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blackraven
03-12-2012, 12:56 PM
Today I received my long awaited pair of rare vintage 1950's Sylvania 6CG7 black plate tubes for my AVA hybrid Ultra II DAC. It has transformed my system. I am running a pair of rare vintage 1950's Raytheon black plate 6CG7's in my AVA hybrid Ultra Preamp and together they produce this very musical analog sound that has deep bass, lush liquid midrange while maintaining high frequency detail. Imaging is excellent and sound stage is good. There is just a very slight decrease in sound stage and transparency but the trade off is well worth it. Even the slight grain in my Parasound A21 is improved.
I can honestly say that I think I may be completely satisfied with the sound of my system.

LeRoy
03-12-2012, 03:59 PM
Congrats BR! It's amazing what tube rolling can do for gain in SQ and greater enjoyment of listening to music. I too will be on a quest to roll AX7's and AU7's in about a month from now. I have Radio Technique on the tube agenda.

blackraven
03-12-2012, 05:12 PM
Thanks! I have been on a quest to find the Sylvania Black plates with the silver shield between the plates and the Raytheon black plates for the past year. I read a review on 6CG7 tubes by a user over a year ago and he rated those 2 tubes as the best sounding if you like a warmer sound and he was right. I tried almost every 6CG7/6FQ7 tube out there. Now its time to start selling the rejects off to make some money back.

LeRoy
04-23-2012, 06:23 PM
Finally got to tube rolling the Rogue. This past Friday my shipment of new tubes arrived. I replaced two of the AX7 JJ 803 S with two AX7 Tung-Sol. I also replaced three of the AU7 Jan Phillips 5814A with three AU7 La Radiotechnique tubes.

The long version of this tale is too long to tell...so here is the short version. I LOVE IT! The sound I have got from the Rogue is what I had been striving for the last 5 years! Saturday I went to Austin,TX for some suds and frolic and I actually had a wee bit of separation anxiety concerning my audio rig...lol

On another tube note....since I now have extra tubes I went ahead and removed the Northern Electric AX7 from the MiniWatt and replaced it with the JJ 803 S. It was the right move. The MW had been sounding too thin and bright. I now have 3D presentation, airy top end, and overall more balanced sound with some gain in much desired texture and warmth in the mids. I know I will need to replace the EL 84's as well but I am researching EL 84 characteristics before I pull the trigger on a new matched set.