McIntosh preamp?

[blackraven]

Well, the guy has accepted my bid on the BAT. Any one want to buy a Pass Labs X1 preamp?

I will need to buy tubes for the BAT. It takes 6H30's x 8 tubes. I am going to buy the Electro Harmonix gold pin, matched pairs. I will also need a pair of RCA to XLR adapters for my DAC.

[Mr Peabody]

I'll be anxious to hear how the BAT sounds, you are the first person I know who has one.

6H30, used to be called "the super tube" for it's long life. I thought those were only Russian. BAT did have them exclusive until ARC some how worked a deal for them, I'm not sure if they are more widely used today or not.

[blackraven]

All the 6H30's are made in the same Russian plant that made the old military (and highly coveted) 6H30 DR tubes. The Reflektor plant makes the Sovtek and Electro-Harmonix gold pin 6H30's which are basically a higher voltage 6DJ8.

[Jack in Wilmington]

All the 6H30's are made in the same Russian plant that made the old military (and highly coveted) 6H30 DR tubes. The Reflektor plant makes the Sovtek and Electro-Harmonix gold pin 6H30's which are basically a higher voltage 6DJ8.

Is it a lot more expensive to stock it with similar tubes that the last owner had in it? Do you think the RCA to XLR adapters will work as well as a full XLR connection?

[Feanor]

... Do you think the RCA to XLR adapters will work as well as a full XLR connection?

I'm sure that that the RCA > XLR will work, i.e. blackraven will get sound, but get a relative 6 dB reduction in overall gain. I'd tend to assume that the BAT will simply process the "+" signal from the DAC and won't attempt to derive the "-" by some means such as a transformer or active circuit. That is a question he might want to pose to the BAT folks: does the VK-51se construct a balanced signal from an SE input. I suspect the answer is, "No", if for no other reason than the 51se provides only balanced input connections.

That being the case, his X250 will be getting a single-ended input (even if XLR cables are used). The long & short of this is that, using his existing single-ended DAC, he won't be enjoying the benefits of balanced circuitry notwithstanding that he has a fully balanced preamp.

[frenchmon]

All the 6H30's are made in the same Russian plant that made the old military (and highly coveted) 6H30 DR tubes. The Reflektor plant makes the Sovtek and Electro-Harmonix gold pin 6H30's which are basically a higher voltage 6DJ8.

You may also use 6H30Pi/ 6H30n-EB / 6N30Pi tubes if you can find them.

[blackraven]

I talked to BAT and there is no problem using the XLR adpaters and they did not think that there would be a loss of sound quality. As for the Pass, I did not notice any improvement in going from RCA to XLR. My DAC still is single ended into the Pass Preamp. Any decrease in sound quality will be offset by the much greater improvement that the BAT brings. Eventually I will get a new DAC or high end CD or SACD player with XLR. I think that the BAT has an adjustable gain much as the Pass X1 has.

Concerning the tubes, they still make brand new Sovtek and EH 6H30 Pi tubes for about $29 per Sovtek and $33 per EH gold pin. They are not hard to get and my local tube dealer here in the Twin Cities has the EH's in stock and they will match them for me. The DR's are the NOS and there are a lot of phony DR's around and they are of questionably better sound depending upon the review that you read. Actually, I am glad that there are not a lot of different 6H30's because it will keep me from tube rolling and wasting money. I went through at least a dozen pairs of 6CG7's before finding some that I liked.


I also have found a pair of high quality Cardas XLR adapters for $69 pr.

[frenchmon]

Are you still going to get the Cardas Parsec interconnects?

[blackraven]

Are you still going to get the Cardas Parsec interconnects?

Yes, but it will be a while before I buy them due to the expense of the BAT and the tubes.

[Feanor]

I talked to BAT and there is no problem using the XLR adpaters and they did not think that there would be a loss of sound quality. As for the Pass, I did not notice any improvement in going from RCA to XLR. My DAC still is single ended into the Pass Preamp. Any decrease in sound quality will be offset by the much greater improvement in that the BAT brings. Eventually I will get a new DAC or high end CD or SACD player with XLR. I think that the BAT has an adjustable gain much as the Pass X1 has.
...
I also have found a pair of high quality Cardas XLR adapters for $69 pr.

That's my guess too. The inherent character of the BAT will be more significant than balanced vs. single-ended. Balanced vs. SE has made no noticeable difference in my experience even with amps that are tweaked for balanced. The Cardas female RCA to male XLR should work fine to connect your DAC, though I see that Cardas make two types and don't seem to describe the differences. I assume you will use XLR between the BAT and the Pass.

I'll be very interested indeed to hear your impression of the BAT vs. the Pass X-1 vs. your Van Alstine.

[blackraven]

I saw the 2 different XLR adapters form Cardas. I will buy the cheaper pair for $69pr vs 150pr. Parts express sells cheapies for $5 which I will use for my sub.