[chgolatin2]

Haven't posted in a while so here it goes~  Oh and by the way, happy holidays to all!  I have the Cary Audio SLI 80 tube amp, the amp came with Electro Harmonix Tubes directly from the manufacturer.  I love this amp, LOVE IT!  However, I want to start experimenting with tube rolling, swapping etc.  This vinue is not going to be cheap, well in fact what is cheap when it comes to tube audio listening, right? lol~ 

Not sure what kind of quality the Electro Harmonix tubes are but I like my music to be more balance  and not overly bright sounding.  Balance, neutral with good bass is my preferred taste, too bright hurts my ears.  A local tube audiophile guy recommended for me to consider changing the 6922 and 6SN7 tubes first to the Holland made Gold Pin and the 6SN7 to the RCA short bottle (6SN7GTB).  I don't consider myself an audio snob (audiophile) etc but I do enjoy good sounding music.  I don't do solid state so Tube audio is where my heart lies~  Recommendations on tubes to consider?  The specs to my integrated tube amp is below~ Thanks in advance~

Circuit Type   Push-Pull Ultra-Linear Pure Class AB-1
Power Output   40 Watts – Triode
80 Watts – Ultra-Linear
Input Sensitivity   .45 Volt for full output
Noise and Hum   -82 dB below full output
Frequency Response   19 Hz to 23 KHz +/- .5 dB
Inputs   CD, AUX1, AUX2, Headphone jack
Tubes   2 ea – 6922 Input Buffer Preamp
2 ea – 6SN7 Pre Driver/Phase Inverter
4 ea – KT88 Output Tubes
2 ea – 5U4 Rectifiers
Speaker Posts   5 way, gold-plated
Tube Sockets   Ceramic w/ silver pins
Power Transformer   1 ea. – EI Laminate, Silicon Impregnated
Output Transformer(s)   2 ea. – EI Laminate, Silicon Impregnated
Resistors   1% Metal Film
Capacitors   Polypropylene Film with hand soldered copper terminals (optional upgrades available)
Power Supply Capacitors   2 ea – 1200µF @ 450 VDC
6 ea – 10µF @ 400 VDC Film & Foil
AC Cord   3 Conductor Shielded, Detachable
AC Power Requirements   117/234 VAC @ 50/60 Hz
Consumption   166 watts – Operation
Warm-Up Time   3 Minutes
Break-In Time   100 hours of playing time
Finish   Black powder coated matte chassis with silver or black aluminum faceplate
Weight   42 lbs
Dimensions   7″ H x 17″ W x 16″ D

[JakeJ]

I'll throw out my non-bank breaking tube recs-

KT88 - I like the Genelex best, a quad of cryo'd tubes will set you back about $230
6922 - My latest were also from Cryoset and were a matched quad of gold pin JJ's super cryo'd and those are $100
6SN7 - I have no experience with new production 6SN7's and have had some luck scoring the old productiion tubes.  If you can find some Sylvania chrome-domes for cheap >$30 ea. then grab 'em.  If you shop carefully there are deals to be had.  Don't be afraid of eBay ads that sell used pulled tubes.  As long as they are a reputable seller and are testing the tubes with results you can get some fine tubes!

Good Luck!
Jake

[FullRangeMan]

For the 6DJ8/6922 position I would suggest the Russian 6N1P-EB Reflector or the warmer 6N2P-EB for more gain=70/80.
http://www.gstube.com/catalog/?key=6n2p&submit=Find

6922 are a tube plenty of options:
6N1P  6N2P  6922  6H30  6DJ8  7DJ8  7308  ECC88  E88CC  E288CC  6N1  6H23  Siemens 8223  GA7  CV5358

Some Notes:
6N1P have the warmest tone,
6N2P more dinamic than 6N1P,
6922 have the best dynamics,
6DJ8 have the most air and micro-detail with a touch less bass.
7DJ8 again, a powerful tool for voicing your amplifier to your particular tastes.

[chgolatin2]

For the 6DJ8/6922 position I would suggest the Russian 6N1P-EB Reflector or the warmer 6N2P-EB for more gain=70/80.
http://www.gstube.com/catalog/?key=6n2p&submit=Find

6922 are a tube plenty of options:
6N1P  6N2P  6922  6H30  6DJ8  7DJ8  7308  ECC88  E88CC  E288CC  6N1  6H23  Siemens 8223  GA7  CV5358

Some Notes:
6N1P have the warmest tone,
6N2P more dinamic than 6N1P,
6922 have the best dynamics,
6DJ8 have the most air and micro-detail with a touch less bass.
7DJ8 again, a powerful tool for voicing your amplifier to your particular tastes.

