Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Crack => Topic started by: petercintn on February 28, 2012, 08:25:09 AM
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Hey Bottleheaders,
I'm thinking my first upgrade would be tube sockets. I have looked around but I don't really know what I'm looking at. I'm looking for something 'easy' to solder and basically the best socket there is unless it's uber bucks. I have seen sockets that seem to just have wells instead of holes and I was wondering if their nice for soldering, my least favorite part of the build was soldering those sockets, the 9 pin was the worst, but I still want to upgrade them. Unless I'm thinking wrong and there's no need for that upgrade. I appreciate the help.
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The sockets that come with the kit are good. They create a good tight connection, but if you want Teflon sockets are good. I have used the ones in the attached link and they work well and now come with PC boards that should make soldering easier.
http://www.partsconnexion.com/socket_connex_prem.html (http://www.partsconnexion.com/socket_connex_prem.html)
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PartsConnexion also sells the excellent Belton sockets. They provide a very firm grip and are also inexpensive.
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Cool, thanks guys.
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Peter,
I would upgrade something that will change the sound first. I roll tubes and capacitors. But both cost more than the tube sockets.
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That's good advice and I am looking at mpre tubes. I have a RCA 6as7 and a Tung Sol (new) 12au7 to roll and have. I like what Doc sent me better. So I'm going to get a Cifte 12au7 but I haven't found a 6080. My nine pin sometimes hisses and I have to move the tube around in he socket to get it to quiet down. This only happens seldom and didn't start till I was testing out useing my receiver as a pre/power amp for the Crack. I have shorting pins to pull out of the Yamaha and it turns into a pre or power amp depending on how you hook it up. Much to much gain as a pre amp and hardly any gain as a power amp. When I finished the socket was noisy. I got it quiet but it's happened a couple of more times and if I'm going to rewet those connections, I'm gonna put in some easier to solder sockets.
What do ya'll think of this Winged "C" 6H13C / 6AS7G, shoot can't embed while editing. It's from the tube store. I wasn't that impressed with the RCA 6as7g, sloppy bass IMOH. If all 6as7's sound like that RCA I'll pass.
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Peter,
It sounds like your tube pins/sockets need cleaning. Look here at Q #2 in the FAQ thread:
FAQ Thread (http://www.bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,2408.0.html)
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I'll give it a try as soon as I stop listening to Pink Floyd, but their both brand new. Tube and socket I mean.
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Right but they might have been made years ago.
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...but their both brand new. Tube and socket I mean.
New, OS, used, NOS...doesn't matter. None of those states of existence necessarily include clean. Always best to clean the sockets and pins. The socket holes tend to be "crud magnets"!! Good idea to, every so often, take the tubes out and then "re-seat". Some sockets will "walk the tubes up" from the hot/cooling/cold cycle, so, again a good idea to occasionally gently re-seat the tubes in the sockets.
Cheers,
Geary
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Hi Peter,
If cleaning the sockets still leaves you with noisy or intermittent connections, the QQQ sockets you can get at PCX and other places are very nice, have a death grip on the tube pins, and are very reasonably priced compared to other boutique tube sockets. They come in noval and octal only, which is fine for the Crack, but I sure wish they'd come out with an UX-4 version.
HTH,
Jim
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Peter,
I would upgrade something that will change the sound first. I roll tubes and capacitors. But both cost more than the tube sockets.
Sound advice... but man does it suck changing them out after completing a build.
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It's not necessarily about improving the sound, it's about having a secure physical connection for your tubes.
If you have any issues with your sockets I would say get some better ones. They're cheap. Ever since I tried the beltons in my amp I'll never go back to cheap ceramics with crappy pins. Having replaced several crappy ceramic sockets over the years has lead me to this.
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I like to use the gold plated teflon sockets, but they are a little expensive. Jim mentioned the QQQ from pcx, they are very well built and reasonably priced. Look kinda neat too. I picked some up to use in the Quickie.
Cheers,
Shawn
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The sockets that come with the kits are impressive in their grip and that's the important connection. The Belton's are highly rated on other forums for their price and perform well in rebuilds. I use them in all of my vintage rebuilds. I can't understand spending $50 on one socket when that could be spent towards a quality tube which WILL make a difference.
Clean those pins well, get a solid connection and make sure your solder joints are quality. You are not going to get major improvements from a socket unless it is shot....
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I put in different tube sockets in 3 of the Eros tubes at the build (Teflon Composite $6). I have had new Teflon/Gold sockets for my 2A3s for a year and haven't wanted to dive into my Paramours because of all the connections around the sockets.
One of the things about a Bottlehead product is it has a short signal path. It keeps the design compact and noise low. But it makes the tube sockets very busy. So keep that in mind.
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quick note, the Belton sockets are truly awesome and I've used them in my build.
just make sure you have the right equipment to enlarge the aluminum plate sockets hole cause these sockets a bit larger then the stock.
Lior
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I have used the standard ceramics in everything I've built over the past 10 years. Not as much stuff as most folks here, Im sure. But all the recent Bottlehead gear and a couple amps as well as another phono stage. I havent had any problems with any of them yet. But they dont get tube rolled often after I settle on tubes. Im sure the better sockets, are, well, better or atleast more durable in terms of standing up to rolling and maybe the long haul. But with my having no issues, I havent found any reason to replace them or use something more expensive. I guess it's an if it aint broke, dont fix it kinda thing for me.
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What do ya'll think of this Winged "C" 6H13C / 6AS7G, shoot can't embed while editing. It's from the tube store. I wasn't that impressed with the RCA 6as7g, sloppy bass IMOH. If all 6as7's sound like that RCA I'll pass.
Check the LONG "tube rolling with crack" thread regarding the 6H13C's. There are impressions scattered throughout the thread but some recent comments from myself and MR. Toobz on these tubes. They are available for cheap in epay, you may want to check there instead of spending more. Personally, they arent my cup of team but YMMV just as I think the RCA 6AS7's sound very good eventhough I prefer the 5998 and it's quite a different sounding tube than the 6AS7. Obviously this is all very ear, headphone and system dependant so you may like the 6H13C's, I think a couple Crack owners do.
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Just a follow up. It seems that Grainger hit the nail on the head, after cleaning the socket/tubes I have heard nothing but silence. So I'll leave the sockets alone for a while.