Tube Rolling w/Crack
- Thread starter Dr. Toobz
- Start date
It's a Chatham 5998, the FAA would mean that it may have been sold to the FAA.Francisco said:
Tom-s said:
Thanks for the tip! I just built my crack and have been a little intimidated about getting into tube rolling. This seems like a great entry point, and it's nice to see a recommended NOS tube that can be had for $20-$30 on ebay.
Would this combination produce a notable change over the Crack + SB sound with stock tubes?
For me it did. With my headphones i liked the added bass and soundstage.
I got a Raytheon 6080wb and GE 12au7 with my Crack stock.
Start with the 6H13C, these are good. And input tube rolling will make more of a difference with a better power tube IME.
For the input, if in Europe, it's worth to search for a Telefunken ECC82 for cheap.
These are sold cheaper vs the Gold Lion if patient.
YMMV etc etc.
I got a Raytheon 6080wb and GE 12au7 with my Crack stock.
Start with the 6H13C, these are good. And input tube rolling will make more of a difference with a better power tube IME.
For the input, if in Europe, it's worth to search for a Telefunken ECC82 for cheap.
These are sold cheaper vs the Gold Lion if patient.
YMMV etc etc.
mcandmar said:
Wow, yeah that is cheap. I may start there and pick up a gold lion later.
For the 6H13C, is this what I'm looking for?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Svetlana-Winged-C-6H13C-6AS7G-Vacuum-Tubes-Black-Plates-/122233511030?hash=item1c75af5c76:g:ZTUAAOSwHMJYMLGC
Really appreciate the advice. Like I said, the 600+ pages of discussion I have bookmarked on various forums had me pretty intimidated about getting started with rolling tubes.
mcandmar
New member
Thats the one. You can source them direct from Russia for less, but be prepared to wait a month or so for it. e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182415022045
You can either hate or love the clear top RCA's. I don't like them. It's personal.
Another cheap (and for me way way better than RCA's clear top 12AU7): Tungsram E80CC*, 22€ shipped. http://www.ebay.de/itm/NEW-NOS-TUNGSRAM-E80CC-CV5989-6085-DOUBLE-TRIODE-lot-1pc-/302085125181?hash=item4655ad343d:g:SlgAAOSwImRYOzEe
Another cheap (and for me way way better than RCA's clear top 12AU7): Tungsram E80CC*, 22€ shipped. http://www.ebay.de/itm/NEW-NOS-TUNGSRAM-E80CC-CV5989-6085-DOUBLE-TRIODE-lot-1pc-/302085125181?hash=item4655ad343d:g:SlgAAOSwImRYOzEe
Just special paint.Francisco said:
-PB
Tom-s said:
I've been running the 6H13C and Gold Lion for a few days now... Wanted to report back in to say that this combo is awesome! I wasn't sure if there was going to be an audible difference, but right out of the gate I could hear it. With my HD6xx the bass is punchier and more impactful. Soundstage is definitely improved as well, not necessarily in size but I feel like there were a couple gaps before that have been filled in. Soundstage seems much more 3-dimensional with the Dr. Chesky test track I used from the headphone demonstration disk.
Thanks for the recommendation. Money well spent. A matched pair of the 6H13C's ran me $30, and a brand new gold lion was $26 on ebay. I've been loving the HD6xx + stock crack, but felt like I could use just a tad more bass and soundstage. Really enjoying this combo!
attmci
New member
Tom-s said:It is, after you sold 1 kidney
LOL Then you have to go back to page 90 (http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=663.1335). Two paralleled tubes can compete with any prime tubes per my test.
PT-3 is a nice little power transformer. PT-7/PT-10 is even better.
A little bit history can be found here:
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=bottlehead&m=135369
And here: "The power trans can deliver 3.8A AC to the 6.3V heaters. Right now the 6080 draws 2.5A and the 12AU7 draws 0.3A. So right now the total draw is 2.8A. One could change to a 6SN7 (0.6A heater) by punching out the socket mounting hole and wiring in an octal socket. Or just do it the easy way and use a 6CG7 in the existing socket with the heater pins rewired from 9 and 4/5 tied to 4 and 5. 12BH7 should be pretty easy to do as well." -Doc
monsterdonkey
New member
And oh gee, suddenly this Crack sounds f-balls amazing again. Modding for the sake of it is good, but just now I learned a lesson. Back to it.
elgringo81
New member
Hello
Which tubes did you replace with the stock tubes?
Which tubes did you replace with the stock tubes?
jaysbob
New member
What a difference E80CC's make, been listening to a couple different examples for a week or two now. So much smoother and more articulate compared to anything else I've tried, huge well controlled low end and crisp clear highs and mids.
I've tried a lot of tubes in my crack. Including some 6f8g's and 6fq7's but nothing has immediately taken my breath away like the E80CC's have. A couple 6sn7's I've tried have come close but the examples I had that sounded best were also highly microphonic and none of the E80CC's I've tried have had this problem. It feels like as significant an improvement as the speedball was over the stock crack. I can't get the headphones off of my ears.
I'd be interested if anybody has any picture of how they implemented a resistor switch on the small speedball board.
It's just too bad that NOS E80CC's seem to be a vanishing commodity.
I've tried a lot of tubes in my crack. Including some 6f8g's and 6fq7's but nothing has immediately taken my breath away like the E80CC's have. A couple 6sn7's I've tried have come close but the examples I had that sounded best were also highly microphonic and none of the E80CC's I've tried have had this problem. It feels like as significant an improvement as the speedball was over the stock crack. I can't get the headphones off of my ears.
I'd be interested if anybody has any picture of how they implemented a resistor switch on the small speedball board.
It's just too bad that NOS E80CC's seem to be a vanishing commodity.
