Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions

How to select the right tubes?

more_vert
I recently purchased a Liquid Platinum, however, I’m interested in tube rolling as I can not imagine the stock tones shipped with the amp are of the highest quality. When I look around I noticed there are many tubes to choose from but little information on how to choose the proper tube. So my questions are: Does changing the preamp tube really make a difference in the sound of an amp? And how do you narrow down what tubes would give you the sound that you are looking for? These questions are relevant for owners of any tubes amps such as the CTH who are interested in tube rolling as well.
(Edited)
100% upvoted
1
2
remove_red_eye
183

search
close
Hybrid amps (combination of tube and solid state electronics) tend to respond a little less to tube rolling than their fully vacuum tube based cousins. I've rolled a half dozen or so tubes into my Lyr and while they do change the characteristics it isn't "night and day" for me. The best way to narrow down the sound you are looking for would be forums dedicated to that particular amp. IIRC the platinum uses 6922 tubes so you should have quite a few options to roll in. The original Lyr uses the same tubes and I have tried some of the equivalents as well. Bang for the buck was Matsushita tubes (a Japanese firm who hired Amperex to help them build their production line) but it's been a long time since I've thought about rolling tubes. I settled in on Phillips Mini Watt SQ's (Amperex Holland rebrand) from 1969. I picked them up for about 170 a pair (matched and certified low noise) but they've dried up in the market and now go for about $400 a pair in good NOS condition.
rastus
1391
Jul 19, 2019
What I would like to have (do), think sub warfare, there is JAN and then USN - QC labels... where who-hears-whom-first... really does count:
search

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pair-NOS-NIB-Amperex-USN-6922-E88CC-D-Getter-USA-Gold-Pin-Same-Date-1960/113811416912?hash=item1a7fb06750:g:qJcAAOSw9SJdI3cf:sc:USPSFirstClass!07647!US!-1 Your student Ramen diet (close;) example, still much better than EH etc., see if you can snag it low bid: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pair-RCA-Gt-Britain-6922-E88CC-Audio-Preamp-Tubes-NOS/113822078964?hash=item1a805317f4:g:sAQAAOSwBRBdExak

search
For my view on tube selection; I hate typing, so a link re tubes, throne reading material;) https://drop.com/buy/aune-t1-se-headphone-amp/talk/2290885
(Edited)
Related Posts
Trending Posts in Audiophile