Anyone rolled tubes in an ARC Reference 3 preamp?


Has anyone rolled tubes in an ARC Reference 3 preamp?

What were your results and how much did it cost?
128x128mitch4t

Showing 2 responses by jafox

There's a lot of hype on the 6H30 DR tube. When I had a BAT 31SE, I had a quad of DR's. I also had a quad of the Sovtek hand picked from Upscale Audio. I really had to sweat to hear a difference between these two and ultimately I concluded it was not worth the effort to try.

The difference between tubes in the 6922 family is huge. And with the new Aria WV preamp, the designer allows for these as well as the 6H30 and 12v based tubes like 12au7, E180CC, 7062, 5965, etc., in the line stage. After 2 weeks of trying 20+ tubes in the WV's line stage, the 6H30 came in nearly last place. Only a couple of 5963's fared worse and I concluded this had more to do with the gain structure of these tubes; the designer noted this tube might work but he had not tried it. A particular 7062 stole the show even over my coveted Amperex 6922 PQ pinched waist pair. And a couple other 12v based tubes were just behind the 7062.

Tube rolling can be a headache if you can not get off the train and be content with a favorite set after several trials. But this is no different than the obsession with changing cables every few months.

John
John, when you return to the dark side (a non-6H30 based preamp) some day, you will have to make it more accessible to get to the tubes. Somehow I think tube-rolling is in your blood. 8-) And you can secure the top cover with a couple strips of duct tape. All those machine screws are a pain indeed!