Siemans CCA's, 70's stock, new QUESTION

univera
univera Posts: 848
edited October 2006 in 2 Channel Audio
I'm going to meet the seller of my Pre 2L and additional Amp 2 SE later tomorrow afternoon an hour and a half down the road. He has offered to sell me a tested, matched, new quad of these tubes for $350.00. I wasn't planning on jumping into tubes that strong yet, but he says that these are considered by many to be some of the most desirable tubes ever produced.

I don't know if I can swing it, but opinions before tomorrow at 10:00 EST would be great since I am a total tube virgin. My pre-comes with a platinum matched quad of Electroharminex 6H23/6922's from Kevin at Upscale Audio. The seller says Kevin found those to be the best tubes for any pre-using this tube family. FYI, I will be using good gauge speaker cables of generic name and entry level Signal Cables between the pre and amps. I will be throwing these amps and tubes into the mix at PF if the powers to be would like to get down...

The seller is a hardcore enthusiast and definitely seems to know his stuff. Being that I am not one who desires to roll a bunch of tubes, if these will give me the sweetest sound, with all things considered, I may see if I can make it happen. So far, George D has given the Siemens a thumbs up and referred to the CCA's as the "holy grail" of tubes.

My other option is a pair of Mullard goldpins for $100.00, but I would have to find another hard to find set or use a quad of Brimar tubes which I already have. No I am not a wealthy man but if I can do this thing right and enjoy for quite some time, I'm willing to stretch. Thanks in advance.
UNIVERA
Historic Charleston SC

2 Channel:
SDA-SRS's RDO tweets
Biamped Anthem 2 SE's w/1970's NOS Siemens CCA's
Anthem Pre 2L w/E.harmonix platinum matched 6H23's
CDP- NAD C 542


HT setup:
AVR: NAD T 773
Rears: Polk LC80i
DVD: Toshiba 3109 dual tray
Subs: Velodyne and M&K
T.V.: Sony KDL-52XBR4 w/Vans Evers Clean Line Jr.
Conditioner: Panamax M5100EX

Master Bedroom Sony 40KDL-XBR3

"I love it when a plan comes together." Hannibal Smith, The A-Team
Post edited by univera on
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Comments

  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited October 2006
    From Joe's Tube Lore at Audio Asylum, YMMV:

    "Siemens CCa (with shield, gold pins) This tube is a premium version of the 6922. It is also one of rarest & most sought after tubes in this family and is priced accordingly when you can find it (not often). Slightly more dimensional, transparent & focused sounding that the Siemens 6DJ8 and 6922s above. It lacks a bit in bass punch compared to those tubes however and is slightly dry sounding in comparison. In short maybe better in some ways, but not a reason for living. In other words, if you are stuck with living with the lesser Siemens tubes don’t worry about what you are missing...."
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited October 2006
    That is an excellent price for NOS matched quad. But don't forget that you're the one who have to enjoy them.

    Siemens tubes are excellent. Generally, German tubes have a house sound that's more on the analytical side. Very controlled without the icing that you find in many tubes.

    Go to audioasylum.com, then to the tube forum and do a search on them. You'll get a lot of info there.

    Maurice
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited October 2006
    If you don't like em' I'll take em'--good luck
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • univera
    univera Posts: 848
    edited October 2006
    organ wrote:
    That is an excellent price for NOS matched quad. But don't forget that you're the one who have to enjoy them.

    Siemens tubes are excellent. Generally, German tubes have a house sound that's more on the analytical side. Very controlled without the icing that you find in many tubes.

    Go to audioasylum.com, then to the tube forum and do a search on them. You'll get a lot of info there.

    Maurice

    Mo, thanks for the advice and suggestions. Can you elaborate for a tube dummy what you mean by "house sound" and "icing?" Are these generally good characteristics?

    Got 5 altogether as he had an extra one and the price was below what one finds in public circles.
    UNIVERA
    Historic Charleston SC

    2 Channel:
    SDA-SRS's RDO tweets
    Biamped Anthem 2 SE's w/1970's NOS Siemens CCA's
    Anthem Pre 2L w/E.harmonix platinum matched 6H23's
    CDP- NAD C 542


    HT setup:
    AVR: NAD T 773
    Rears: Polk LC80i
    DVD: Toshiba 3109 dual tray
    Subs: Velodyne and M&K
    T.V.: Sony KDL-52XBR4 w/Vans Evers Clean Line Jr.
    Conditioner: Panamax M5100EX

    Master Bedroom Sony 40KDL-XBR3

    "I love it when a plan comes together." Hannibal Smith, The A-Team
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited October 2006
    Univera,
    By "house sound", what I mean is that all these German tubes share the same characteristics (sound wise). I've heard this on all my German tubes (Telefunken, RFT and Siemens). Their sound is neutral with planty of control, dynamics and detail. I've got my Siemens doing this in the cdp with some Tung Sol in the pre to sweeten the sound a little.
    Don't worry, I bet the Siemens will blow away your EH. The EH is not bad but once you get into the exotic NOS stuff, the EH will probably collect dust.

    By "icing", I'm talking about the the way some tubes really warms up the sound and makes everything very lush, warm and smooth. This is what Mullard tubes are known for.

    Hope this helps. Let us know what you think of them.

    Maurice
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