Audio Note Meishu Silver Phono - Tube Advice Please!

On New Year's Eve I purchased a new Audio Note Meishu Silver Phono integrated amp from
Don at Sound Hounds in Victoria, BC.

I have replaced the original rectifier tube with a NOS Russian tube that replaced the 5U4GB and the clarity and resolution increase was very nice. Not astonishing but nice. Then I replaced the 300Bs with Sophia Electric Royal Princess tubes. Holy crap! Wonderful increase in everything! Bass, clarity, resolution, detail, midrange, extended highs, etc. expensive, but worth it. It was like I had purchased a better amp! (As if I would after two weeks!).

My next step is to upgrade any remaining tubes that will result in better sound. I have been around Hifi for the last 38 years. Most of that time I have been using solid state gear like Luxman, Classe, Musical Fidelity, Simaudio. I have recently upgraded my VPI Classic 1 to a Classic 3. I am using a Dynavector 20X2 Lo on the Classic 3. I will be using an Audio Note AN-S2/H SUT into the built in phono stage.

I have played once or twice with tubes over the years, but I would really appreciate some advice on which tubes should be upgraded and what the best options would be. When looking online recently, I noticed a single Telefunken that was for sale for $228.00. That seems like it would be very expensive to follow up on!

I have the following tubes available to upgrade if it would help:
2 - 6X5
2 - 5687
1 - 6SN7
1 - ECC83
1 - 6DJ8/ECC88

I will be using this system with Audio Note AN-E SPE HE Speakers, that will be arriving in April or May.

What do any of you recommend for a guy that loves classic rock, blues, jazz?

 

I haven't received any responses yet, but for anyone who may be interested, I thought that I would start by replacing the tubes in the phono stage. My plan so far is to find a really good condition Telefunken 12AX7/ECC83 and replace the stock tube with it. Later I will change the 6DJ8/ECC88 to another top NOS tube. Any suggestions?

 

Testing..... testing....... (trying to post an image of the amp. Arrgghhh!)

 

Still testing : )

 

You can only link to an image file that is already on the net. (Man, reflective surfaces & hotel carpeting do not combine!)

 

I have it on the net on two different web pages and yet despite being able to post to other forums for years and selling photos on a couple of web sites of my own, I am starting to feel like those that are brand new to this! Sigh.

Perhaps I need to put my helmet back on and go sit in the corner......

 

Last try....

 

Finally! With the kind help of Raferx, I was able to post (small crowd applauding from the peanut gallery).

Would a gort be kind enough to delete the empty postings? Thank you in advance.

Don

 

He's looking for advice on replacing the following stock tubes in his Meishu:
2 - 6X5
2 - 5687
1 - 6SN7
1 - ECC83
1 - 6DJ8/ECC88

 

Hi Don,
I will give you my opinion about changing tubes in new Audio Note equipment. Be patient and wait.

Unless you are having trouble with a specific tube (like a noise issue) don't "upgrade" the tubes for at least three months. 6 months would be better but I know that is asking too much. Audio Note gear takes a very long time to settle into its own and you won't really know what you are changing while that process slowly unfolds. Until then just enjoy it for what it is and get to know it.

Sometimes patience is your best friend.

 

Steve;

That is a good point. I had merely been thinking that I wanted to know what people thought were the best of each of the remaining types, but it would help a lot to know where I am coming from. Here are the stock tubes:

Two Jan Philips 6X5WGT


Two JAN Philips 5687WB


One JAN Philips 6SN7WGTA


I plan on replacing the phono stage tubes first, as I seem to have read that recommendation several times in different threads here and at Audiogon forums.

I would just love to know if there is one that you or anyone else might recommend over any of these three. I am going to go one step at a time, but it is a good idea to know what might be worth hunting down and see if I can find a good deal.

Any recommendations are appreciated. I have been playing with solid state gear for a long time

Don

 

Quiet;

I really appreciate your advice. As I mention above, I have been using solid state gear for a very long time and I think in my enthusiasm I am trying to get everything done all at once. I have been putting hours on the amp steadily since I brought it home, but I think what really sparked my desire to tube swap was trying the Sophia Royal Princess 300Bs just for fun after about 100 hours of use. Quite a dramatic difference. All upsides and no downsides other than the fact that the tube is expensive! Good thing I picked up a used pair with only 20 hours on them.

I will keep putting hours on the system and I will look forward to any recommendations that anyone has for tube swapping down the road.

