Used to buy 1000's of 6sn7 tubes for $0.42 from Sylvania for my father's tv repair business. He ran a small shop in Buffalo, New York. He had 24 bench techs and 16 service trucks on the road. My childhood memories of tubes were cheap and very 😊poor quality.
Just got the Ray 6SN7 Select Tube and it really works well in my LYR3. I'm very impressed. Never swapped any Tubes before. It's definitely an improvement over the Tube Schiit includes with it. Snappier Snare Drum and more impactful drums in general. Little more Growl in the guitars. I Like it. Makes a $500 Amp sound like a $1K amp now.. Probably be a nice upgrade for the LYR+ also. btw, needed a Socket Saver for the LYR3
I have been thoroughly enjoying the Apos 6SN7 in my TA-26S. I also happen to use the Sovtek 6AS7 as the second tube. I second what you were reporting. I love that the Apos tube is so clean but still bassy and with the life that a tube should bring. The 1940s Frosted RCA I was using is beautiful in that "syrup" sense you mentioned, but for modern music I prefer the Apos. And the Sylvania Coinbase 6SN7GTB are a good all rounder like the Apos, but just not quite as sweet bass through that tube, still excellent mids though.
The secret sauce of Ray tubes is their marketing budget. They are almost certainly OEM Psvane tubes. But they send around tons of review copies, and so they get reviewed, and they don’t sound any worse than any tube matching the datasheet specs of any 6SN7 or 12AU7 tube, and so marketing wins.
No doubt marketing is important, but the fact they're coming from the same factory as another tube brand doesn't make them the same exact tubes if there are different levels of tolerance etc. applied. To my knowledge, Psvane are pretty good tubes so using the same manufacturer makes some sense.
@@PassionforSound All key parameters of a tube labeled 6SN7 are strictly specified in the datasheet of that tube. In this case, tubedata.wernull.com/sheets/137/6/6SN7GTA.pdf Now, tubes are made in factories and what comes out at the end of the assembly line can meet the datasheet numbers or not. Most egregious outliers are discarded. Beyond that, you have a spectrum of units, from perfect match with the specs to acceptable levels of matching. I know it's hard to accept, but all tubes that exactly match the specs will perform the same. So, a more ethical approach to marketing these tubes would have been: 1) We don't make these ourselves, 2) We draw production tubes that are within n% of the datasheet specs, 3) We verify all tubes to ensure they are indeed within n% of datasheet specs. Everything else is BS. In fact, you could buy the same tube from Psvane directly and there would be a significant chance you would get the same quality for half the price. Stating "our goal is to increase the supply of these tubes so that more people can enjoy them" is disingenuous since you don't increase the supply of anything by relabeling OEM products; you just change the label that appears on the product.
Yes we need more new production 6SN7s to choose from. I have a selection of NOS in the Melz 1578 (the good ones), RCA 5692 Red Base and Brimar CV1988 6SN7GTY. They are all superb tubes but the cost is just too high and one day they will all eventually become unobtainium. Psvane, Sophia Electric and Tung Sol (6SN7GTB) are still making new stock but i've only tried the Psvane CV181s. They are very good as well but those NOS (especially the Melz) are quite a bit better. Thanks for the suggestion; it's great to have more options available.
Thanks from Canada🇨🇦 for providing this. Never heard of Apos Ray tubes so kudos to you for making me aware of them. I hope to purchase a Schiit Freya+ soon and I'd like the option of doing some tube rolling without spending a fortune. These just may fit the bill .... the price is certainly reasonable (to me). I'm really looking for a way of maximizing the Freya's mid-range without loosing top/bottom end clarity and of course I want to avoid sibilance. I know this is all very subjective so I know I'll need to roll a few tubes. BTW - this company ships free in the US and Canada - very nice!!!!! Again, thank you!!!
Hi Lachlan, On the strength of this review I impulse purchased this Rays 6sn7 tube. Looking forward to trying it out. Hope it surpasses my nos raytheon current favorite in my schiit Saga og pre 🙏 A review from iiWi said this tube could be bass light vs your bass just fine review. I wish i had seen your reserve Rays video first :) But we will see. It’s fun to try new things. I should probably sell a couple tubes that I don’t use 🙏✨⌚️ My original Saga tube was defective, so didn’t use the tube stage at all for quite some time. The solid state is really clean on the Saga, so any tube roll has to be a net benefit over the ss sound. I don’t like losing resolution, and the nos Raytheon sounds nearly as pristine with just a bit more body to notes and a hint of sweetness. I’ll post back with my Ray Select impressions :)
I'd love to read your impressions once you try it. I'm surprised iiWi suggested it's bass light. I'm guessing it depends on the amp and comparisons. A more detailed and articulate tube like these probably would sound less bassy than a thicker, warmer tube, but I don't believe there's any roll-off of thinness to the bass.
