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Tube Rolling questions from a recent addict:

I recently entered the wonderful world of vacuum tubes with a Cary SLI-80 integrated amp. WOW what a sound this thing produces! The Cary and its seductive little glowing crystals of joy has made the single most dramatic improvement to the sound of my system since I added my Infinity IRS Delta speakers. Now I understand why tube-heads go on about mysterious NOS finds and seemingly magical differences between certain tubes. I’m both happy, and sad, to say that I’m hooked!

 

Anyway, on to my questions: 

  • When tube rolling, what are some recommended strategies when comparing the sound quality of different tubes?

 

  • Is it OK to power your amp/preamp down, switch tubes, and then power right back on a couple minutes later? I know tubes don’t like to be power cycled like that. But how else can one compare the sound of different tubes?

 

  • Generally, is there a bigger sonic difference between rolling preamp tubes, or power output tubes? (I know, I know, YMMV.)

 

  • And my most technical question. The Cary SLI-80 uses a one 6SN7 tube per channel as a “phase inverter”. From the manual, “the phase inverter is a self-balancing split load configuration utilizing the 6SN7”. Is this “phase inverter” part of the audio signal path? Can I expect to hear differences in rolling different tubes in that spot?

 

Thanks in advance for any other Tube Rolling 101 advice!

 

(P.S. – Thanks to everyone on Audiogon that makes it, IMO, one of the best places anywhere for higher-end audio and music fans everywhere.)

 

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Showing 1 response by tomcy6

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tomcy6
2,540 posts
 

I would only suggest that you not try fast A/B comparisons. Put your tubes in and listen for hours or days and then switch. Repeat until you decide which tubes sound best. If you can’t determine a difference, then you’re set with tubes for a good long while or you can resell them. Not as NOS of course, but if they only have a few hours on them you can state that in the ad.

I’m not familiar with the new production tubes available, but the reputation of many of the old stock tubes is deserved. It’s not BS, but you have to be careful buying them. There are plenty of less than honest sellers out there.

I suggest that you start by talking to Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio as he sells Cary and has a large stock of NOS and new production tubes.  He has probably retubed many SLI 80s.  You can check out his tube stock and prices at the UA website. The tubes will cost more than you can find elsewhere on the net, but his expertise will save you money in the long run. You will also be sure that you are getting the tubes you are paying for.

There are other reputable tube sellers that others will recommend and you can make up your own mind about who you prefer to deal with.

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