Cheers,

Don

 

Vacuum Tube Valley did a long article on the 6SN7

Barbour, Eric, “6SN7: Driver of Choice”, Vacuum Tube Valley, Issue 11, Spring 1999

You can find a PDF on-line.

The conclusion was that the Sylvania 6SN7W (metal base, 1940s) and the Brimar CV181 (ST shape, 1950s) were the best sounding but those are unobtainable. The GE 6SN7GTA (1950s) or the 1950s Sylvania 6SN7GT are also very good but rare, and the Raytheon 6SN7WGTA (1950s) is top class but very expensive. The Mullard CV181 (early 1950s) scored very high marks. All those were hard to find 15 years ago. Now I think they are impossible.

Consider a Psvane.

 

I still have lots to learn : )

A dealer in another city (shall remain nameless) told me to (eventually) tube roll all of the tubes as they will be all new production models. He figured that Peter Qvortrup would not put in premium NOS tubes as everyone would want to tube roll and each person's taste would be different. It made sense at the time, but I never thought to question what he was saying as he is an AN dealer.

That being said, the three that i did replace made an immediate improvement and I had waited about 100 hours before changing them. However, I will give everything more time and see how it goes. I would however be curious if anyone here has tried the Northern Electric 6SN7:
http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Northern-Electric/Northern-Electric-6SN7

I may try that one at some point down the road. A single tube is CDN $115.oo and it appears to be quite well made. It would be interesting to see how it holds up against the stock tube and/or a PSVane.

Don

 

Hi Don,

You have the right idea, I just wanted to emphasize how important it is to slow down and take your time. Especially with AN gear which can take a really long time to settle down. Don't let me ruin your fun. It's a good idea to have a small stash of back up tubes anyway.

All of those JAN Phillips tubes are good sounding tubes. The JAN Phillips 6SN7 and 6x5XT are what I would consider a neutral sounding tube. Keep them around so you have a baseline to judge the other tubes you roll in their place. You might actually prefer the JAN tubes to the other tubes that people recommend.

I'm still learning about the 5687, so I can't really comment on that tube. Here is Peter's opinion about that tube from a few years ago : http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tubes/messages/165047.html

 

I use Raytheon 5687 in my M6 and RCA red base 5692 (alternate to 6SN7) in my Empress Silver amps.

 

Well, I have reached a point of tube rolling that I am happy with for now. My 300Bs are now Sophia Royal Princess, my 6SN7 is a NOS Russian SED, 12AX7 is now a NOS Telefunken smooth plate and the 6DJ8 is also a NOS Telefunken.

I am planning on running this configuration for a while. I now have my AN-S2/H MC Transformer as well. That has to break in, which will take some time. The system is sounding really nice and that is with the speakers that I borrowed from my daughter (15 year old Epos M12). They aren't nearly as good as the AN-E SPE HE speakers that I have on order.

The resolution on every record now is astounding. Every now and then I catch myself smiling at the improvement that the Telefunkens brought to the phono stage.

I am going to keep things like this for the next few months and then I'm going to swap in the original tubes for a short while, just to see the difference. Was it as good as I thought at first?

I am really enjoying this!

 

Thanks David. As you are the Audio Note show demonstrator in North America, you must feel that is the best combination of NOS tubes. I may keep an eye out for those in the (near) future. Have to keep saving for the speakers on order....

What sort of vintage is the Raytheon tube?

 

I've never been a big fan of those later Philips ECG tubes. They are, however, better than many of the new tubes currently being produced.

5687 - Tung Sol with the bronze plates is often considered the best. The last single-ended amplifier I built used GE 5687s and I wasn't disappointed.

6SN7s are a huge kettle of fish - on the budget side I really like the GE 6SN7GTAs made in the 60s-70s. It was my tube of choice for phase-splitter duties in my Eico HF-60 amps. I've had good luck - vintage Heathkit amps - with just about any of the old stuff from RCA, Tung Sol, CBS, Raytheon, etc

ECC83/12AX7 - you could write a whole book on the different iterations of this tube. Mullard long plates are my favorite, but again it depends on _your_ sonic likes and overall system. A Telefunken or Amperex may be better here. I also wouldn't discount the American RCA, Rogers, CBS, Raytheon, etc.

Same story with the 6DJ8/6922 - though Amperex orange globes are always nice, having more color than, for example, an EH 6922

Rectifier tubes - 5U4/6X5s - can't go wrong with NOS RCAs or just about any vintage brand.

 

Hi Dave, did you change the 2A3 valves as well?