guystp
Well-Known Member
PSVANE 845T II tubes- A few weeks ago, Rachel at Grant Fidelity handed me and pair of these tubes and asked me to try them out and possibly write a review on them. Of course, I’m all in for that! From the second I put these these in my Shuguang S845MK II amps, I heard a difference to the stock Shuguang tubes. Keeping things in perspective, the stock tubes cost approximately $200.00/pr. and the T II series from Psvane will run you $485.00 for a pair of GF’s grade A tubes. Therefore there should be a significant difference.
When I first installed them, my first impression was “oh these sound very nice” and that thought has remained thus far into the burn in period. That’s not to say there wasn’t a few weird glitches along the way. I’m told it takes approximately 100 hrs to burn tubes in, but they seemed to have stabilized quite nicely at this point with about 70 hours on them. At around the 20 hr mark, I was hearing some distortion that was a little unsettling, to the point of replacing the tubes with my stock ones to find out it was the tubes creating the distortion, and not some other aspect of my system. I put the T II’s back in and everything seemed fine again for the remainder of this session.
The next day, after work, I turned the system on soon as I walk in the house, then proceed to my usual ritual of making a nice cup of green tea, before settling in my chair for some “wind down after work” listening. I was a little surprised to hear distortion again, only this time it was a lot more regular. My disappointment didn’t last long because within 15-20 minutes, the distortion just disappeared and I was loving life again. They’ve glitched a little here and there, but from about the 50 hour mark, I really haven’t heard any strange noises at all. As a matter of fact, I have noticed the usual low level hum I used to hear between songs, is virtually inaudible. This hum was always there if you listened very closely between cuts from a distance of a foot or two away from my speakers. I did rebias my amps a couple times (5) since putting these tubes in, so this may have something to do with the hums disappearance. I’ve also turned the bias down to 86 from the recommended 90, so this could have affected the hum as well. Regardless, I don’t hear it anymore
.
Back to the subject at hand, the sound of these tubes is really engaging. There’s a smoothness I never got with my Rita(KT88) amp. The stock 845 tubes are smooth, but not like these.The detail and realism is enhanced dramatically. I notice it in the shimmer of symbols, and in the low end of the spectrum, the drums are a little more defined and separated. A better placement of instruments might be a better way to put it. Like more space between the instruments. The mids are as expected from 845 tubes. They really excel in this department with their smooth presentation of vocals, especially of the female type. This is common for the 845’s, but these Psvane’s really remind you of this fact with the rich clarity they put forward. Diana Krall’s voice is even ‘breathier’ than usual. Tracy Chapman’s voice comes across very crisp with slight edginess she’s known for. “I used to be a sailor” from her Matters of the heart album, sound better than I’ve heard it. The bongo drums toward the end of the song are tighter than I’ve ever heard them. Sade’s seducative voice draws you in to the song with no effort, while Rosanne Cash’s voice is crisp and powerful.
I listened to a variety of artists and came to the conclusion that these tubes are very smooth with whatever I threw at them. Even artists like Alice Cooper, the Rolling Stones, Allman Bros.Band, Amos Lee, Keb Mo, all sounded incredibly smooth and easy to listen to long period of time without getting fatigued. One of my favourite songs, "wondering where the lions are" by Bruce Cockburn is delivered with a presence that screams Turn Up The Volume.
I listen to a lot of different music, but lately jazz has been my favourite flavour, and the Psvanes were absolutely made for jazz. Horn sections are luscious and velvety. Mingus’s ‘Boogie Shop Shuffle’ makes you want to get up and dance, and Brubeck’s 'Take Five’ gets your toes tapping without you realizing it!
Fact of the matter is that my stock tubes did everything I mentioned very well, the Psvane just do it so much better, with more clarity, air and dynamics. That’s the best way I can describe them. They are built a little fatter than my stock tubes, (I’m told it’s so they can run a little cooler)and have a flat copper finished base so your finger prints don’t mark up the base. I’ve found the selection of 845 tubes is not very good compared to others, but these Psvane 845T II will satisfy my quest for a better 845 tube for quite some time.:thmbsp:
When I first installed them, my first impression was “oh these sound very nice” and that thought has remained thus far into the burn in period. That’s not to say there wasn’t a few weird glitches along the way. I’m told it takes approximately 100 hrs to burn tubes in, but they seemed to have stabilized quite nicely at this point with about 70 hours on them. At around the 20 hr mark, I was hearing some distortion that was a little unsettling, to the point of replacing the tubes with my stock ones to find out it was the tubes creating the distortion, and not some other aspect of my system. I put the T II’s back in and everything seemed fine again for the remainder of this session.
The next day, after work, I turned the system on soon as I walk in the house, then proceed to my usual ritual of making a nice cup of green tea, before settling in my chair for some “wind down after work” listening. I was a little surprised to hear distortion again, only this time it was a lot more regular. My disappointment didn’t last long because within 15-20 minutes, the distortion just disappeared and I was loving life again. They’ve glitched a little here and there, but from about the 50 hour mark, I really haven’t heard any strange noises at all. As a matter of fact, I have noticed the usual low level hum I used to hear between songs, is virtually inaudible. This hum was always there if you listened very closely between cuts from a distance of a foot or two away from my speakers. I did rebias my amps a couple times (5) since putting these tubes in, so this may have something to do with the hums disappearance. I’ve also turned the bias down to 86 from the recommended 90, so this could have affected the hum as well. Regardless, I don’t hear it anymore
.Back to the subject at hand, the sound of these tubes is really engaging. There’s a smoothness I never got with my Rita(KT88) amp. The stock 845 tubes are smooth, but not like these.The detail and realism is enhanced dramatically. I notice it in the shimmer of symbols, and in the low end of the spectrum, the drums are a little more defined and separated. A better placement of instruments might be a better way to put it. Like more space between the instruments. The mids are as expected from 845 tubes. They really excel in this department with their smooth presentation of vocals, especially of the female type. This is common for the 845’s, but these Psvane’s really remind you of this fact with the rich clarity they put forward. Diana Krall’s voice is even ‘breathier’ than usual. Tracy Chapman’s voice comes across very crisp with slight edginess she’s known for. “I used to be a sailor” from her Matters of the heart album, sound better than I’ve heard it. The bongo drums toward the end of the song are tighter than I’ve ever heard them. Sade’s seducative voice draws you in to the song with no effort, while Rosanne Cash’s voice is crisp and powerful.
I listened to a variety of artists and came to the conclusion that these tubes are very smooth with whatever I threw at them. Even artists like Alice Cooper, the Rolling Stones, Allman Bros.Band, Amos Lee, Keb Mo, all sounded incredibly smooth and easy to listen to long period of time without getting fatigued. One of my favourite songs, "wondering where the lions are" by Bruce Cockburn is delivered with a presence that screams Turn Up The Volume.
I listen to a lot of different music, but lately jazz has been my favourite flavour, and the Psvanes were absolutely made for jazz. Horn sections are luscious and velvety. Mingus’s ‘Boogie Shop Shuffle’ makes you want to get up and dance, and Brubeck’s 'Take Five’ gets your toes tapping without you realizing it!
Fact of the matter is that my stock tubes did everything I mentioned very well, the Psvane just do it so much better, with more clarity, air and dynamics. That’s the best way I can describe them. They are built a little fatter than my stock tubes, (I’m told it’s so they can run a little cooler)and have a flat copper finished base so your finger prints don’t mark up the base. I’ve found the selection of 845 tubes is not very good compared to others, but these Psvane 845T II will satisfy my quest for a better 845 tube for quite some time.:thmbsp:
