Is there a worthy 6922 presently made?


Why hasn't any tube manfacturer designed a good sounding 6922 tube? The paucity of decent designs only fuels the exorbitant price gouging the tube dealers are doing with NOS 6922/6DJ8.

I think it is pretty universally accepted among tube fans that the Sovtek 6922 is a dependable & strong tube, but a sterile, thin, & dead sounding device. Some have praised the JJ 6922, while others have proclaimed it rather mediocre, and some have blown up their amplifiers, like an ARC owner who burned out parts of his VT-100's circuit board when attempting to substitute the JJ's for the stock Sovteks in the input stage.

Sovtek's owner, New Sensor, has come out with a "new" 6922 in the form of an Electroharmonix 6922, with claims it is significantly better than the Sovtek. But some have said it is nearly the identical tube and sounds nearly identical. Audio Research claims it is a better tube, but.....

Why hasn't Svetlana designed a 6922? Or someone else? We are left with two tubes made by the same manufacturer, and one from Czechoslovakia. That's it! Any thoughts or experiences?
kevziek

Showing 1 response by ecclectique

Twl....well done sir, a clever and very diplomatic post. WOWZA...You managed to respond here without stepping on a single solitary toe in just under 100 words.And I would bet you are a decent typer to boot. However....I won't be so diplomatic here, but rather blunt and to the point. You can call me a condenscending snob, a knob, a slob, or whatever you wish...so be it ! Frankly... paying $800 for a "pinched waist" 6922 is for some poor lost soul who is suffering with some form of neurosis. An excessive compulsive type individual with way too much money. Geez gang,The pinched waist 6922's are surely the most overated tubes in the whole darn family.While they can certainly sound exceptionally good, your chances of finding a quiet one that isn't microphonic, are about slim and none!Especially when employed in a top shelf phono stage.The majority of them are typically much to noisey and microphonic for that application. That said: Do you really think the modern equipment manufacturers are going to voice their equipment with nos tubes? Perhaps that is why many feel the current crop of 6dj8's are so good. Yes... the EI gold pin is a good tube,possess some nos-esque tube like qualities and a whole lot better sounding than the commercial grade sovtek drek being packaged and peddled to the Western economies.The chineese gold dragons are decent as well. BUT!!!! If you believe you can get anywhere near the the performance of the early NOS family with the current offerings??? Give your head a shake,[ might even break up some of that ear wax in there].Yeah,for you skeptics out there...I will make you all a real geniune deal here as I have a drawer full of brand new sovtek's,EH's, golden dragons. I can trade for your old NOS stock.... and I will give you 4 new to every one nos. Yes... I too, would be very apprehensive about buying expensive nos tubes that are supposed to be: so called "new in a box".A giant Crap Shoot to be sure, as there is absolutely no guarantee your getting a good one what so-ever . Even brand new nos tubes can be microphonic right out of the box,have mismatched triode sections and be way too noisey as well, particularly in the 6dj8 family of valves as they were never really designed for audio applications to begin with and are inherently prone to microphonics by design.Here is a few suggestions to minimalize his or her risk when acquiring pricey nos tubes, regardless of whether your contact is a tube dealer,a private party or a friend... [1] tube in question must test above 95 % with both triode sections closely matched with no less than a 2% tolerance section to section balance [2] This next suggestion will surely keep them all honest, and weed out and disqualify a good number of the tube sellers, dealers,and tube gurus alike, the frauds and the wanabees have no chance... Simply demand the tube in question be tested for noise and microphonics in a good "phono" preamp circuit... even if you yourself are not using it in a phono stage per sey. If the tube in question can pass this litmus test,chances are it should be a good tube. If the tube seller,dealer or persons cannot or will not agree to those specific parameters and with a satisfactory return policy.... Simple.....Don't BUY Them!