Just ordered a Yaqin CD3

CH46E

I have high hopes that this will give me the sound I'm looking for.

The Parasound 2250 v2 is just not what I was hoping for. Before I sell it I will try it with the CD3. Fingers crossed. If I do sell it I'm going to look for a NAD, Rotel or Carver amp to try.

I'm going to give the stock tubes a chance before possibly ordering some 6SN7 tubes.

Any words of wisdom?

Nightfall

What tubes does it come with? Ruby?

CH46E

6n8p. It does not state a brand but I'd assume they are the cheapest Chinese tubes they could get in bulk.

I picked it up on Amazon. Seen here.

https://www.amazon.com/YAQIN-Stereo-Upgrade-Buffer-Processor/dp/B00DYHU0G0

Nightfall

I was thinking it was a CD player. Haven't heard much about their tube buffers.

CH46E

I believe according to what I read it can use the following three tubes. "6N8P", "6SN7", and "6H8C".

I don't know much about tubes except that I like what I have heard (Carver Silver 9) very much.

It appears that the 6sn7 have the better reviews. I'd like to not spend more then another $80 for a pair of quality tubes.

CH46E

Nightfall wrote: »

I was thinking it was a CD player. Haven't heard much about their tube buffers.

My bad, I should have stated that. Thanks.

heiney9

First off congrats, and enjoy. 2nd won't sound anything like a Carver Silver 9 so don't expect that. 3rd, these can sound really good with a nice pair of 6SN7's. 4th, don't expect much out of the stock tubes, you should replace them with something better very early on.

I and others can make some recommendations.

H9

pitdogg2

I have one I was going to put up for sale after Xmas. The stock tubes are just basic Chinese. I have used many different 6sn7 tubes. My favorite for it are 6bx7 6bl7 triple mica's that Brent Jesse turned me on to. I also have some Slyvania 5692's nos that might have 75hrs on them.

motorstereo

Hopefully it gives you the sound you're looking for but don't be surprised if it doesn't. My thoughts on these devices having owned a Yaqin buffer is they're just a bandaid to cover up a problem that lies somewhere else in the system.

erniejade

I have the cd2 I picked up from pitdogg2 a while back. I keep taking it in and out of the chain. Right now it is behind my w4s dac2 into the preamp. They do a decent job I think.

pitdogg2

word of advice when you get it take that cage off and put the screws back in with the Teflon bumpers under them(so you don't lose them) it will be SOOOO much easier to switch tubes in and out. Or I guess you could put all in a bag and put back into the box

tonyb

The force senses a giant rabbit hole about to open up.

CH46E

motorstereo wrote: »

Hopefully it gives you the sound you're looking for but don't be surprised if it doesn't. My thoughts on these devices having owned a Yaqin buffer is they're just a bandaid to cover up a problem that lies somewhere else in the system.

I don't think there are any problems per say in the system. I just think different amps have different sounds. I know the purists will say amps should be 100% neutral.

I guess I'm trying to make a Parasound amp sound like a NAD amp. I know... that's sounds bad and **** backwards. I would use the NAD I have but can't with the SDA SRS.

The Parasound seems to be dry. Not as robust or warm as I would like. If the CD3 gives me what I'm looking for, great. I rather not take a hit by selling the Parasound amp yet. Plus I'll get a little experience with tubes.

Possible a Jolida FX 10 down the road for a nice pair of bookshelf speakers.

polkfarmboy

Spend as much as you can on tubes! Also get the cd player opened up and mod it and you will have a killer cdp.

CH46E

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Spend as much as you can on tubes! Also get the cd player opened up and mod it and you will have a killer cdp.

I never thought about modding my cd player. I started searching for mods to my Denon DVD-2910 and found this website. After looking at what they had to offer I just laughed. They want $1,395 to mod it. That's almost double what I paid for it new in 2004-2005.
http://asi-tek.com/denon3.html

I'll do some more research and am intrigued by the prospect of modding the player.

Thanks for the suggestion.

tonyb

CH46E wrote: »

motorstereo wrote: »

Hopefully it gives you the sound you're looking for but don't be surprised if it doesn't. My thoughts on these devices having owned a Yaqin buffer is they're just a bandaid to cover up a problem that lies somewhere else in the system.

I guess I'm trying to make a Parasound amp sound like a NAD amp. I know... that's sounds bad and **** backwards. I would use the NAD I have but can't with the SDA SRS.

The Parasound seems to be dry. Not as robust or warm as I would like. If the CD3 gives me what I'm looking for, great. I rather not take a hit by selling the Parasound amp yet. Plus I'll get a little experience with tubes. .

Get a McCormack amp, and a tubed pre amp . Cary AES is fairly cheap around 4-600 bucks and sounds pretty good. Also, cables can make a pretty good difference in reversing that description of the sounds your getting. Just food for thought...

mrbigbluelight

Everything matters, of course, but being a tube buffer does the "quality" of the tubes matter as much as it would in a preamp ?

tonyb

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

Everything matters, of course, but being a tube buffer does the "quality" of the tubes matter as much as it would in a preamp ?

