Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the responses. So far I'm loving these darn things, great tubes! My original post was a copy & paste from last week that I didn't get around to posting so it's a few days behind my current posts.
I gave the system a good listen last night and it seems the bass has gone a tad mushy on me and the midrange has lost a little punch but I have a strong suspicion this is the TT's going through a break in period. I will keep y'all posted.
I went and printed out the specs on the GF Treasure tube CV-181 and the 6SN7 GTA and they have obviously designed the 181 to be a direct replacement for the 6sn7 as the specs are identical though the 181 is quite a bit larger in size. I REALLY want to try these tubes in my VAC, have a gut feeling they'll take it over the top-if they'll fit in there!
I do have a few NOS 6sn7's and I tried them in my Vac(RCA & Sylvanias) and though they were good I ended up prefering the sound with the stock Vac tubes back in there. Of course that is just my taste and may not be yours, that's the cool thing about this hobby.
Cruz,
Now I would like to give those Genelex reissues a try some day, a good friend of mine actually brought a quad over this past weekend and neither of us even bothered to remove the TT's and give the Genelex a try. We were just enjoying the music so much at the time we never got around to it, but someday I will give em a go. I'll be sure to post here when I do compare them.
Honest1,
I really do not think these are plain old Shuguangs in a fancy bottle. I'm no tube pro but due to their performance so far, compaing them side by side with a standard Shuguang etc. they seem to be a different animal altogether. I feel they are a very high quality tube and hopefully an option for getting NOS sound in new production tubes. Don't quote me on this but I think that Grant Fidelity offers a money back guarantee, if so give them a try and let us know what you think.
Best,
John |
Hi Ian,
I spoke to you on the phone about the tubes a few weeks ago, thank you for all your help. I really would love to give the TT CV-181's a try but I just read that review you posted and I have a question; in his review the gentleman states;
"This is why the CV181Z might not be a drop in replacement for the 6SN7. Typical 6SN7 heaters draw about 0.6A and the CV181z draws about 0.9A (900mA), the old Mullard CV181 drew 950mA. This 50% increase in heater current amounts to 0.6A for a pair of CV181 in a circuit, which as you can see represents the load of a whole extra double triode."
I printed out the specs for a standard RCA 6SN7 GTA and for the TT CV-181 and the specs on the TT CV-181 specify a draw of .6 MA not the .9 MA draw the reviewer states. Is he mistaken? I would worry if the 181 did draw .9 MA as my Vac needs a quad of them and that would add up to possibly to much current draw then wouldn't it?
Thank you for your time!
Best,
John |
Not much for an update on tube break in as I've torn down my system to rearrange my rack but will have it back together and up & running today.
Rachel,
Thank you for your response, much appreciated. I figured something was amiss as I was comparing the specs of the two tubes side by side and it appears they are identical spec wise.
I spoke with Kevin Hayes and he said that we should be fine as long as the specs match. He asked me to let him know of my thoughts on the TT 181's so I think I'm going to be the guinea pig and give them a try.
Thanks again for all your help Rachel, it was a true pleasure dealing with you and Ian and I hope to call you here soon to place an order!
Arthur,
As I mentioned above I spoke to Kevin Hayes and I did ask him about your 300.1, he said the CV-181 should be good to go in either amp as long as it's the Treasure Tube CV-181Z, the older/or true 181's will not work as they do have a higher plate voltage. I hope this helps you!
Hi Sherod,
Thanks for the warm welcome! Man I love this amp, what an improvement it made. Shoot even my wife loves it, now that's an added bonus!! I'll post here as I get some more time on the TT KT-88's.
Hi Lee,
Thanks for the heads up, I think I'm currently in the "odd" stage at the moment, they were great out of the box and then took a little step or two backwards but, I had a feeling it was just break in. I haven't kept an accurate count on my hours but I think I'm probably around 65-75 hours or so. We'll see come this weekend as I plan on putting some serious hours on them....
