Looking for a smooth sounding 6922 variant


Hi folks.  I am currently auditioning some cables and am starting to suspect that a bit of higher-frequency harshness (fatigue, just a bit) might be due to something else in my system.  Could be anything, including the cables I'm auditioning.  I wanted to eliminate other causes, and so I'm looking for a pair of 6922' variants to put in my VAC Signature IIse to smooth out the higher frequencies a bit.  I think I've got telefunkens in there now.  Can I get some recommendations?  Perhaps Mullard makes a nice 6922.  Please answer with direct knowledge/experience.  Thanks.

peter_s

For new production tubes I've found the Genelex Gold Lions among the best.Stick with a Platinum matched pair,which are super closely matched,include 48 hour burn in & at least $200.00 a pair cheaper than Mullard NOS..Try vacuumtubevaluesdotcom...

Give Brent Jessee a call and talk it over with him. He’ll find the right tubes for you. He has much more experience finding the right tubes than the average Audiogoner..

All the great tube sellers are on vacation this week, believe it or not. A perfect storm! So I probably need an alternative source.

Hmmm... I might be OK.  Looking through my collection I'm finding those listed below.  It's just that I want to get the most of the system during this test to make the decision about cabling, so I don't want to mess around....

FROM VINTAGE TUBE SERVICES:

Amperex (Holland) 6DJ8

Matsushita 6DJ8 (1965, made in Japan with Mullard tooling)

OTHERS:

Electroharmonix 6922 (recommended by VAC)

Tungsram 6922 (from Upscale Audio)

Amperex Orange Globe 6Dj8

HP Amperex Bugle Boy (Holland)

And some other inexpensive tubes....

STILL LOOKING FOR WHAT WILL DO THE BEST JOB PER MY ORIGINAL QUERY!  Thanks!

The Ediswan CV5358 might be what you're looking for.  I used a pair for a while, and they were certainly smoother than the Seimens 7dj8's which replaced them.  Check Joes Tube Lore for more details.  

I am using one Amperex bugle boy 6922 and quartet Telefuken ECC83 in my Margules sf 220 pre amp.

 

I also tried Philips 6922 which sounds slightly sharper than Amperex bugle boy.

Both are nice tubes.

 

Sometimes you may swap the tubes depending on your mood and music.

 

Thomas

I just found 6 Mullard IEC 6922;s made in Blackburn, with codes such as B5I3.  From what I gather, you can't tell the year of manufacture from this code, the second digit is the year and could be 1965 or 1975,  Not gold pins.  Any thoughts?

@peter_s -Hi Peter. Following this thread and I found the following review on the Blackburn Mullards.

"The Blackburn Mullard is fully burned in. The weakness of the tube is the anemic bass and midbass, producing an unbalanced sound spectrum. The upper mids and highs are glorious, however, detailed, harmonically layered, 3-dimensional and natural sounding -- among the best I have heard. This tube is great for a narrow range of music (in my system), but not for general use. For instance, a soundtrack of nature sounds from the forests and savannas of Africa is the most layered and natural sounding that have heard thus far. I use this recording as a test for soundstage and imaging. Another downside of the Mullard is a more restricted dynamic range compared to a Siemens 6922. I wonder if the Mitcham production fills in the bottom frequency range, offering as detailed but more balanced sound."

Also, have you looked through this site. A lot of great info about 6922 and variant NOS tubes.

https://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html

David