Options to replace Supratek Chennin Pre

Got some RCA 6SN7 VT-231 grey glass, black plates coming. Should have them on Friday. I hope this is the right one as Ive seen there are many different flavors of this tube. Ill post the results after switching out. Still on the lookout for the Kenrads though. Thanks again for the help.

Hi Braro. Yes sir, the grey glass RCA vt-231 is a fine example of one of the better sounding nos 6sn7's and hopefully will demonstrate what I was trying to describe in my last post. Paulfolbrecht....Congratulations and well done sir! If they are the black glass bottles... you are now the owner of a rare pair of Tung-sol 6sn7's roundplates relabelled for Pope! Many believe the tung-sol round is the best overall tube of the 6sn7 family .

The 6SN7 is such a great tube and there are so many flavors among the old NOS tubes. Be aware that this is definitely one of those where passions and opinions run high and there are definitely flavors of the month.

Here's a few sites that I have enjoyed to build on the excellent suggestions above:

http://6sn7.com/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=119638

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0304/6sn7.htm

Plus you can order a reprint or two from Charlie at Vacuum Tube Valley
http://www.vacuumtube.com/

Hey Ckorody. Nice post, haven't had the chance to read through it and digest it all but it should give the supratek crowd a little insight and direction into how they might find the right voice and synergy in their systems. The supratek preamps are a very high resolution, high gain preamplifier and choosing the right 6sn7 can have a profound effect in ones system. In my books: tonal balance is the main ingredient in any high resolution rig. Get the "tone thing" right and the other pieces in the puzzle become so much easier to put into perspective. There are so just many more flavours to be found in the 6sn7 family of dual triodes, far more diverse than any other tube type. Using the wrong spice can spoil a very fine meal. In my own experience, and as I mentioned in my previous post, the current crop of new 6sn7's are a far cry from a many of the better nos examples. That said: and not to complicate things even more here, there are also quite a few nos examples that are down right crappy in the supratek's as well. When employed in the Supratek, I am not a big fan of the Sylvania 6sn7 family nor the much sought after Rca redbase 5692. Go figure! the RCA 5692 is "far and away" the best of the best in my MFA Luminescence and the majority of nos Sylvania versions are superb in the Lumi as well. By contrast here, in the Supratek most of the sylvania examples can seem to be more extended up top but also tend to highlight this area in the mix. They can be a liabilty in many applications. When ones speaker system isn't tightly balanced "tone wise" in a given room, the utter clarity and resolution of the supratek will only serve as a magnifying glass, highlight and ultimately distort the perspective of the portrait. Braro: You have a very fine system to work with sir. The good thing here is the tonal balance aberration in your room is much simpler to to work with and far easier to get dialed in. The vast majority of rooms that many people have to deal with have the exact opposite effect, whereby too many of us have a big bump or boost in the upper bass/lower mid area. Usually a far more difficult exorcise to correct. Best of luck!

I got the RCA 6SN7GT VT-231s. Ahhh much better. These tubes have transformed my system. Ecclectique the RCAs did exactly what you said they would. After a few hrs I do not hear any negative attributes. Only improvements pretty much across the board. The biggest improvement I hear so far is in the upper bass/lower mids but to my delight the bottom octave is being rendered with more weight also. The presentation is overall lush and sweet but at the same time detailed and powerful. This is probably the best change I have made to my system with room treatment as a possible tie. I am going to pick up the Ken Rads and give them a whirl also but Im quite happy with the RCAs. Thanks again everyone.