Tubes for BAT
 

I was wondering if anyone with a BAT cdp or pre amp has swapped out the 6h30 tubes with the 6n6p tube.

I am reading mixed opinions on this one.

Lukasz Fiskus, who is the designer/builder behind Lampizator, modded many VK-D5's over the last decade. He seems to like the 6H6/6N6 tube. He posted, the biggest and quickest improvement is over 6H30P - the tube popularized by BAT and its creator mr. Khomenko. He raves that 6H30 is a supertube, but in my opinion it is very coarse, hard and glassy by comparison. I hate 6H30 in circuits which I tried, including my own BAT VK-D5SE cd player. Anyone having BAT gear should immediately give 6H6P a try without any other circuit mods. You will be surprised."


but then i read the 6n6p is not a direct drop in replacement for the 6h30.
plate resistance of 6H6P is more than twice higher which means that output impedance of player will go up

now with the price of the 6h30 supertubes going through the roof, i am wondering if anyone here has swapped them out with 6n6p

The 6H30 doesn't sound glassy in cj gear. Don't think ARC would be using it either if it sounded glassy. Perhaps there's an issue somewhere else?

My standard issue 6H30 tubes sound wonderful in my BAT CDP. Have not tried others. Just my two cents, but I would not drop in tubes the circuit was not designed to take.

thanks for the feedback guys

chessman, you say standard issue 6H30's, so i gather they are just the run of the mill EH or sovtek ones and not the DR that come standard in the BAT VK-D5SE

I did not know that the DRs came standard in the VK-D5SE. I will have to check mine. They sure do sound magnificent, whatever they are. :)

I have the VK55SE with a VKD5SE and love the sound. I would not switch tubes.

Steve

VK-52se
 

I have a VK-52se and the sound is anything but "glassy and hard." Soulful, liquid and dynamic is more like it.

Actually have done this tube swap at the time of ownership (have owned many BAT).

Liked the 6N6P conversion very much, just more musical then 6H30.
There were not any issues, and the new owner of VKD5se reported no problems.
i would however pick best tubes out of larger batch.

6N6P is still cheap, so buy a dozen and have them matched/sorted..

thanks for the info guys

will try them both and see which i prefer

well have had the BAT VK-D5SE in the system for a week now, just getting use to its sound.

I came across this one second hand, and the price was just too good to pass up.
I hadnt had a cd player in the system for a while as moved to vinyl only, but over time, found more and more albums i wanted couldnt be had on vinyl.

So dropped a couple of hints to the wife and sure enough, this baby was under the xmas tree :)

Now my last cdp was the esoteric X03-SE.
these are 2 completely different beast in their sound presentation.

Now the BAThe outright dynamics or detail of the esoteric, but its got a smoothness to its sound that is very pleasing to the ear.

Some pics of it

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JohnA, I am betting it really grows on you. I had other CDPs that sounded clinically better in a particular category, but for long term and enjoyable MUSICAL listening, I found the VK-D5SE to the best for me. Congrats!!

Thanks mate
Yea, as the tubes in it are brand new, i want to give it some hours before going into great detail on how it sounds.
In the week and a bit, the sound has changed a little so no doubt will continue to do so as i get the hours up on these tubes.

I have ordered some 6h30DR's for it, as locally could only find EH 6H30pi gold pins.

Where did you find the 6H30DR? We're they reasonably priced or astronomical?
Thanks

I tried 6N6P in a VK-32SE, and liked them! Even as a mix of 2 x 6N30H & 2 x 6N6P worked great.

Arne K

This might not be a good idea. I presume you put a mix in the same channel. The way the tubes are configured, it will mean very different currents for the two tubes in the diff stage - not a desirable thing, plus there will be much more stress on the plate loading resistors working with the 6H30 tube, perhaps even over-stressing them.

Just putting in the 6H6 tubes is fairly safe, but the electrical performance will suffer, and the tubes will most likely run with positive grids - not something recommended.

Of course - the proof is in the sound, and if you like it - that is probably all that matters! :)

On a similar note, I heard the earlier 6C33 power tubes are of higher quality than the latter versions. Has anyone heard the same? If so, how can I tell which is which?

Swap 6N6P in Audio Research Preamp
 

Has anyone tried a 6h30 swap with a 6N6P on a Audio Research LS17 SE or other recent ARC Preamp ? If yes is this a "as is" swap or will it need some kind of mod? And how was it?

I have many pairs of the so called super tubes from late 70's, 80's and 90's all give me an overhaul different stage presentation. I suggest finding a reputable tube re-seller that will allow you to try different vintages to find what works best for you.
Best of Luck,
John