Tube Rolling w/Crack

Here is an interesting tube for you collectors out there.  I have a few Gold Aero tubes in 6CG7 and 6DJ8 form and they all test with amazingly high emissions and perfectly matched sections. From what i was able to find out they cherry picked the best tubes they could find from a variety of manufacturers, then graded and branded them.  Granted they started life as lowly GE 5998A's but i could'nt resist picking one up to see how it performs..  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172262170880

@Doc, would look mighty pretty in a limited edition walnut cased Crackatwoa :)
 

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Macandmar, Thanks for the info. Just ordered one. I'm new to tube rolling the Crack, but was moderately active with my old Rogue Cronus Magnum. In my few months with the Crack I've tried a TungSol 6520 and a new Svetlana 6AS7G. Still trying to figure out what I like best.

Have another tube issue that I would love some input for. Have also rolled in a Mullard NOS 12AU7. Always felt they were a guaranteed winner in any tube gear. I love the sound but would like a little less gain so that the volume was a tad easier to adjust. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks and happy holiday to all,

Alan
 
I have been listening with the Raytheon VT-231 using a Garage1217 adapter for the last week or so and oh my god, the soundstage is spectacular. I now understand what people mean by 3d soundstage. (Listening with modded HD650)
 
I managed to build the crack+speedball a year ago, but I know nothing about tubes/tube rolling. Anyways, a picture fell off of the wall and landed on my tubes completely shattering them today. Listening to music is a daily activity for me and I love my crack, so I was hoping I could get some recs for some good replacement tubes, and where in the world I would buy them. I'm down to upgrade as well. Thank you!
 
For the universe's compiled Crack tube compendium, read here:
[urlhttp://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=663.0;topicseen][/url]

Most tube vendors and eBay generally have wide selections.  If you post your location, a nearby Bottlehead may have spars to sell and/or loan to get you back to the music!

Cheers,
Geary
 
My budget recommendation for a power tube is the Russian 6H13C (Winged C). Four of those cost about 30$.
It is much better compared to the normal 6080's. More air, harder hitting tighter bass, and good details (I prefer it over my RCA 6as7g).
For the input tube i'd recommend buying locally. Here in The Netherlands i'm now using an NOS Amperex 12au7 bugle boy.
Found those for 3-5$ or something and they do sound great.
 
Tom-s said:
My budget recommendation for a power tube is the Russian 6H13C (Winged C). Four of those cost about 30$.
It is much better compared to the normal 6080's. More air, harder hitting tighter bass, and good details (I prefer it over my RCA 6as7g).
For the input tube i'd recommend buying locally. Here in The Netherlands i'm now using an NOS Amperex 12au7 bugle boy.
Found those for 3-5$ or something and they do sound great.
Click to expand...
WOW, that's a great price for a 12au7 bugle boy. How about a 7316 (one of the best 12au7 tubes)?
 
Those can be found for +-100-150€/pair. So since i don't pay that sort of money for tubes i've got no idea how they sound.
If i'm correct it's just the "better" computer version of the normal 12au7 from Amperex.
 
I bought a Telefunken 6080WA on eBay and was told that it tested 110/110 on a B&K with no gas and no shorts.  When I plugged it into my Crack, the heaters glowed brightly and there was a blue flash with a popping sound.  Upon seeing that I shut the amp down.  Does that sound like a bad tube?

The bad news is that after re-installing the old tubes, I had no sound in the left channel and intermittent crackling in the right, so I trued an old crappy set of headphones and they seem to work fine, so it looks like I blew out a set of 600ohm Beyerdynamic drivers.
 
mSummers said:
I bought a Telefunken 6080WA on eBay and was told that it tested 110/110 on a B&K with no gas and no shorts.  When I plugged it into my Crack, the heaters glowed brightly and there was a blue flash with a popping sound.  Upon seeing that I shut the amp down.  Does that sound like a bad tube?

The bad news is that after re-installing the old tubes, I had no sound in the left channel and intermittent crackling in the right, so I trued an old crappy set of headphones and they seem to work fine, so it looks like I blew out a set of 600ohm Beyerdynamic drivers.
Click to expand...

Plug your 600 ohm headphone to another source to see if it works.

NOS tubes may give you a "pop" but not flash. Try to clean the pins and give it another try (of cause use your crappy headphone)
 
The 600ohm set only has one channel when plugged into other devices, so they're definitely shot. I'm not going to try that tube again and risk damage to the amp.

I guess it's time to get a tube tester.  Any recommendations? 
 
One more tube rolling question.  In a lot of 12au7's I bought on ebay is a GE JG-5814A.  Is that a drop in equivalent to the 12au7?
 
mSummers said:
The 600ohm set only has one channel when plugged into other devices, so they're definitely shot. I'm not going to try that tube again and risk damage to the amp.

I guess it's time to get a tube tester.  Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
Sad to learn a headphone could be killed by a bad tube.

I have a Jackson 648. http://tubesound.com/2008/01/09/rebuild-calibration-of-jackson-648a/

There are a lot of good tube testers on the market. Make sure they had been calibrated so you can get correct readings.
 
mSummers said:
One more tube rolling question.  In a lot of 12au7's I bought on ebay is a GE JG-5814A.  Is that a drop in equivalent to the 12au7?
Click to expand...

Yes. I am using a CBS JHY 5814A now.
 
mcandmar said:
Here is an interesting tube for you collectors out there.  I have a few Gold Aero tubes in 6CG7 and 6DJ8 form and they all test with amazingly high emissions and perfectly matched sections. From what i was able to find out they cherry picked the best tubes they could find from a variety of manufacturers, then graded and branded them.  Granted they started life as lowly GE 5998A's but i could'nt resist picking one up to see how it performs..  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172262170880

@Doc, would look mighty pretty in a limited edition walnut cased Crackatwoa :)
Click to expand...

I bought one of these as my first tube option for my Crack with Speedball. Im finding it hard to compare because I get a lot more volume out of the Gold Aero branded tube. But its also a more dynamic, less mellow sound than the stock tube. A very clear difference in presentation, but cant say one is clearly better yet
 
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