Yeah, I kind though after I turned the the amp on and the tube was only slightly warm. And considering is a Class A amp which uses the whole unit as a heatsink, I don’t even know if it’s not warm because of the fets’ heat.
@M0N and @ShaneD I basically saw this used for like $45 shipped (amp + extra tube) in AVExchange and though “why not give it a try?” But I will note what you said of a warmer SS amp.
I might post some impressions of the amp in another thread here in the forum. I also have some photos of it, and I might just test some parts of the pcb just to make sure everything is working properly.
@Marzipan, my tube amps get extremely hot and To add to that heat source i have a class A amp In the mix that also generates mucho heat. Just for shits and grins this past winter on a particularly cold day i turned all 3 units on and left them running for a few hours to see what was going on, whew, the room got so hot it was honestly uncomfortable. It’s a fairly small room so the heat generated gets trapped and makes a difference.
There are hybrid designs that run the tubes at low voltages, they still get warm (they have heaters), but not as hot.
The starving student https://diyaudiostore.com/products/starving-student-ii does this and is considered quite good, but decent valve selection is very limited for those sorts of designs.
My speaker system has 2 130W Class A Valve monoblocks in it, they generate enough heat to heat any room they happen to be in.
2 Likes
For the Vali 2, I hands down recc a 6CG7…any 6CG7 really. Between my father, brother, and I we all preferred the tonal characteristics with that amp. The best part is that any 6CG7/6FQ7 sounded great, and we rolled like 20+. I doubt that the amp uses the grounding pin/plate in a CG7 since we couldn’t really tell a difference so save some bucks and try a FQ7 if you can. Better than all new and NOS 6DJ8 variant I tried in it. 6SN7 is ok, but the CG is my go to. Happy to answer questions etc.
1 Like
thank you Mt! I emailed audiotube.com last night to see what they thought and this is what they recommended.
6DJ8 Amperex Bugle Boy 1960s Holland $49.00 each
6DJ8 Amperex “selected tube” medical grade aftermarket selected $80.00 each
6922 Amperex PQ premium quality logo, 1960s gold pin, $115.00 each
7308 Mullard UK made telecommunications grade early 1970s military stock gold pin, $175.00 each
can anyone advice what a good socket saver would be for my Vali 2? that way I don’t wear it out if I do start rolling tubes?
1 Like
3 Likes
Lol starving student. Tube amp is good for a starving student. they can warm themselves by the tube.
1 Like
well, if I can ensure I won’t accidentally kick it, I’ll probably put my better tube amp (thinking Crack w/Sb) under my desk to warm my toesies in the winter!
2 Likes
So the Amperex Bugle Boy that my father had, NOS, was great sounding, I think the harmonics in tubes affects the soundstage, because the big thing with it was that it had more forward projection and the 45 angle was close and then far again beyond that on both sides. Almost like a triangle with a narrow point in front etc. Good tonality as well-natural etc.
edit: i use the same socket saver that M0N linked. no issues.
2 Likes
any brands for the 6CG7 / 6FQ7 to consider? the stuff coming up on Amazon.ca are expensive. two Westinghouse vintage for $210 and then another for a mix of 6 vintage for $300.
edit - heh. on VivaTube, they have them for as low as $5 and are calling them ‘vintage’ as well.
also, how good / bad is this socket saver?
are there any tricks to ensuring you don’t pull out the tube with the socket saver when trying to swap?
might as well ask how good / bad Genalex and Electro-Harmony are as well. EH have 6DJ8 tubes coming up for about $35 CAD whlie Genalex are closer to $80.
edit - heh, TubeDepot has the EH for $18 USD…and give me two more brands. how good are GE and RCA tubes? also I see one listing saying it’s a pre-amp tube. that just muddies the water for me. is a 6DJ8 a 6DJ8 a 6DJ8 or are there amp / pre-amp variants I need to watch for too?
Try to get the black one M0N linked as that one clears the top of the Vali 2 chassis. I can not confirm compatibility with the one you linked. Also with 6CG7/6FQ7 they are all good, like I prefer US tubes or Japanese tubes, but I know European is highly sought after. Like RCA, Sylvania, Matsushita, basically anything that isnt late jan-philips etc. Literally any of them sounded good, but its that wow how rare is this one factor etc. They are a miniaturized 6SN7.
On the other tubes mentioned I believe they are both made in Russia, even if they are clones etc. The genlex one is really good, 6DJ8, and I tried a east European JJ. the Genlex had a flatter response and more etched out highs. The JJ was kinda what I expected a tube to sound, warm, thick, but the highs were not very resolving and it didn’t sound like it extended well on either end. I called it the treble tamer LOL.
As far as tube sellers, they seem to be considerably cheaper than what you are listing for 6CG7 so maybe look around to find some good deals. Always remember that if you dont see a center plate its an FQ7 which is not quite as good supposedly… gotta keep em seperated 
1 Like
thanks again, Mt! for clarification…do I have to worry about any of these if one is listed with ‘pre-amp’ in the description?
where are JJ tubes from? I want warm / thick sound…soundstage too and then imaging if I’m not asking for too much, LoL.
I believe all the current production Russian tubes including the JJ’s are made in the same plant, the old Reflektor plant.
1 Like
no doubt I will have more questions…but I have this JJ tube come up when I did a search for 6DJ8, but the listing only refers to 6922 / E88CC. how do those translate to 6DJ8?
Do 6922 / E88CC / ECC88 translate into referring to 6CG7 / 6FQ7 products too?
this listing also says it was made at a Tesla factory. does JJ always mean Tesla?
Well no, its a preamp tube so that perfectly fine. JJ is from like Slovakia. I dont think the 6DJ8s provide a big soundstage compared to 6SN7/6CG7 etc. They are expensive, but in my own tube rolling, a SN7 is prob. the most ideal(for exactly what you want) so you will have to get an adapter as well. Its very hit and miss though so you have to be able to try may. I would say for consistency go with a CG7 and something like the JJ DJ8. I think the JJ will be warmer, but it wont be as clear or as open as the CG7. Again in my experince, and of these the SN7 is most inconsistent in sound, then DJ8, then CG7.
JJ was tesla, their new name is JJ after the eastern bloc fell.
1 Like
I thought they were owned by the same conglomerate that owns all the old Russian Valve companies like Tesla, Sovtek and Silvana. But I could certainly be wrong about that.
Sylvania was american if I’m not mistaken…
okay. so then, how do these numbers,6922 / E88CC / ECC88, relate to CG7 and such?
I have dyscalculia, essentially dyslexia but for numbers, so when I see too many numbers, my eyes cross. I have dyslexia as well, so it makes for fun times on occassion.
Yep your right, thinking of Svetlana I think
1 Like