Anyone into Tube Rolling?

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David Matz

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I am looking at a couple of headphone amps - Woo 5 and Cary. People on Head-fi.org who own tubed headphone amps seem to value tube rollling highly. Currently my CJ Act2 uses the Russian supertube, so this is not really an option for 2 channel.

Some of these tubes, such as rectifiers seem very expensive. Any one have any experience with rube rolling in their rigs? How much of an improvement do more expensive tubes make? Or are people just after different "flavors of ice cream"?


Is there something really behind this, or are people just bored? Is this another "cables" discussion?
 
There is definite value to tube rolling, and tube wear is very insidious; it tends to creep up on you. Many years ago my ARC preamp started to sound not do great, so I replaced the tubes with some NOS Valvos, and was amazed by the improvement in sound. Subsequent to that I got some Gold Aeros, and they were a definite IMPROVEMENT, not flavour of the month.

I have had similar experiences with power amps, though the changes seemed to be more subtle, except for the bass.

Bottom line, though, is that tube rolling CAN be like hair pulling!
 
I don't believe it's hype, and the tubes I've rolled have had much more impact on the sound than cables I've tried.
My experience has been that the small signal tubes made more of a change than power tubes. This could just be due to the gear and/or the tubes I've been rolling with, but that's what I have found.
As for different flavors of ice cream - If you replace a current production Electro Harmonix with a current production Sovtek for example, or a NOS Mullard with a NOS Tele, that may be closer to different flavors. But to me, many of the NOS tubes have been better than the current production stuff. So I would expect 'better' if I replaced a current production EH with a NOS Mullard.
 
Different tubes absolutely have differences which affect sound. I've noticed a change in sound just changing the driver tubes, let alone the output tubes.
 
Hey David,

Those guys over at Head-Fi have some awesome headphone rigs. Some of the high sound quality, fit in the palm of your hand headphone rigs are too cool.

Anyway, I think you could really tell the difference with various tubes using headphones.

Getting into H.Q.Headphones can be another slippery-slope straight to Joeyitus Land. ha ha...

Ray
 
Yeah, I hear you. Thanks for the warning! Life is forcing it, however. Having a baby later this year.

I am half way there. Picked up some killer Beyerdynamic T1's. Need an amazing headphone amp now. I am wondering if I should go with Naim or Cary. I was at Can Jam and liked the Woo 5 a lot, but it's just too big. Naim and Cary are amazing also, and pretty much on the same level as the Woo I really like.

The only good news about the headphones world is that they are relatively cheap. Many people paid more for interconnects than for world class headphones. And many people at Head-fi own multiple systems. If 2 channels was in a similar price zone, more people would own many flavors also.
 
Hey David,

Getting into H.Q.Headphones can be another slippery-slope straight to Joeyitus Land. ha ha...

Ray

I am trying to avoid Joeyitis (Been there, and don't like the feeling...) by just getting what I would want the first time around. It's the best way to go, I think, rather than get something at half the price and then thinking about dumping it a few months later. As I said above, the prices for the head phones and amps are "relative moderate" compared to 2 channel, so it's a bit easier to just bite the bullet.
 
I had headphones for a while, and realized that I really hate headphones, so I got rid of the amp, etc. Make sure you can live with headphones before splurging on a pair.
 
I had headphones for a while, and realized that I really hate headphones, so I got rid of the amp, etc. Make sure you can live with headphones before splurging on a pair.

Thanks. Of course it's not 2 channel. It is a necessity, unfortunately. I know I won't be able to live without music late at night. And in a great headphone setup, your feet get really tapping.
 

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