[kingdeezie]

I currently have a Dodd Phono preamplifier, which I am trying not to sell to keep my marriage in tact. 

Through all of the upgrades and additions this year, my wife is ready to bury me in a ditch somewhere.

Currently though, I am not very happy with the sound of my vinyl. Without getting too descriptive, it has a dryness in the upper end to it, and sometimes the bass sounds bloated.

I have been through cartridge alignment over and over again. I have a Mint Protractor that I have used to dial it in better. I have been through VTA over and over.

My cartridge, a Dynavector 20XH, is only 13 months old with much less then a thousand hours on it, so I am sure its not that the cart needs retipping unless it has gotten damaged without me knowing it. 

I am using the stock JJs 6922s that Gary sent me with the unit.

On audiogon people always suggest the Amperex Orange labels, which would be okay, but the phono preamp has 4 tubes.

That's 600 dollars in tubes, and while I have spent more on power cables and interconnects, nothing seems to be more of a gamble then buying 50 year old tubes with potentially no improvement.

Any suggestions for 6922 or variants that won't make a possible failure super painful? 

[bunnyma357]

I prefer the sound of the NOS Russian Voskhod 6n23p tubes in my Onix SP3 integrated, and they are pretty cheap on eBay, you might give them a try.

Here is the list of the 6922 tubes I tried in the order of preference with my current tube configuration. My preferences were a little different when running different tubes in the other slots, so I'm sure some of it is synergy.

1) Voskhod 6n23p
2) Amperex Holland 6DJ8 A-Frame
3) Tesla E88CC
4) Amperex Holland PQ 6922
5) Reflektor 6n23p-ev
6) Amperex USA PQ 6922
7) Melody 6922

Since price and performance didn't correlate at all for me, you might start with some cheaper tubes to experiment.

Jim C

[JoshK]

If it were me, I'd try rolling just the first two tubes and see how that goes.  If it gets you part of the way, then replacing the later two could be done with less risk.  To be clear, I mean the first two tubes from the perspective of the circuit.  You'll have to ask Gary which those are unless they are marked.  (not familiar with his phono)

The first two tubes in a phono amp I believe to be the most critical since they deal with the lowest level signal and drive the RIAA eq. 

If rolling two tubes doesn't get you where you want, you can use those two tubes in the second position instead.  Basically, two is a cheaper experiment than four.

I've heard good things about the Voshkod 6n23p's.  Also some of the others listed below.  The Voshkods aren't expensive, so it'd be a cheap experiment.

One other thing.  What table do you have?  Have you looked into the footers you are using?   Is the suspension properly tuned if it is a suspended table?  Is the table perfectly level? Lots of variables with vinyl.

[kingdeezie]

I have a Gyrodec SE which is a suspended table.

I know the table is level for sure.

I can't say if the suspension is completely nailed down perfectly; I have fooled with it. This was my first real table.

I guess I'll check out the Voshkod tubes for a start.

[JoshK]

Try the Voshkods and read up on tuning the suspension for your table.  That could do it too.

[bunnyma357]

Here's a few sources for the Voskhod's (sometimes called rocket logo) - usually you can find them cheaper on eBay, but there is a little more risk - (I've used BOIAudioworks, but have no experience with this eBay seller).

http://www.boiaudioworks.com/6N23P

http://cgi.ebay.com/E88CC-6DJ8-6N23P-Russian-Tubes-4-pcs-Voskhod-NOS-/160443041042?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item255b268512#ht_1824wt_1139

Jim C

[Ericus Rex]

I had similar sound issues with a preamp that uses 6DJ8s a while back.  I decided not to break the bank by getting boutique tubes.  I found some JAN Philips (you can also find JAN Sylvanias) 6922s and they sound was incredibly better than the Russian 6DJ8s it came with.  They can be had for around $20.  However, they can be a little microphonic and occasionally noisy.  Since you'd use them in a phono pre I'd suggest you spend more and buy from a dealer who has tested for noise and microphonics.  I can't imagine they'd cost more than $40 or so fully tested.  Would your wife be happier with $160?  I haven't heard the Voskhods, though I do have several other current production Russians and they all have roughly the same weaknesses as the JJs.

[wywires]

Someone earlier suggested 6N23P's and I would agree that they are quite good for around $20-$25 each. You might also consider 7DJ8/PCC88 which is a 7 volt tube and a direct replacement for 6DJ8 variants in 99% of applications. Check with the preamp manufacturer just to be sure. NOS Telefunken PCC88's can be had for about one third the cost of its PCC83 siblings.