6SN7 recommendations for SLP 05 Pre amp

Tube compliment (6 - one of each for L/R) for Cary SLP 05 pre:

Positive phase gain - buffer
Negative phase gain - buffer
Balanced input buffer

Looking to upgrade from the Electro-Harmonix. I'd like a highly reliable tube, either NOS or new production, which doesn't impose a tailored sound over any given recording. Hoping for overall better resolution and darker background.

Advice appreciated!

 

I have had very good results with Raytheon 6SN7WGT
RAYTHEON 6SN7WGT | eBay
Tim

 

While I am not familiar with your equipment I am very familiar with the 6SN7 tubes and some of their variants. Can you tell me which position in your pre has the most effect on your sound quality? When you know that, that is where you start by putting your best tubes there. Also sound quality is system dependent so what sounds good in other's system may not sound the same in yours. My advice would be to try some cheap tubes from different name brands to find what sounds best in your system. Overall I would say in my system the Sylvania tubes have a good overall sound but lack bass, Tung Sol tubes have much more bass, RCA tubes are a little of both, see where I am going with this?

 

I have four pairs of 6SN7 tubes and by far my prefered ones are two Tung Sol 6SN7GTB from the 1960's, followed by a pair of Philips JAN 6SN7GTA. I also have a pair of General Electric 6SN7GTB which are good but nothing special, and my final pair are new production Psvane 6SN7 which are good but expensive IMO, my prefered Tung Sols were cheaper but hard to find.

 

NOS

So many. My current top 3. I'd try any of these in the positive phase gain.

Sylvania 6SN7GT/VT231 Tubes
Sylvania 6SN7GT, Bad Boys, made between 1951- early 53)
Raytheon VT-231

These 3 really get nothing wrong in terms of depth, clarity, bass and overall detail. Probably the safest bet in terms of synergy with different pre/amp designs.

New Production

Ugh. I had very bad experience with Sovtek's and Tung Sols. New production Tung Sol's often get praised, but I find them univolving and noisy. They particulay show their weakness on pre-amps with higher gain. Funny thing is that your EH is probably the best cost/performance new prod tube on the market right now. In saying that, I haven't listened much of new production tubes after bad experience with the above.

I'd say go and hunt for NOS. Please be aware, it can (will) become a rabbit hole. After I had spent 700 bucks on a tube pre-amp 4 weeks ago, I spent $400 on tube rollin'.

Best of luck, and happy listening.

 

Look for 7N7 tubes instead. They are EXACT electrical equivalents of 6SN7, and they are much cheaper. JAC Music in Germany has a huge stock of NOS Sylvania 7N7 that he sells for very little money. Just buy a matching socket adaptor, which he also sells, and you're good to go.

I did, and the 7N7 clearly beat my NOS Raytheon and Tungsol 6SN7 that cost many times what I paid for the 7N7.

Apparently, the 7N7 is inherently also a better construction that just never became widespread because RCA preferred 6SN7 and had the size to "dictate."

 

Oh dear me. Down the rabbit hole again!

I just placed an order request for the set of 5 Sylvania 7N7's and 5 adapter sockets from JAM.

You!

 

Congrats! I'm sure you won't regret it. Of course, system synergy can't be guaranteed but you are buying a stash of very good tubes.

I just took a look at the OP's Cary preamp. It uses 8 pcs of 6SN7's! In that case the 7N7's are definitely worth a try, I would say. If their sonic signature fits into the OP's system, then there's some serious money to be saved ...

 

3 per channel. There are two for headphone amp, which are fine as is.

The SLP 05 is at the $7,000 price point or there about. I had 10 caps and 20 resistors upgraded and the rectifier tube is a NOS Mullard (from a forum member). I'm not interested in going cheap, but I'm not going to waste money either.

Appreciate posts so far. Thanks! Please continue to chime in.

 

I have a 6SN7 tube preamp called a Constellation, by Audio Electronics, a former Internet Direct division of Cary Audio.

It is no where in the same league as the SLP-05, not even close, but it is a good sounding preamp, none the less.

Check out some people in Russia, have Soviet Military surplus 6SN7 tubes that are military spec tubes and the manufacturing quality is far better than the usual current model production tubes by the various tube manufacture's of today.

I do suggest that you try a few, they are dirt cheap and I think they sound good. They won't provide any of tube goodness that you will get with older manufacturer NOS tubes.

But they are neutral and uncolored. I have a good stockpile of these tubes.

I have owned this preamp for several years and have only replaced the original tubes, which may have been EH tubes, only once and the Soviet manufactured tubes are still going strong. I leave my tube preamp on 24/7/365.

I think that the last ones I bought were less than $10/each.

For a small price you can evaluate these tubes on your SLP-05.

It may turn out that these may be useful in other positions, along with some of the NOS tubes or the 7N7's.

 

Some nice NOS 5692's might be a good way to go if you can find them (and ) at a reasonable price. I swapped the 6L7's in my Manley Neo-Classic 300B pre for NOS JAN RCA red-based 5691's and never looked back. If you're looking for reliable I doubt it gets much better than those.

D.D.