Short answer....yes.

boston1450

Well did ya get r yet ? Im looking forward to your thoughts. I have the cd2 & Silk Audio one similair & i roll different tubes in it-for a different flavor. Been playing with buffers in/out of the chain for 3+- years. For the $ you cant go wrong. I enjoy mine... It seemed to me when i tried it befween the amp-preamp on my Adcom gear it sounded great. Kinda curious what your using with the 2250v2 for a pre ? I have the 2250 & using it with Yamama rxv2600 HT & im quite please with it. I cant wait to try it on a Parasound decent preamp or go tube preamp. I have all intentions of my 2250 going 2channel w/SDA's on it

dhart86

Careful CH46E.....That is the exact tube buffer that got me into tubes. The 6SN7 is a very nice sounding audio tube. FWIW I have had a couple of Parasound amps and they did not sound as you described. Mine were warm and engaging, however I have heard the same things you've mentioned about that the 2250. My previous Parasound amps were the HCA and Halo models (very engaging)

Anyway I moved from the tube buffer to a tubed pre-amp and never looked back. I highly recommend listening thru tubes and you may want to move onto a pre amp in the future.
Tubes, for me did something to the music ....as H9 says..."tubes add soul" it puts flesh on the bone, so to speak.

I am not looking to sell it, but I have a back-up tube pre. If you would like to audition a inexpensive ($400-$500) 6SN7 tube pre-amp let me know.

6SN7 Tubes I enjoyed most were

Sylvania
RCA
Psvane (CV-181-z)

Let us know what you think about the buffer

CH46E

Thanks for the comments and advice. To Boston I'm using a Yamaha Aventage rxa-1050 for a pre.

I have also had a Parasound HCA750A that took me a little while to appriciate. Seem to really be dependent on the source material.

I am starting to wonder if maybe my lack of enjoyment with the 2250 v2 is possible because all of the caps are oem in my rta12b and SRS 2s. I never did get to use the 2250 on my modified JBL L80t. Maybe I should drag my Paradigm Monitor 7 v2 into the room from the living room (stereo tv duty) and see how it sounds. I'm very familiar with thier sound on every amp I've owned.

Dhart, what part of the country do you live in?

RandyCroissant

I would mod those crossovers asap, made a huge difference to my 2b,s they began sounding dull and lifeless. I replaced the amp first thinking it was the problem, then I found this forum. The rest is history they now are far better sounding than ever.

CH46E

RandyCroissant wrote: »

I would mod those crossovers asap, made a huge difference to my 2b,s they began sounding dull and lifeless. I replaced the amp first thinking it was the problem, then I found this forum. The rest is history they now are far better sounding than ever.

Maybe that is my problem then. I think I will do the rta 12 b first.


Oh and the yaqin likely won't be heready for at least 2 more weeks.

boston1450

Not sure if a buffer is gonna help cover up something here OR add some goodness. But worth a try.

dhart86

CH46E wrote: »

Dhart, what part of the country do you live in?

I'm in New Jersey......but I could ship to you if you could cover shipping

CH46E

dhart86 wrote: »

CH46E wrote: »

Dhart, what part of the country do you live in?

I'm in New Jersey......but I could ship to you if you could cover shipping

Very kind of you. I'd like to do it but worry about your pre amp getting damaged during shipping.

Also let me go ahead and get the xovers done first. I'm going to do the rta12b first. I'll start ordering parts next week. Maybe after that I'd like to try a tube pre.

Side questions though? I see schematics for the 12b and a revised 12b. Any idea how I'm supposed to know which one I have? Or is this just a print both and manually compare to the crossovers?

Thanks.

pitdogg2

CH46E wrote: »

Side questions though? I see schematics for the 12b and a revised 12b. Any idea how I'm supposed to know which one I have? Or is this just a print both and manually compare to the crossovers?

Thanks.

Best to look at what is on the boards and verify.

CH46E

Anyone use or have experience with the

Electro-Harmonix
6SN7 EH Vacuum Tube??

Quality? Or garbage? I can get a pair for about $50.

The alternative was
Sovtek 6SN7GT for $40.

heiney9

The best 6SN7's are old stock tubes.

H9

pitdogg2

heiney9 wrote: »

The best 6SN7's are old stock tubes.

H9

Have to agree with the tube master here. IF you try some Russian look for the OTK. There's a couple of sellers on eBay I've done business with from Bulgaria that get better Russian tubes. I've bought viskod 6ak5 type from as well as the 6sn7. They were very up front when i had ask why theirs were a bit more than other sellers. They had said there are a boat load of these going around but they test all theirs before listing. Others just pull them out of the cases and sell. According to them as much as half the cases are just junk straight out of the box. I sold my viskods to two here and the buyers were very happy. One of the best 6ak5 tubes made, so I believed what they had told as far as the quality of the tubes. One must remember back in the old Soviet Union it was all about quantity over quality and testing was very lax at best.

dhart86

heiney9 wrote: »

The best 6SN7's are old stock tubes.

H9

Agree with H9

I have heard the Electro-Harmonix 6SN7 EH Vacuum Tube, It's a decent new production tube.

But again you'd be better off buying NOS Sylvanias ot RCA tubes IMHO