Finally: all tubes all the time (warning: long winded)

datafone said:

Hi Wes

The Chinese 6N1's are very average, when i had mine I replaced them with Russian 6N1P-EV's.....much better

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+1 on the 6N1P-EV tube.. Must try the -EV version ... worth the wait to get them cheap from Russia/Eastern Europe. They sound SUPERB. If you get NOS they come in a really cool box too!

Cheers,
Bob

PS these are the ones I got from Bulgaria off epay sans the sockets.

bobrown14 said:

+1 on the 6N1P-EV tube.. Must try the -EV version ... worth the wait to get them cheap from Russia/Eastern Europe. They sound SUPERB. If you get NOS they come in a really cool box too!

Cheers,
Bob

PS these are the ones I got from Bulgaria off epay sans the sockets.

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I'm curious, too, about replacing the 6N1's with 6922's. I use those in my AI Modulus pre and I've loved the performance of those. I wonder how they'd do in this Yaqin??

Hmm....Yaqin (or should I say china-hifiend-hifi.com) lists the 6922 as a replacement for the 6N1's, but elsewhere it seems that those are actually different enough that they're not a direct replacement? Anyone have thoughts or info on this?

Wes_in_VA said:

Hmm....Yaqin (or should I say china-hifiend-hifi.com) lists the 6922 as a replacement for the 6N1's, but elsewhere it seems that those are actually different enough that they're not a direct replacement? Anyone have thoughts or info on this?

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I'm only familler with one Tube, the 6922's in my Hybred Dynalab FM Tuner. I did a little research into sustitute Tubes, and as you say, they Don't list the 6N1's in the same group.

It doesn't mean the 6N1's would be a bad choice if Yaqin suggested it. I wouldn't use it in my Tuner, but Perhaps in this circut it may still operate reasonably close to spec, just differently. It may be just the sound some are looking for.

According to The Tube Store:
"Except for higher heater current, the 6N1P is similar to 6DJ8, ECC88 or 6922 types and may substitute for these types in some high level audio applications".

Very nice! Tubes for me in my main system and McIntosh solid state in the bedroom system.

Yeah, IIRC the Yaqin might drive the signal tubes too hard for the 6922's to be used as a replacement.

Edit:I can't remember the exact details.

I'm not sure about the 6DJ8, ECC88

So as far as the 6922's go...who knows. China-hiend-hifi.com or whatever lists them as a replacement, but the Canadian seller says no... but he agrees that there's a dispute about that.
At any rate, I ordered some NOS Russian rocket 6N1's and I'll anxiously await their arrival. By the time they get here from Russia, the amp should be well broken in so it'll be a good test.

I'm damn happy with this thing. I swapped out the Signal Cable power cord I had been using for a Chris Venhaus DIY design that i built a while back and finally got burned in. That was--to me--a change in a positive direction.
This amp presents a very nice soundstage with very good depth. That's the #1 thing I look for, so that's great. The imaging isn't what it was with my ss setup but it's better as it breaks in more and I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of that for a deeper soundstage. That's just me.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked.

Latest update:
I have another 15 or so hours on the Yaqin. I'm still waiting on the Russian 6N1 tubes to roll into it. I think the amp is really close to being "broken in"...if you believe in those sorts of things. I'm looking forward to some tube rolling.
I did recently give the Yaqin its own power conditioner, a PS Audio that I hadn't used yet.

I've never heard the EL34 tubes before and man, do I love that midrange. Voices are RIGHT THERE. It's really, really nice. At first, I felt that the imaging wasn't as good with this as I had hoped but that's changed as it's broken in. It's definitely better. Not as good as my nicer SS stuff, but it's improving. I'm thinking that the Russian tubes will help that, too.
The bass isn't as tight as I'd ideally like, but again, it's a tradeoff. I'm a soundstage freak and I'm on a limited budget. Something has to give somewhere.
I've recently realized, too, that I've been comparing this setup too much to my listening room, where I have a considerably nicer cdp and lots of room treatments. The room treatments I can't do much about; my wife is AMAZINGLY tolerant but even she has limits. However, I'm waiting on a new cdp so that at least that part of the equation is more equal.

Anyway, I've been talking about having a shootout between the Yaqin and my Sherwood S5500. I've been too lazy, but the wife asked me about it again tonight for like the 3rd night in a row. I figure when your wife shows that much interest you better damn sure roll with it, right??
So I tossed in my "standard" cd's with the Yaqin, listened, and then plugged up the Sherwood and threw in the same cd's.

Hmmm. Very different, which I already knew. The combo of the 12AX7's and 7591's in the Sherwood is not the same sound at all. The midrange is much less pronounced but the highs are more extended and the bass is much tighter.
Which do I like better? Depends. Right now I'm playing Moving Pictures from Rush, truly a cd I'd probably never pick with the Yaqin. I know that's weird, but I'd probably avoid it because I'd feel like the Yaqin was a bit lacking. I don't listen to stuff liek this that much, and the stuff that I listen to the most--vocal oriented, blues, jazz---sounds really, really nice on the Yaqin. The vocals in particular are great with that amp.
But the Sherwood...the Sherwood just has more range. More stuff seems to sound really, really great on it. Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus on the Sherwood is like a concert. On the Yaqin it's like listening mainly to the vocals.

The other interesting thing is that the Sherwood projects into the room better. The room is pretty large at something like 164'x25' with a vaulted ceiling. The Yaqin presents a great soundstage-- and it's deep---but the Sherwood is more balanced. The depth of the Yaqin definitely comes more in the midrange.

Bottom line: Damn, do I feel lucky and a little embarrassed to be sitting here pontificating about the differences between these 2 really, really nice amps...but I'll roll with it!!

And some pics to tell the story:

Wes_in_VA said:

And some pics to tell the story:

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Very nice! But I'd (personally) remove the tube shield from above the 7591 tubes as it'll make them run really hot, as well as roast the OPT adjacent to them. If you are concerned about protecting the tubes, perhaps make a screen out of Modder's Mesh. That looks like nice, chunky iron in that Sherwood, I bet it sounds really great!

-D

derekva said:

Very nice! But I'd (personally) remove the tube shield from above the 7591 tubes as it'll make them run really hot, as well as roast the OPT adjacent to them. If you are concerned about protecting the tubes, perhaps make a screen out of Modder's Mesh. That looks like nice, chunky iron in that Sherwood, I bet it sounds really great!

-D

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That's a good idea. I can understand the need for shield for installation in a console, but in this use I'm better off without it.
Thanks for the tip!

Hmmm, an interesting turn of events...

I pulled my Eicos out of the lsitening room to prepare them to be shipped off to Stu at Eicobuilders.com for some upgrades. I planned to have them converted to pure monoblocks while also updating the caps and wiring and installing modern speaker connections.

I moved my Yaqin MC10L into the listening room as a backup for while the Eicos were gone. I was also interested to hear how it would sound in a smaller, acoustically treated room.
Lo and behold--and this is just an initial impression--it sounds fantastic.
Imaging in that room is great, the bass is tight and deep and the mids are as engaging as you could ever ask.

I'm going to spend some more time with it but for now the Eicos are in a holding pattern.