How many tubes do you have in your rig?

2

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  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,869
    Not yet! I was tempted earlier today, but I didn’t have enough quality listening time in front of me to feel like it would be worthwhile. Still running the Tung-Sols I grabbed after Ivan said something about them around that same time. Been establishing a good baseline with those and now the Geshelli DAC upgrade before I start making any other changes again.

    I’m gonna take them with me to AXPONA in a couple weeks and see if Ivan can shed anymore light on them seeing them in person. I will have tried them at that point, too so, should have some feedback by then!
    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,164
    edited March 2023
    I hope we don't take this too far off track. But which Tung Sols? The absolute best are early 50s black plates....near impossible to find and the late 50s 5751 long gray plates.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • rebelsoul
    rebelsoul Posts: 756
    edited March 2023
    rebelsoul wrote: »
    In the process of buying a bat pre amp and that has 8 tube in it.

    So I'll have a total of 32 in system currently running . If I ad all my amps and pre amps close to a 100.
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  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,869
    heiney9 wrote: »
    I hope we don't take this too far off track. But which Tung Sols? The absolute best are early 50s black plates....near impossible to find and the late 50s 5751 long gray plates.

    These are 1953 long gray plate D getters. They are very sweet. Taking my time and enjoying all the way!


    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    edited March 2023
    rebelsoul wrote: »

    So I'll have a total of 32 in system currently running . If I ad all my amps and pre amps close to a 100.

    winner, winner chicken dinner!
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • rebelsoul
    rebelsoul Posts: 756
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  • rebelsoul
    rebelsoul Posts: 756
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    Nice kit Rebel!

    What (I find) interesting, is that the fine folks at Rogue claim the Tung Sol KT-120s last 2500-3000 hours.

    I re-tubed my M-180 monos in Nov 2014 and they lasted until I upgraded them to "Dark" December 2020

    Here's the kicker, my rig gets fired up 5 nights a week for 5 hours at a time. This is a conservative estimation.

    At approx 5 hrs/day x 250 days/yr = 1250 hrs per yr. I should replace tubes every 2-3 yrs. Not sure of the reasons for the longevity, but I'm pleased. Except for the eastern European skirmish that's jacked up the price of the Rooskie 120s.

    btw, since upgrading to Dark 2 yrs ago, the tubes require very little adjustment/biasing. Based on what Rogue claims, I should just re-tube every 3K hours, perhaps ideal "maintenance" practices. Maybe. But expensive (these days).

    I'd roll a brand new Octet into the rig, if I had a stash . . . . @nooshinjohn ... Any chance you wanna thin the herd?
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    Reply . . . .


    "No chance, bro" (the anticipated reaction, and rightly so, they're "diamonds in the rough" these days


    LOL
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,289
    Lots of tube whores here! Those who don’t have them just don’t know
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    lol. I had a tube integrated but I recently sold it.
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,289
    Clipdat wrote: »
    lol. I had a tube integrated but I recently sold it.

    It’s ok Drew. Not all of us can be awesome 🤣
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Some day I'll be cool! You watch!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,164
    edited March 2023
    Just a couple places with stashes

    qbn5wwbl1oa6.jpg
    9fmsvfqlq7qw.jpg

    My stash of genuine SED Winged =C= 6L6's
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    nq63wjris6g8.jpg

    I have more bins stashed away.

    It's insane for a person who doesn't understand. The hunt was as fun as rolling them in various pieces of gear. Not to mention the history these little glass bottles have experienced and endured. Some almost as old as my Dad......it's crazy in this throw away world!

    H9

    P.s. I've sold a lot over the years just to thin the heard a bit.



    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,380
    I'll take the 1956 CBS 5814 black plate pair off your hands 😁

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  • jdjohn
    jdjohn Posts: 3,142
    Do nuvistors count?
    "This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
    "Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
    Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,994
    Yes. It's a tube. (AFAIK)

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,724
    jdjohn wrote: »
    Do nuvistors count?
    treitz3 wrote: »
    Yes. It's a tube. (AFAIK)

    Tom

    Yes, they were totally tubes. Actually pretty high tech. Vacuum tubes' last gasp (well, until fairly recently). They were very well suited to VHF and UHF and were fairly commonly found in TV tuners towards the end of the vacuum tube (color) TV era.

    Here, you can read all about them in this promo booklet from RCA.
    https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/RCA-Books/RCA-Nuvistor-Tubes-Military-Industrial-1963-OCR.pdf

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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,994
    I have had them before in the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 tube DAC that another member of CP is now enjoying. The tubes are good for an estimated 100,000 hours.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,548
    Arc Reference 10 linestage 12 tubes
    Arc Reference 10 phono 12 tubes

    24.

    Looking to add a pair of Cary 805ae set amps when I find the right pair
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    11 total.
    Bottlehead Paramount monoblocks have 2 each.
    1) 300b and 1) 6SN7

    Aric Audio Transcend Pre - 7 total.
    1) 5AR4
    2) OD3 voltage regulators
    4) 12AX7 (2 of the them for the phono stage).
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,046
    Just 6 in my Joule Electra pre-which is musical bliss with my SS MF amp. FWIW I have yet to own a tube amp....
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  • maxward
    maxward Posts: 1,570
    Glad you’re liking the Joule.
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  • engie490
    engie490 Posts: 431
    I am using 7 in my Fosgate Signature Phono and 2 in the Counterpoint SA-2000.

    Fosgate - 2 x 6922, 2 x 12AX7, 2 12AT7, and 1x 12X4

    Counterpoint - 1 x 6DJ8 and 1 x 6CA4
    Alon Petite / Infinity 1.2S / Coda Continuum / Counterpoint SA5000 / Oppo BDP-105D / Technics SP-15 w/SAEC WE-308SX & Ortofon AS-309 arms / Ikeda 9C2 & Dynavector XX2 Mk II carts
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  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,182
    Less is more! Big fat Zero!!

    “Whatd U call me??”
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,380
    edited April 2023
    tophatjohnny wrote: »
    Less is more! Big fat Zero!!

    “Whatd U call me??”

    Soulless quiter!
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  • Wardsweb
    Wardsweb Posts: 935
    I will say a few tubes. ASL 845, DIY 2A3, chapman 6L6, 6H30 Preamp, and more.


    m5oej1cr8e87.jpg
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  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,362
    Wardsweb wrote: »
    I will say a few tubes. ASL 845, DIY 2A3, chapman 6L6, 6H30 Preamp, and more.


    m5oej1cr8e87.jpg

    Looks great, I bet it sounds great also.
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    edited April 2023
    I'm toying with the idea of "upgrading" to . . . .

    https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb15j8-rogue-audio-apollo-mono-blocks-dark-tube

    but, I don't think my space will accommodate the extra amperage adequately]

    edit: I really like the TS KT-120s but they're too expensive now. These amps take 6 EACH!

    Thanks Putin/Military Complex
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,380
    Quit toying around, get after them!
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