Parks Audio Budgie Tube Phono Preamp

I was doing some needledrops the other night with a new audio interface and I noticed that one of my EHX tubes had developed a low level sputtering sound. I've replaced them with a JAN Sylvania pair of tubes that I had, that are actually sounding good, but very prone to microphonic noise. I had to elevate the Budgie on a padded surface to eliminate any bumping noises from the shelf it's resting on.

In short, since I'm down a pair of tubes, I've ordered a matched pair of NOS orange label a-frame Amperex tubes from the early 70s and ordered a pair of Reflektor 6n23p tubes, that I read some good things about. I'll have to report back after I've had some time to listen. Sound clips might be in order.

 

While I'll agree that the Gold Lions sound nice in the Budgie, I just upgraded to a matched pair of Amperex 1966 Bugle Boys that actually cost $10 less than the Gold Lions, and it is a night and day difference (in a good way). I had always read about vintage tubes, yada, yada, but had been skeptical that they could make that much difference. Man, was I wrong. I've only got about 15-20 hours on the new ones, but the sense of space, the air around each instrument, the ability to easily pick out each instrument, is just astounding. It's literally like I upgraded my cartridge to a much more expensive, and revealing one (It's a Rega Exact). I'm just floored by the improvement.

 

Interesting. How is the bass response compared to the Gold Lions?

 

Good question - at first I thought it lacked a little compared to the Gold Lions, but I've since come to the conclusion that since everything else is so detailed and spacious, it's just a matter of a little different presentation. The bass isn't accentuated, but it is still plenty good, and more balanced with the mids and highs. I'm listening to Beck's "Morning Phase" right now, and the bass on that is really nice, and sounds really, really good. Hope this helps.

 

Where did you get these Amperex tubes. I too have the gold lions and like them a lot, but I would like to try new things as well. The ones I’ve seen are kinda expensive.

 

I got them off Ebay from this guy: AMPEREX BUGLE BOY 6DJ8 ECC88 VACUUM TUBE 1965 CURVE TRACER MATCH PAIR A00 | eBay
I know what you mean - most places have them for $130-$140 minimum, so that's why I kept looking around, and for the price I figured it was worth the gamble. Obviously I can't speak to the longevity, as I've only had them a few days, but damn, do they sound great.

 

This does help, thanks. The stock tubes have nice bass and a bit of the air you describe but certainly not to that level.

 

Right there with you - been thinking about rolling out my Gold Lions, with which I've been very pleased, but something really great would have to come along -- for that price, I've got to roll the dice. Thanks for the link!

 

I just ordered. Thanks for the link!

 

I think I shot myself in the foot, as I just went to order a back-up pair, and they're all gone (at least from that particular listing) - you guys beat me to them. He has others, so I will probably order a different pair. I did adjust my Budgie from the 57.4 setting to the 47.1 setting, as it seemed a little bright at first with all the extra detail. Hopefully they sound just as good in your set-up as they do in mine.

 

No good deed goes unpunished

 

So I got the tubes into tonight. Very detailed. I didn’t turn the impedance down on the budgie. It makes my cartridge sing even more now. Nagaoka 200 with 67.3k impedance.

 

The last couple of days my budgie's lights have flickered three times on startup. Does anyone else's do that? I wonder if that's an indication of a problem.

 

I have have had mine on 24/7 since I got it 3 months ago......the 1 time I turned it off and then on I didn't notice anything unusual.....I believe that its suggested to leave it on....(hopefully) that's what I've been doing. The tubes don't seem to heat up very much......have you noticed any performance changes?

 

Zero performance changes. Just both lights flicker three times prior to them staying lit until the mute light goes off. Then it works as normal.

 

I just turned my off for a minute and then turned back on.....power and muted light came on...after 20-30 seconds muted light went off and just lower light is on now.

 

You leave tube gear on 24/7? They are powered with a relatively low voltage on the plates compared to "real" tube gear, but still I'd be kinda scared, I never leave tube gear on when I'm not home. And I hate to waste the tube life because I'm kinda cheap too

Not a criticism, though...

 

You leave your Budgie on 24/7? I didn't read about that when I got mine.

 

Not on my amp and headphone amp....that would be costly.....but the stock tubes in the budgie are cheap....when I roll in some of the pricey tubes I will turn it off at night.....
.

 

I suggest the gold lion 6922 or some old Amperex. Both made a difference over the stock ehx tubes. I was happy with the gold lions but the Amperex are another level.

Here is the response I got from Shannon Parks about the blinking lights on startup.

‘Are you by chance using some European tubes? If so, they have a low cold filament resistance causing the power supply to safely current limit as they start, and that is A-OK.’

 

Are you using such euro tubes?

 

If I search Amperex 7308 tube(s), will any amperes 7308 suffice as long as it tests good? I have all tube gear now but am very novice in my understanding of tube brands, types, etc....I have bought preamp tubes for my Cronus Magnum 2 based on personal recommendation but I also have a woo audio wa-2 HP amplifier as well so buying more tubes out of a desire to roll and out of necessity is inevitable.....is there a book I can buy or online source where I can learn more than the basics of what tubes are for what and tube id'ing etc????

I really feel kind of lost when it comes to choosing tubes and that can become unnecessarially expensive for a newb....

 

See the above eBay link from RJPDX. That’s where I ordered mine.

 

I've rolled several pairs of tubes through my Budgie in the couple of years that I've owned it. Some include used Amperex "Bugle Boys" and RCA (Siemens) 6DJ8, and some NOS Amperex JAN 6922 (Green label). I thought that all of these tubes were an improvement over the stock EH tubes.

Two pair of tubes have particularly stood out for me. One is a used pair of Valvo 6DJ8 and the other, a pair of NOS Dumont 6922. Some say the Dumont tubes are actually a Tungsram tube. My Dumont tubes have orange lettering. All of these tubes came via the Bartertown section of AudioKarma.

Good luck in your search, honestabe.

 

Funny you should mention this, as I thought something was different about the start up lights after I installed the Amperex tubes, but then I just thought that maybe I hadn't really been paying attention that closely, and it had always done that. Thanks for checking with Shannon, and glad to hear all is fine.