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#1
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How much will a GTA se-40 improve with mods? What power tubes?
Hi,
I just bought an se-40 used. The sound of the amp is slow and fuzzy. I believe this is due to in part the (old) sovtek 5881 tubes. I am wondering if changing them to 6l6eh, sylvania 6l6gc, modern kt66 or el34 is the way to go. I do not want a warm and fuzzy sound, I want a natural-sounding amp with excellent imaging. Is it worth trying to mod this amp, or should I just sell it and go for triodes instead. It would be nice to have a higher power amp like this ANYWAY, but only if I can make the amp more involving as far as soundstage and transients go. Can any owner who has modded the amp help? Max |
#3
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How much will a GTA se-40 improve with mods? What power tubes?
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#4
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How much will a GTA se-40 improve with mods? What power tubes?
Max,
There are nicer currently produced tube amplifiers that will be a a good match for your speakers. Or you could choose to go with a nice solid state amp as Stewart suggests. I'd sell the amp if you don't like it and move on. Putting more money into anything with limited capabilities like that is not the best move when you can get a more satisfactory product with a warranty. -Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "maxdm" wrote in message ... Hi, I just bought an se-40 used. The sound of the amp is slow and fuzzy. I believe this is due to in part the (old) sovtek 5881 tubes. I am wondering if changing them to 6l6eh, sylvania 6l6gc, modern kt66 or el34 is the way to go. I do not want a warm and fuzzy sound, I want a natural-sounding amp with excellent imaging. Is it worth trying to mod this amp, or should I just sell it and go for triodes instead. It would be nice to have a higher power amp like this ANYWAY, but only if I can make the amp more involving as far as soundstage and transients go. Can any owner who has modded the amp help? Max |
#5
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How much will a GTA se-40 improve with mods? What power tubes?
Uptown Audio wrote in message news:IZzvc.44289$Ly.34804@attbi_s01...
Max, There are nicer currently produced tube amplifiers that will be a a good match for your speakers. Or you could choose to go with a nice solid state amp as Stewart suggests. I'd sell the amp if you don't like it and move on. Putting more money into anything with limited capabilities like that is not the best move when you can get a more satisfactory product with a warranty. Hi, I am aware of the sonic differences between tube and solid state because of my experience with recording equipment. A good tube amp should not sound like solid state, because that would imply a large dose of negative feedback, high current circuits and peakyness in the top end and a large component count. These things are all needed to get the spectral balance and dynamics which people expect from a modern hi-fi amp. Just listen to a condenser microphone with a fet internal amp and then the same mic with a tube amp (not miniature ecc83 6072 and the like) and you will understand how much depth is lost with just one stage of solid state components. fuzzyness is due mostly to using ****ty commercial tubes (ecc83's 5881 sovteks etc.) which were designed for P.A., radio set -- commercial amps, and instrument amps. Having said this, a badly designed amp is a badly designed amp. I have heard a small single-ended amplifier that I modded with just two stages of amplification and the end result is the effect of going back in time to the moment the recording was made. To me this is much more important and fun to listen to that super-fast high-current solid state amps that sound their best when played loud! this is why I was curious about the se-40 and bought one. My conclusion is that all the hype about this amp has it's foundation in the fact that the circuit is single ended, and this is a very musically accurate type of design used in the absolute best musical reproduction amplifiers. Esentially a Class A output. The fact is that the se-40 is actually a lower Watt amp than described, with inferior internal components and it is not a zero feedback amp. Had the amp really been zero feedback, there would have been NO WAY to use the 5881's because with no feedback you'll hear all the crud that these P.A. tubes put out (10% distortion?). They were built for high power push-pull (in itself a distortion cancelling topology) circuits w/ neg. feedback there is a feedback winding for the cathode of the 5881s and the 2k7 resistor in the driver tube acts as local feedback for the driver stage. My question remains: are the 6l6EH tubes noticeably better that the sovteks, or should I spend more and get 6l6gc sylvania tubes or?? Anyone out there that actually OWNS and has changed the output tubes of this amp? |
#6
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How much will a GTA se-40 improve with mods? What power tubes?
You are free to spend whatever you like on your new toy. Everyone has
their own tastes, but my original recommendation also remains - replace the amp. You don't have to get a solid state amp or even an amp that sounds like one, just a good amp. My advice was only to save you the time and money spent going down a long road to find the dead end which you knew was there before you started. Why trouble yourself with walking back? Anyway, it sounds like you are enjoying the project which is the most important aspect. You might find that you have completely rebuilt the amp by the time you are satisfied. I know I would! -Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "maxdm" wrote in message ... Uptown Audio wrote in message news:IZzvc.44289$Ly.34804@attbi_s01... Max, There are nicer currently produced tube amplifiers that will be a a good match for your speakers. Or you could choose to go with a nice solid state amp as Stewart suggests. I'd sell the amp if you don't like it and move on. Putting more money into anything with limited capabilities like that is not the best move when you can get a more satisfactory product with a warranty. Hi, I am aware of the sonic differences between tube and solid state because of my experience with recording equipment. A good tube amp should not sound like solid state, because that would imply a large dose of negative feedback, high current circuits and peakyness in the top end and a large component count. These things are all needed to get the spectral balance and dynamics which people expect from a modern hi-fi amp. Just listen to a condenser microphone with a fet internal amp and then the same mic with a tube amp (not miniature ecc83 6072 and the like) and you will understand how much depth is lost with just one stage of solid state components. fuzzyness is due mostly to using ****ty commercial tubes (ecc83's 5881 sovteks etc.) which were designed for P.A., radio set -- commercial amps, and instrument amps. Having said this, a badly designed amp is a badly designed amp. I have heard a small single-ended amplifier that I modded with just two stages of amplification and the end result is the effect of going back in time to the moment the recording was made. To me this is much more important and fun to listen to that super-fast high-current solid state amps that sound their best when played loud! this is why I was curious about the se-40 and bought one. My conclusion is that all the hype about this amp has it's foundation in the fact that the circuit is single ended, and this is a very musically accurate type of design used in the absolute best musical reproduction amplifiers. Esentially a Class A output. The fact is that the se-40 is actually a lower Watt amp than described, with inferior internal components and it is not a zero feedback amp. Had the amp really been zero feedback, there would have been NO WAY to use the 5881's because with no feedback you'll hear all the crud that these P.A. tubes put out (10% distortion?). They were built for high power push-pull (in itself a distortion cancelling topology) circuits w/ neg. feedback there is a feedback winding for the cathode of the 5881s and the 2k7 resistor in the driver tube acts as local feedback for the driver stage. My question remains: are the 6l6EH tubes noticeably better that the sovteks, or should I spend more and get 6l6gc sylvania tubes or?? Anyone out there that actually OWNS and has changed the output tubes of this amp? |
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