 

I have an SLP 98 which had the linestage factory upgraded. I hate for it to sit around. It really is amazing. Has a phono as well which can be easily factory upgraded.

Probably should sell and buy a nice entry level integrated as my back up.

 

I do not have your preamp but I do have two of Cary's SLP-98s. One phono and one line stage. Best tubes by far in my system are the Russian Melz 6H8C with the holes in the anode plates. Very hard to find but worth it if you do. The ones without holes have popped and spit despite reflowing the pin solder which is recommended by some. Also, I like the new Shuguang CV181-Z Treasures. Currently, I am happy with the Russian Melz in the front spots and the Shuguangs in the buffer position. BTW, most say the tubes in the buffer stage don't effect the sound. I strongly disagree! They make as much of a difference IMHO as the front tubes.
This is what you are looking for. hard to find but doable!
6N8P 6SN7 6H8C MELZ Russia Metal Base Black Hole Plate Nos Tubes Great Sound Quality M. Pair (6N8P 6SN7 6H8C)

New CV181 for old [English]

 

I fully get that but just to be clear--the 7N7 is not about going cheap. They are right up among the best 6SN7, only at a lower price because they are less known.

Personally, I will never go for a solution with tubes so exotic that I can't be sure that I can replace them when they wear out. Since I am using NOS tubes, this means that I have had to acquire a stash--at quite some expense--to last me until old age for all my tube types (except 300B). That has also meant that I have had to refrain from the most expensive and exotic options, i.e. no Telefunken 803s. But I realize that this is a personal choice; if I were clocking fewer hours a year, I might look at it differently ...

 

Appreciating all the recommendations and advice. Will come in handy for sure! Hopefully, we can get a few more members to post.

Meantime, who are the top tube dealers in the US for our hobby? I do recognize that many here have taken matters into there own hands, but I want to cover all the bases.

 

I'm going to give 3 matched pairs (Gm and plate current) of Sylvania 6SN7GTA "tall boy" type from the mid 50s a try. There are so many options out there and twice as many opinions! Hopefully, these will deliver darker background and a bit more overall resolution than new production Russian tubes.

 

Some NOS Sylvania 6SN7W were discussed in a thread that someone was using with his SLP 05. I remember seeing photos of his pre. Again this is system dependent.
Brent Jessie, Andy at Vintage Tube are good suppliers of tubes. I've been tube rolling the past month with numerous combinations and settle on a combination of Tungsols in front with some Sylvania NOS 1952s.

 

Brent (audiotubes.com) recommended the Sylvania 6SN7GTA "tall boy" type for me. No doubt that I could put a halt to other things and tube roll for a few months, but I'm not willing to. If these fail to impress me, then I can send them back for partial 'store credit' and try something else. I'm sure there's a tube (or combination) out there which would deliver a very specific sound that overwhelmed me, but that's a full time search. I also have a tube rectified power supply. My NOS Mullard has a solid reputation, but I could also track down the metal base type. It never ends.

If I ever won the lottery, then I'd audition a few $20,000-$30,000 SS pre-amps and be done with it!

Hope we do get a few more members to chime in with 6SN7 experiences, particularly with my preamp. I've appreciated the advice and encouragement.

 

Very sensible For some, chasing down the right tube and tweaking their system is part of the fun of this hobby, others just like to listen to good music on a good system. I'm very grateful to the people in the first camp, and I benefit greatly from their advice and help, but I'm mostly in the latter camp, and it sounds like you are too

Hah, you would probably just end up with a 30k tube preamp

 

Ok if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, try the 6F8G tubes they are cheap but you will need and adapter. Now if you want the very best and most linear of all try the 6J5 GT tubes with metal bases!!! These are dirt cheap and are the best sounding ones I have ever heard, in fact I have them in my pre-amp now. You will need adapters and also you will need a quad because these are one half of a 6SN7 so you need two of them to make one 6SN7.

 

Did you (and this is open to all following this thread) experience an improvement in sound over the first few dozen hours of playing time? So, yeah, break-in. If this is a factor, then, generally, what is the progression (dull at first and then improving or harsh and then improving, etc)?

 

In my admittedly limited experience, most of the changes happen within the first 2-3 hours. Those changes are not always for better. I also don’t find tubes changing their overall sonic character. You may experience a slight tightening of the bass, a small reduction of the midrange glare or bloom etc. If you didn’t like the sound from the get go, it’s very unlikely that it will turn you around, even after xx hours of playing. I also found that noisy and/or microphonic tubes don’t get better with more use. They actually get much worse very quickly.


Kind Regards

 

Did you or others experience little or no break-in impact on sound quality?

 

I agree w Zhivago that if you don't like the sound from the get go, then you're unlikely to change your mind. But they may change enough that it's the difference between keeping them in or not. For instance, my Siemens E80CC is a fantastic tube--that was clear from the moment I dropped it in--but it kept improving over 200 hours or so. It was definitely too bright from the beginning, and it is still isn't a warm-sounding tube by any means, but it did become warmer-sounding during those 200 hours.

 

I immediately notice clarity/detail and depth with darker background. Somewhat astonishing. There's also some edgy brightness which I'm hoping clears up. If that aspect improves, then I'll be very, very pleased.