Would be helpful if you could identify the tubes you are currently using, and I will be more than happy to suggest a better tube. I have rolled them all in the BHC with Speedball, and can give some sound advice, once we figure out what you are currently rolling. That chart above is a good reference, but it does not cover them all. The power tubes listed by @krack are good recs, and any of them would be a good place to start, and then the driver is where you fine tune. I also suggest the Bendix 6080WB graphite plate for a the power tube, if you really want to wake things up and get some dynamic punch and amazing air and seperation.
This is my #1 recommended driver tube, if you are looking for the ultimate transparency.
Thank you both for joining in the conversation. I appreciate your experience!
I only have the stock tubes right now, so I am a total beginner.
I’m also a bit cheap, so I think that the tubes that you’ve mentioned are a bit pricey for me. I’m probably looking to spend around $40-$70 for power tubes. Though if I’m being naive, I’m open to hearing that.
Nah $70 or so is honestly a good limit for a 6080 power tube. In fact just the other day I bought a Tung Sol 6AS7G at $60 that popped up on ebay.
You can ask some tube dealers for tubes around that price and/or wait around on the used market to buy a tube. I’ve bought tubes both ways with no issues.
No prob. The Sylvania 5814a I mentioned above, will definitely take care of your issue, and can be found for around $35. The Bendix power tube is hard to find under $100 a piece, but is in another league and cost that much for a reason. Tung Sol or Chatham 6080 is a great affordable power tube, that can be found for around $40-$50.
I don’t have any experience with this ebay seller, but here is a very affordable example of the Sylvania 5814a that I highly recommend, if you are looking for more clarity.
Thanks so much for all of your help @krack and @Wes_S !
In a unexpected turn of events I received a really good offer both to sell my crack and buy a ZMF pendant.
Although I won’t be acting on your fantastic advice, I really felt you sent me on the right direction to learn more about tubes for the crack. I actually felt confident enough to buy some tubes I was really excited about and messaging someone about acquiring those tubes when the offer came in.
I do, however, believe that you recommendations above will be useful to future browsers of this topic, so again, thank you!
I’ll be really interested in how you (@QuasiSpecies) like the Pendant vs the Crack. I’m thinking about selling my Crack and getting the new ampsandsound Rockwell and your experience will be fun to follow.
So it’s really early days with me and the pendant and I am comparing it to the Crack with the stock tubes.
I was having trouble with the Crack with my Verite Closed with the Crack as well. I found that mids, especially vocals, were veiled on the VCs with the Crack and this was really disappointing. I was ‘forced’ to listen to the VCs on a solid state amp where I didn’t have this veil, so it was the pairing with the Crack not the inherent sound of the VCs.
It’s probably better to compare my experience of the Crack using the Auteur and Eikons which I found to be a really great pairing!
In comparison to the Crack under the enjoyable pairing with the Auteur and Eikon, the Pendant has been simply astounding. The Pendant is much faster and clearer than the Crack, it is dead silent on the high and low taps compared to the observable noise floor (though low) in the crack, and has tremendous effect on the soundstage and instrument seperation.
The instrument separation is what is blowing my mind right now. The Crack makes instruments sound more ‘alive’ than a solid state amp for me (especially cymbals and high hats), but they are less resolvable than a solid state amp. However, for the VCs on a solid state amp I found that instruments to be almost too separated. It almost feels as if each instrument or component of song was recorded separately and the sound was coming from different very distinct regions around my head. With the Pendant each component remains distinct and ‘observable’, but it somehow fills the space in between them with something. I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve heard the term holographic used and that is part of it. I still haven’t developed a ‘voice’ for describing audio eloquently and I don’t have a ton of experience with the Pendant pairing yet, but I can tell you that this is the pinnacle of my audio journey so far.
If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am. As I said, I’m not that experienced and I’ve only listened to the Crack and Pendant for tube amps, so caveats are bountiful; take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Hey Wes, I tried out that Sylvania 5814 based on your recommendation and I’m really liking it. Do you have a recommendation for an upgrade over the RCA 6080? See my photo below because I’m not 100% sure if that’s what it is. It came with the Crack.
So far I’ve also tried the Tungsol 7236 (found it made the upper mids overly forward, which I wasn’t into) and the RCA 6AS7G (was OK but I wasn’t impressed with the low end performance).
Try Tung Sol 6080WB graphite plates.they are the bees knees. I might have an extra if interested. Not sure entirely as most of my 6080 and variants are pairs.
The Bendix 6080 WB Graphite Plates are the best hands down, but are rare and expensive. Also, the 6080 graphite plates can be labeled as Chatham, and they go for a bit less.
Here is a Chatham Graphite Plate 6080 WB from a great tube seller.
Another affordable 6080 I recommend is the Tung Sol 6080, and they can also be labeled as a Chatham 6080, but they are the same tube. I don’t see any of these available at the moment.
Here is a pic to help identify.
Also, you might look for some Tung Sol / Chatham 6A7SG or Tung Sol 5998. These tubes open up the stage a bit, but don’t have as strong of bass. I prefer the tubes listed above myself, but I know many love the 5998.
Hope that helps a bit, and sorry for the late reply.
I’ll start off keeping an eye out for the Tungsol 6080WB and Chatham 6080. Do most 6080’s tend to sound similar?
I forgot to mention above that I’m using the HD600 primarily, and the one thing I want to avoid in a tube is any added treble peaks or extra forwardness. If those change your recommendations any, let me know.
Lol that thing sold already. It’s no issue though; I can wait a while to find a deal since the RCA 6080 is still pretty good.
At the moment it’s the Topping D50S. Generally the HD600’s treble is fine for me on solid state or tube. I just don’t want a tube that’s relatively treble forward.
I do also have a Chord Mojo which I sometime use a DAC. I’ll try it out later to see how it is with the Crack+HD600
Those tubes I mentioned will still work well with the HD600, and don’t have any sharp treble at all. I am treble sensitive and can’t stand sharp or peaky treble, so you won’t get any bright tubes recommended from me. For reference the RCA is the warmest of all the 6080’s, but none of them are going to cause treble spikes. The input or driver tube is actually a better place to tune the treble and you can really dial it in there. I wouldn’t worry about changing DAC’s myself, as the tubes are much easier and cheaper to fine tune with, and that’s one of the major benefits of good tube amp.
If you’ve been on the fence about getting a kit, now would be an excellent time to purchase. Doc B just posted that they are having a pretty big sale off the base kit and speedball: Login
Starting this Sunday, August 15th the Crack headphone amp kit for high impedance headphones will be on sale for $299 ($50 off the regular price) and the Speedball upgrade kit will be on sale for $99 ($16 off the regular price).
I do not need another amp I have an sw51+ on the way I do not need another amp I do not need another amp if I say it enough times I’ll believe it right