Best,
John |
Quick update; I've had the amp on for two days straight now and was finally able to spend a few mintues giving them a listen late last night. The Treasure tubes are starting to sound better, bottom end is getting tighter, the midrange seems to have a little more punch to it but I'm not sure yet, and no doubt the top end is beginning to smooth out some. I've got to be close to or even a little over 100 hours now. I'll get to spend plenty of time with them this weekend, I'll keep ya posted....
John |
Ok now we're talking! I've kept the amp on since the 29th and last night I sat down for a serious listen. The Treasure tubes are definately going through a change for the better; the bass has tightened up allot compared to what we heard Sat/Sun and is now very nice and tight as well as they seem to be digging even deeper than before. The midrange punch is back with a vengeance and the highs have gotten much smoother and don't sound grainy at all. The highs are really nice and smooth now with no SSSibilance what so ever.
I must have somewhere in the range of 250 hours or so on them now so these babies do take a little time to break in but the wait is well worth it. I've heard they can take up to 300 hours but I'm very happy with their performance right now and if they get better than what I heard last night I'll be jumping for joy!
I'm no reviewer so I'm not too gifted word wise but, if any of you were having reservations about these tubes I highly recommend you give them a try, they aren't cheap-I'll admit that(what is in this crazy game we play), but they have proven to me to be worth every dime spent and I intend to retube whatever I can with them as funds allow, I'm that happy with them. I cannot wait to save up the coin and give the 181(6sn7) a go. I love these tubes!
Best,
John
Side note: One thing that was odd was for a day or two I seemed to have lost some of my imaging. We noticed that this weekend and it was noticable enough that we tried adjusting my speakers/seating position and never could get it right but as of last night everything has popped back into place and is rock solid. I haven't had that happen before with new tubes so keep that in mind if you decide to try these tubes. |
Jcspinks,
Thanks for your response. Once you get those babies you'll note they're pretty darn good right out of the box and then after 30-50 hours they take a dive, hang in there-they'll be back.
I have yet to play with the bias though I would like to but, I have to admit I'm a big chicken as I don't really know what I'm doing and it's a VAC amp, in other words if I break it I probably couldn't afford to fix it for a while! Let me know how the bias thing goes for you and what you hear and hopefully by then I've grown a set...
Please keep us posted on your thoughts as the tubes go through their break in period. I have a friend who uses EL34's and I've been trying to convince him to give the TT's a try, your thoughts will be very valuable to him, and the rest of us as well.
John |
Jcspinks,
Thank you for keeping us updated. Hang in there, I was thinking the same thing as well. They obviously take quite a few hours before they really start to sing, I'm pretty sure that mine are still improving and I know I'm approaching 300 hours now. Keep us posted...
Best,
John |
Jcspinks,
Hang in there, I have got to be in excess of 300 hours and my top end really snapped into place. If you're only at 80 hours or so you've got a little while to go. I said screw it and just left my darn amp on, got tired of waiting. I'm a little impatient at times...
Glad to see that others are interested in these tubes, they're worth the price of admission. Now, someone chime in on the CV-181's!! I want those babies something fierce but funds just aren't there at the moment.
John |
Hi Jcs,
I've followed along as you posted your progress, thank you for keeping us updated-fine job sir!
I've been enjoying the Treasure tubes immensely and they've only gotten better but now I seem to have developed some sort of biasing problem with the VAC so I guess it's off to Kevin for repair. Oh well, hopefully it's not gone long.
Anyway, thanks for your VERY informative posts, I've enjoyed reading them. Hopefully more people find this thread and discover for themselves what great tubes these darn TT's are!!
Best,
John |
Jcpinks,
I agree with you; this is not a "customers ears break in thing going on here".
How are your TT's doing now? Any new updates or thoughts on them since your last post? I'm going nuts here waiting for my VAC to get back from the factory. I'm currently using a Classe CA-300 and though it's a fantastic amp I am seriously missing the tube sound!
John |
Cousin,
Please do keep us posted, very interested in these babies. I love the KT-88's!! |
