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Thanks Lee Glad you're enjoying them so much!!
Hi Lee,I have been following this thread and was wondering, do you have any updates?Thanks,Jake
I'm not sure that cryo is always a good choice for tubes. I find that it often gives a more brittle, solid-state type presentation. It might be OK in a soft/warm circuit, but for something more modern like the VTA ST70 or VTL ST85's, my Siemens 12at7's sounded better without cryo treatment. On the other hand, the SED =C= EL34's are very good with it, so maybe it's a crap shoot. Only one way to find out, I guess...
Thanks, Lee. Hmmm, make me wonder what they would do in a higher budget amp like my VAC PA-160's. Of course there is a slight obstacle in that I need an octet! Tyson - I agree that cryo treatment can and most likely would have varying effects on different tube types, both small signal and outputs. I say Kudos to Lee for having the cojones to try it on his very own set. I hope he "industry friend" pricing so the risk to his wallet is reduced! Anticipation!!Cheers,Jake
I've also heard rumors that the "Black Bottle" tubes are actually just cryo'd versions of their standard tubes, which seems would make another cryo round redundant. The KT77's (of which I have a bunch of the GL re-issues) might go from great to spectacular.
My personal philosophy is that new production tubes and average NOS tubes are good candidates for cryo, while things like Telefunkens, Mullards, Amperex, etc for NOS are probably at a level of quality (and cost!) that really makes cryo'ing them not my first choice.
Quote from: Tyson on 10 Mar 2009, 11:33 pmI've also heard rumors that the "Black Bottle" tubes are actually just cryo'd versions of their standard tubes, which seems would make another cryo round redundant. The KT77's (of which I have a bunch of the GL re-issues) might go from great to spectacular.No the Shuguang Treasure Series have nothing to do with Cryo treatment to tubes. This is confirmed by us in person with Shuguang when we met at China's Audio show in Dec 2008. The Treasure series have used new materials for constructing the tubes along new processes. Many extra steps of matching throughout production. Cryo tubes are not very popular in China - not sure why, but I only see one business offering such services. - Grant Fidelity
Quote from: Tyson on 10 Mar 2009, 11:33 pmI've also heard rumors that the "Black Bottle" tubes are actually just cryo'd versions of their standard tubes, which seems would make another cryo round redundant. The KT77's (of which I have a bunch of the GL re-issues) might go from great to spectacular.I don't think so on the Treasure's, however, Ian would be the one to answer this definitively. How many KT-77 reissues do you have? Want to experiment? Send me some of them and I'll cryo them gratis for you and you can report the results here on AC. We can compare notes as I will be cryo'ing my KT77's soon.Quote from: Tyson on 10 Mar 2009, 11:33 pmMy personal philosophy is that new production tubes and average NOS tubes are good candidates for cryo, while things like Telefunkens, Mullards, Amperex, etc for NOS are probably at a level of quality (and cost!) that really makes cryo'ing them not my first choice.Since I do the cryo myself, eventually everything in my system(s) make it into the chamber...I'm ill! Peace, Lee
I have a dozen GL KT77's, all sitting an a drawer. I have two VTA ST70 amps, so I use a total of 8 output tubes at a time in my system (actively biamped VMPS RM40's), and I try to keep the tubes the same on both amps for consistent transition between mids and highs. Right now I have 8 SED =C= EL34's in my 2 amps, so the KT77's are just sitting idle.BTW, can your amp run other output tubes? The KT77's are pretty good, but I've also run Gold Lion KT88's and those are REALLY something. I've not tried the Gold Lion KT66's, I've got a quad sitting in my drawer, just waiting till I get a little bored of the EL34's.
Hey JakeJ, I need an octet too, so it's a big purchase compared to regular Shuguangs at $10/ea on eBay. But I did receive a discount offer in Grant's email newsletter today. My experiences with el34 tubes are usually very different than most peoples' opinions. I wonder if it is my amps higher than normal plate voltage, 575V What kind of plate volts are your el34 amps? Tyson, Lee, and others?ThanksRich