time ago in the Big 7 I had then... Too bright!! This I remember well. Now, with a quad installed I loved the detail (reminded me a lot of the Psvane 101D) but overall they are still too bright. Sound great but bright...

Then I got to thinking... Why not try the quad of Psvane WE 101D? So I put them in the GG...

Before doing so I'd popped the EML Anniversary Globe 45's back into the GG... Even with a quick listen I could hear the edginess was gone and the weight was back... Overall a better sound... These are still my favorites and remain so...

Now...regarding the 101D's...

I listened to these for 4 hours or so over 2 days... So glad I took the time to put them back in and give them a go... Here's the bottom line... they are too much of a good thing...well...in general...

I will be using them more often now when I want to listen to piano, sax, etc. My ears would probably bleed if listening to violin, vocals... hyper detailed as we all know well... but WOW! Incredible for piano...

Some of my notes during the listening sessions:

Heard the saxophone sound out in a few tracks...OMG! Amazing... So lifelike it is creepy. Piano is the same... Some of the best sounding... BUT... Listening for a while I find myself tensing up...it's not a relaxed sound...again...amazing tubes and I'm going to leave them in for bit... Will actually start to listen to them more now...

So... while I thoroughly enjoyed the Psvane 101D's with certain tracks...I've drawn the conclusion that they simply play too "hot" to really relax and enjoy the music...the EML Globe Anniversary 45's strike the right chord... The 101D's did catch my attention and will get more use now - with the piano and sax tracks...but to my ears they cannot be left in for a "set it and forget it" application...

Reflecting on the experience the EML 300B Mesh and the Psvane Replica WE 101D's sounded and behaved essentially the same...

Hope this helps you all...

Andy
 
One more thing to mention...

Rectifier of choice for me is the Western Electric 274B. Massive soundstage and sounds great. BUT... I also played briefly with a 378 tube - slightly weightier and rich but bordered on collapsing a few times during challenging intensive passages... Still love the Western Electric 274B... nothing I've heard yet quite tops it. I've heard Shawn Fox found a rectifier tube he loves and feels it beats out the WE 274B... Only thing close in my opinion is the WE 422A but its soundstage is a bit more narrow/restricted in my opinion...
 
I have tried both the WE 422 and the STC (footscray) 5R4GY. I have a Takatsuki 274B on its way from Japan.
 
First, I should have said that I have an unbalanced Big 7. Second, I have been using 2 WE 275As. So far I prefer the WE422. The 5R4GY is close. A metal base GZ34 is a distant 3rd.
 
Thanks for chiming in...yes you are correct. Shawn prefers the Footscray... I have 2 422A's - these are great tubes...the WE 274B does however offer a wider soundstage. Please do let me know how you rate the Takasuki 274B... Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yes... I paid $875 or so for my last one. Not worth spending $1300-$1700 on an etched base earlier version. Have one of those too. They sound pretty much the same...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
La Dolce Vita said:
One more thing to mention...

Rectifier of choice for me is the Western Electric 274B. Massive soundstage and sounds great. BUT... I also played briefly with a 378 tube - slightly weightier and rich but bordered on collapsing a few times during challenging intensive passages... Still love the Western Electric 274B... nothing I've heard yet quite tops it. I've heard Shawn Fox found a rectifier tube he loves and feels it beats out the WE 274B... Only thing close in my opinion is the WE 422A but its soundstage is a bit more narrow/restricted in my opinion...
Click to expand...

That's commonly known as rectifier sag.
 
dminches said:
Thanks. Hopefully I will find one for less than $1000.
Click to expand...

I prefer the 275A/5R4GY combo. For my WE 300Bs, I prefer the 422A/274B I have. The 5R4GY just cleaned up a bit of compression I perceived in the music. Then, swapping to the 300Bs, it was not a good thing. Too analytic. I much preferred the 274B. The 422A was hit and miss in my Big 7. I think the 3 amp draw was causing some issues for the power supply, but I am not sure why. Regardless, I have a huge stable of rectifiers and get to play with them to find the balance. The 3 Footscray 5R4GYs I have are identical and all were made in the same month. They are a few months different than Dave's, but not much different. I currently have 3 274Bs, 3 422As, 3 Footscray 5R4GYs. They should outlive my ears.

On a side note, the 274A is indeed the same as the 274B except for pin out. It would take about 20 minutes to make an adapter (I just made 4 adapters to use on a 6L6 amp). Pretty easy. Just don't mess up the pin out. Heh. 274A is a bit older (they stopped making it around 1960), so you are more likely to see the engraved base versions of those.

Shawn
 
Are there a lot of differences between the different 422as and the 274bs?
 
I got one of the 422As today, so I don't know, but I heard no real difference between the black plate and the gray plates. There is no discernable difference among the 274Bs. They are, however, only about a year apart if I recall right. The NOS pair of 274Bs have only been used about an hour each. I don't want to use them... Between the two, I like the 274B better. Is there a huge difference, no. Is there a difference? Yes. Wider soundstage in the 274b, more articulated mids, maybe a touch less bass than the 422A. I note Dave can explain what he likes better/worse between the 422A and the 5R4GY.
 
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