[trebejo]

Browsing about for info on 6cg7 tubes, what do I find...

https://www.tubeworld.com/6fq7.htm

In the middle of that loooooong page, you will find a list of sample items that use this tube. Stax, Marantz, CJ, AR, two or three others and... AVA.

Now there's street cred!

[Listens2tubes]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6CG7 / 6FQ7 RCA clear top
(RCA made the best sounding 6FQ7 and 6CG7)

- Stax SRM-T1S, SRM 007T, SRA-35
- Stax SRM-006tII
- Marantz 8B
- Marantz 2
- ARC D79, D79A
- Moscode 401HR amp
- Conrad Johnson Premier 8A Monoblocks
- Conrad Johnson PV-9A preamp
- Conrad Johnson Premier 11A
- Art Audio Vinyl 1 phono stage regulator tube
- Gill Audio Elise DAC
- AVA T8+ preamp and I like the Valvo E188CC's better

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I have tried many of the 6CG7 brands and I am amazed at how different they sound.

My current collection consists of-

2 pairs RCA Clear tops
2 pairs of Mazda/Brimars
3 pair of Amprex
1 Pair of Tong Sol's
1 pair of Sylvania 1960's
1 pair of EH's

All these tubes have their strengths and weaknesses.  Right now I am running the Tung Sol's in my Preamp and Amprex in the DAC.  This gives a very warm sound with crisp treble and strong bass, at the expense of some bloom.

And I have one pair of RCA Black black plates coming in the mail.
I would like to try and find a pair of 1950's Raytheon Black Plates.

I'm also curious about the 6DJ7's and 6922's.  Does anyone know if they are compatible with the AVA Hybrid preamp and DAC's?  I've got a bead on some 1950's and 60's amprex as well as some seimens.

[MarkM]

Frank and company have been getting some good press lately and deservedly so!   

I have only tried two types of 6CG7, Mazda and EH in my Ultra Preamp.  Mazda easily, not even close in my setup.  Have been curious to try the RCA's, but want/need to make some adapters to try my Treasure CV181-Z first, killer 6SN7/6CG7 equivalent and sound wonderful in the phase splitter position of my tube amp. 

Any 9 pin to octal bases out there? 

[trackball02]

I. Greyhound,
Which preamp do you have? I have an Avastar. Do you have any tube preferences? Or, should I just leave in the stock tubes. I have never opened the cover to even look inside. I assume that swapping is not every hard.
Jay

[Brett Buck]

Frank and company have been getting some good press lately and deservedly so!   

I have only tried two types of 6CG7, Mazda and EH in my Ultra Preamp.  Mazda easily, not even close in my setup.  Have been curious to try the RCA's, but want/need to make some adapters to try my Treasure CV181-Z first, killer 6SN7/6CG7 equivalent and sound wonderful in the phase splitter position of my tube amp. 

Any 9 pin to octal bases out there?

      Probably but they are easy to make. I use a Loctal to 9-pin to run a 1LA6 in place of a 1L6 in my old shortwave radio, and it works with minimal alignment shift. It took me about half an hour to make once I found the Loctal socket. I would start with the 7199 to 6g8a converter from triode, etc, because the part that requires the most fabrication is the male plug. I made mine from some old blank circuit board and music wire for the pins.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I. Greyhound,
Which preamp do you have? I have an Avastar. Do you have any tube preferences? Or, should I just leave in the stock tubes. I have never opened the cover to even look inside. I assume that swapping is not every hard.
Jay

I have the Ultra with mosfet upgrades.  My other gear is an Ultra DAC, Parasound Halo A21 SS amp and 1.6 QR speakers.  For me the Electro-harmonix tubes were way too bright sounding.  I prefer the RCA clear tops, Amperex which are warmer sounding especially when paired with my Tung Sols in my DAC.  I just received a pair of NOS RCA Black Plates in the mail today and they are smoother sounding than the RCA Clear tops, and they may be my favorite tubes so far.  They pair well with any of the other tubes that I have tried with them so far.  Right now I have them paired with the Clear tops in my DAC. 

Martyo, if your are reading this you may want to give the RCA black plates a try.  They are the most natural sounding tube I have found and they play well with the Mazda's, Amperex and Clear tops.

My advice about tube rolling is that if you are happy with your sound then leave well enough alone (You can drive yourself crazy trying to find audio nirvana like me).  But if you are curious or there is something that you don't like about your sound then give it a try.  Just remember that some tubes dont mix well with different systems and may be a bust as far as sound goes.  The Electro-Harmonix are one such tube in my system.  They sound great with Franks gear and the Salk HTR speakers but are awful in mine.

I hope that helps some,

Larry