Thank you and thanks for the web link~

[pehare]

I had a couple of sli-80's years ago including the f-1....great amp especially in triode mode!   my best luck with rolling was with kevin deal at upscale....he knows these amps inside.   I have used all the other great sources too & stand behind my recommendation of upscale...enjoy

[richidoo]

Great amp! 

ElectroHarmonix is one of the lower priced brands of American tube manufacturer New Sensor in Russia. EH and Sovtek intended for musical instruments, etc. Their best brand, intended for hifi, is Gold Lion which makes a fantastic KT88 tube. TungSol 6550 also good. Shuguang Black Treasure KT88 is another great tube. Shuguang Black Treasure also makes one of the best 6SN7 equivalents, called CV-181.

I used vintage 1960s RCA 6SN7s and 1970s Matsushita 6922 (great!) input tubes along with 1970s Sylvania rectifier tubes, and stock SED 6550C power tubes which aren't available anymore. It was a great sound.

The interstage coupling caps are another good target for upgrading too, I'd do it before investing in nice tubes, so you can hear what's happening more clearly and not get fooled by caps. Caps affect the sound as much as tubes, and 10 years ago the non-upgraded Cary amps had OK caps, but nothing special. But it's not the Dennis Had days at Cary anymore, so it's worth having a quick peak to make sure it's not crap. The F1 version had upgraded caps, and the cap option was always available from factory. I think the factory cap upgrade option was Jensen paper in oil, and even better would be the Jupiter caps.

[belle harbor]

Before you go down the road of rolling capacitors read this excellent article by Rod Elliott:

http://sound.whsites.net/articles/capacitors.htm

It's very technical so, at the very least, read the intro and conclusion.  I completely agree with him and I am not aware of anyone ever proving him wrong.  A whole industry has sprung up around the use of exotic dielectric materials (like beeswax) in caps and it is really ridiculous when one considers the purpose of the dielectric.

And, PLEASE, don't get caught up in rolling rectifier tubes!  The only way they can alter the sound of an amp is if they provide a radically different output voltage from the factory requirement.  That can alter the operating points of the tubes enough that slight differences in sound could be noted.

The same goes for claims that the shape and location of the getter, or the color of the heat dissipation coating on the plate (gray vs. black), has a significant effect on the sound  If you research the purpose of the getter and heat dissipation coating you will also see why that is not going to matter.

[chgolatin2]

Before you go down the road of rolling capacitors read this excellent article by Rod Elliott:

http://sound.whsites.net/articles/capacitors.htm

It's very technical so, at the very least, read the intro and conclusion.  I completely agree with him and I am not aware of anyone ever proving him wrong.  A whole industry has sprung up around the use of exotic dielectric materials (like beeswax) in caps and it is really ridiculous when one considers the purpose of the dielectric.

And, PLEASE, don't get caught up in rolling rectifier tubes!  The only way they can alter the sound of an amp is if they provide a radically different output voltage from the factory requirement.  That can alter the operating points of the tubes enough that slight differences in sound could be noted.

The same goes for claims that the shape and location of the getter, or the color of the heat dissipation coating on the plate (gray vs. black), has a significant effect on the sound  If you research the purpose of the getter and heat dissipation coating you will also see why that is not going to matter.

 There's a lot of snake oil claims around especially in the audio industry, however, I have a Jolida FX10 which was modified by Rich Singerman out of California and I didn't pay much for the mods that Rich performed but let me tell you that whatever he did worked well.  My FX10 is my dedicated tube integrated amp audio source in my bedroom and I enjoy it very well.  Many manufacturers use inferior materials in order to maximize their profits, so upgrading a few parts here and there works very well.  For example, I upgraded the crossovers on a pair of speakers that I have and again, sound improved quite substantially~ Now don't get me wrong I don't like to spend my money unwisely, so when I hear about these mod companies charging hundreds and sometimes thousands for upgrade I become very leery.  However, marketing exist for a reason and many people buy into it~ 

[FullRangeMan]

I do not want sound boring but the constant exchange of tubes will loose the pins socket, so the rule: Dont fix what Is not broken.

So dont change caps if they are new or running OK, same for tubes.
If money is abundant buy spare valves or music.

[rollo]

My advice would be to try different 6SN7 tubes first. NOS Tungsol round plates [ Vintage Tube service] Then 6922. If you want to go crazy then NOS 7308 Amperex from Upscale audio. have fun trying.


charles