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I have only tried one 6SN7, a green label black base, Sylvania 6SN7GTB "Chrome Top - Angled "T" Plates." So not conclusive by any means. But in my Torii, without changing anything but a pair of ECC189 inputs to the 6SN7, I found the ways it causes my amp to act made this one 6SN7 anywhere from beautiful to not so....pretty uneven across recordings.
For context, my digital front end is tuned in all respects. It is very resolving without hardness, and has enough tape-like density, I am careful to keep a resolving and neutral balance when adding density elsewhere. It does not sound "digital" or "analog" to me, it just sounds like good music in a good room.
My Torii, CSP3, and HR1s are quite a bit faster, musically more resolving, smoother, and more spacious than stock. Also I have solved most tendencies toward excess thickness lower down, the bass very authentic and more impactful having tightened it up some. But within this, I tried to stay close to the original "voicing" as I modified them. Even now, to me, the Torii IV, and HR1s especially balance notably toward bass/warmth together.
And the way the Torii uses tubes contributes. Whether amping up power with rectifiers, VRs, inputs, or heavier/more powered up cables, different combinations can cause the Torii to reach what I hear as a "pushed" threshold at which it starts being overstated to me. And notably over that threshold, tonal density can shift toward being too concentrated, darkening/thickening bass and mids while exaggerating upper mids and highs. But generally, in a more pushed/thicker state, the bass is most "off" to me, and can mask too much of the mids detail and space.
I like warmth when detail is not overwhelmed by darker/thicker bass/mid-bass emphasis. But I am sensitive to shifting from "warm," toward dark/thick/veiled. I need a live feeling from recordings, with a just-right balance of speed, definition, space and fine detail, and a fast/tight but big bass feel and sound.... To more completely get this live feel, for me, requires a relatively perfect balance of tubes. Seeking this sound over many years has taught me to define the subtle edges of excess darkness and heaviness, and avoid going too far into it. Not far from this is a little lean or bass shy....so a delicate balance for me.
So though complex and resolving, my Torii, being good at displaying power in how it drives drivers, and having a signature weighted toward warm and bassy, this sets up its tuning parameters. More big and weighty than lower power Decware amps I have tried, this sets up some tuning differences. My HR1s, based on the latest top driver and crossover design, like my Torii, are innately relatively big and full as well. I suspect that if I had DNAs or some transparent Omegas, my balance might be more tolerant of powered up and/or warmer tube sets.
To help illustrate my sound: Now, and before modifications, my favorite GZ32s, Mazdas with double bottom rectangular getters, are notably more balanced and flexible across recordings here than more powerful GZ34s I have tried in this system (Holland Philips, a few Mullard, Sylvania, and more). The GZ34s are enticing in ways, but finally overstated and pushy enough for me to not use them.
The 6SN7 in this setup:
In the Torii, changing only the early 60s Heerlen Amperex ECC189 Bugle Boys inputs, to the chrome top 6SN7GTs... With open and less forceful music, the 6SN7 were quite expressive, extra spacious, lucid and complex... On semi-dense recordings, they were big and nicely balanced, stronger bass leaking into the mids, making them warmer and fuller, and lucidity and complexity overwhelmed by a bit, but still good... With denser/darker recordings, they were pretty nice in milder areas of the music, and shifting toward darkish and saturated in more intense and full parts.
What I mean by saturation in this case, the sound begins to consolidate and become a little (or a lot) overly dense, causing enough of the finest detail and space to be absorbed and overwhelmed as the bottom and mids become thicker. When this happens I lose too much of what gives me "liveness." And on harder playing parts, the sound becomes excessively focussed, sort of tubular, darker, and rolled off..... not notably distorted, but thickish, intense and more homogeneous.
Not particularly louder, this 6SN7 sounds to me like it is creating a stronger signal, and pushing the power tube harder, creates a notable shift toward a strong/full signal. With this more powered up signal, there is more intense lucidity if mids are not overwhelmed by over-intense bass..... But on big/fuller recordings, "warm" fullness/thickness can edge into into consolidation/saturation. With more demanding material, whether an intense voice passage, hard playing on other instruments, or from the whole recording being full and forceful, without compensations, the 6SN7 goes way over for my tastes.
For these reasons, not having time to explore, the tube sat for quite a while, feeling like it didn't quite seem workable here. But liking a lot of what comes with its "overstatement," particularly the mid and upper mid lucidity and complexity, and thanks to stumbling on this interesting thread the other day, I began to do some experimenting.
To get close to my usual balance using ECC189s as Torii inputs..... a balance that sounds pretty magically good across recordings, these particular 6SN7 had to be notched back quite a bit.
The 6SN7s replacing ECC189s for Torii inputs, to clarify, I started with the outputs of the CSP3. I went from warm and powerful early 60s parasol getter Mullard E88CCs, to a quite neutral and clear early 60s Siemens E88CCs. Then, in the Torii, warmish 40s Sylvania OB3 power tube filtering VRs were changed to a less powerful, more open 40s Hytron OC3. And the input filtering VR, I went from a 75C1 (warmer more textured OC2 equivalent) to a cleaner, lower power RCA OB2. With these changes my sound is in some ways a little warmer, and perhaps a little more clarified in the upper mids, but it is close to the space, clarity, and signal intensity I have come to love.
I do like this tube combination, complex, rich and sweet. Though, still more in the first impressions stage, this particular tube set seems to have a good balance that more subtly utilizes all the complex qualities of the 6SN7. Less forceful, it really sounds good bottom to top on a number of recordings that I have tried.
I also liked them in the output of the CSP3, but still with the toned down Torii VRs. Putting back in the ECC189 Bugle Boys as the Torii inputs, and still using an OC3, and OB2, I replaced the Siemens E88CC in the output position of the CSP3 with the 6SN7s.
I need more days of play, but with initial impressions, the CSP3 output is probably my fav for this particular 6SN7. I suspect it is the OTL nature of this design, but the output of the CSP3 is the easiest place in my systems to utilize warmer and more powerful tubes. There, the 6SN7s are revealing, rich, complex and extended, utilizing their warmish and expressive nature, while enhancing their special lucidity and dynamics.
I can't say exactly how this might translate since it has been over four years of steady experiments since my CSP3 and Torii were fully stock. But I think they mainly do what the stock amps did more completely.
One note: compared to these particular Mullard E88CCs, and the Siemens in the CSP output, and to the ECC189s in the Torii, though quite lively upper mids, this 6SN7 seems just a little rolled off. I think most of the information is there, just slightly recessed on top. This reminds me of the American Amperex 7308s I have.... I like the 7308's nice bass, space and definition throughout, and good upper mid textures, but they have enough roll off to make me feel like I am reaching for something that is not quite there. I suspect this is part of why so many people like them, giving a slightly warm, lively feel in most of the presentation, and presumably the roll off reduces top edge for folks who need that. But for me, in this system, it is an impediment to the sound I need. With this 6SN7, though I feel like it is a little rolled off here, so far I am not reaching for something that is not there. Seems this tube is really beginning to grow on me!
Finally, for those who have explored a lot of these tubes, I would love advice on others of the type you think might help me even better find the magic based on these observations with the Sylvania 6SN7GTB "Chrome Top." Any tips?
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