Thanks Lachlan :) Reviews by Wave Theory Which coincidentally reviews the Ray 6SN7 select in a Saga pre like mine gives an opinion impression closer to yours! With headphones too :) ++ Congrats on being an Importer for Rays ✨👍🪄
@@PassionforSound Here’s my Select Impressions with my Schiit Saga og :) 300 hours in: Heard about this Tube on Passion for Sound. Decided to give it a try. This is the fourth tube I’ve tried beyond the stock tube. Also Tungsol, RCA, Raytheon. The Saga has a solid state or tube output option so you can easily a/b these. Saga SS has a mildly dark, detailed, clean, clear, with good imaging, and pretty good soundstage depth and width. I give the Saga SS ~ 8.6 rating. The Rays Select with Saga takes awhile to get to its potential, in my system ~ 300 hours. It just keeps giving more and more. First for frequencies to balance out, then for better definition in the background, then finally for a more cohesive detailed sound overall. The Select has a positive upbeat vibe which is nice and inviting. It has a mild gain in the upper midrange low treble which just brings out those images a bit more forward, and adds a bit of sweetness to the sound. Transients improved over time. The character of sound comes through well, imaging is good, depth is good, if there wasn’t the SS to compare to, it would appear complete. It is an enjoyable listen. I know it’s a good Tube in the Saga if I pick the Tube over SS. Where SS at this point still excels is low level detail, like the body of an upright bass, or a bit more of the harmonics in an instrument or piano, a bit more definition of background instruments in an orchestra. That said the upbeat positive sound of the Select is appealing and inviting. And comes close to the SS technically. Though I didn’t specifically try this I’m guessing this might be voiced nicely for female vocals. I’m currently giving the Rays Select an 8.3 overall. It holds its own with or exceeds the Tungsol and RCA. The Raytheon has less sweetness, it has a more neutral reference sound. The Select I think is good value and has a lot to offer, it adds a bit of organicness to vocals, it seems musical. It’s an enjoyable listen, and made the break in period rewarding! Shipping was faster than expected with the basic option. Thanks 🙏🎶🔊🎧
I don't use any preamps, but the performance will be the same regardless. How a tube performs in one amp/preamp is the same in any other (assuming it's setup to properly drive that tube with the right bias, current, etc.) In other words, you can transfer what I've said here into the Schiit preamps and expect great sound there too.
I just bought two Bad Boys, id love to test them against these. I love NOS cause I want my tube amp to sound like a tube amp and not a class D. Hopefully these are able to do that!
Was looking forward to your impressions of this Lachlan-it sounds like a great tube. I know you said not available in Australia at the moment, so you know if this will change down the track?
So you have come up with the title statement based on a single other 6SN7 from EH ? New production also includes 6SN7 from Linlai, Shuguang, Psvane, Tungsol, Sophia Electric...
Hi! It's me again! How are things going? Could I have a recommendation about headphone amplifiers? I have a Liquid Platinum but I want to ditch it for a true Solid State one. If you could recommend something with a similar sound signature, sound behavior, and if it was a Schiit model, the better (mainly because they seem the company will last forever and won't discontinue a product). Thank you!
I don't know the Liquid Platinum, but the Jot 2 is a great option from Schiit. How would you describe the Liquid Platinum's sound? What characteristics do you specifically want to maintain?
@@lastcall9998 I have not. I read a lot about it before purchasing it and a lot of comparisons to the Jotunheim. I'm very happy with my decision to buy the Jotunheim 2, and I kept my Vali 2+ for a bit more tube warmth.
You are all kidding yourself as far as all these variants of tubes from these same factories go, yes there are differences in sound between tubes, but there is no way that the quality calibrates to the cost of these tubes. Just clear your head and make your own mind up. Yes I know that's a radical idea but just give it a go.
c'mon those are chinese tubes... look like Linlai or, more probable, Psvane... so the question is: the extra-cost is because of?... and... what about reliability? what is the expect life of those tubes?
Almost all tubes these days will be coming from just a couple of factories so yes, they're likely from the same factory as Psvane (based on the look). As I explained in the video, the tubes can all come from the same factory, but the specifications and tolerances are what separates one from the other. It's like Fiat and Ferrari being manufactured somewhat by the same people, but they're built to very different levels.
