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PSVane/Treasure globe experiences?


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I'm a little bit sceptical since I have some great NOS tubes I'm happy with but you know how it is with valves: you're always looking for something that might be better. Does anyone have any experience with the treasure globes from PSVane? Specifically I'm looking at these which people here have likely not used, but any feedback from experience with PSVane/treasure globes is appreciated.

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/store/products/treasure-globe-6sn7-se-pair-gf-limited-special-edition/

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I have played with the Psvane CA7 (EL34) and the KT88, as well as the 845-T. As well as using all these as main output tubes, I also used the first two as driver tubes in my Line Magnetic 518IA integrated 845 amp. Results were very acceptable indeed. Currently I have NOS Mullard EL34 in that position (unbeatable mid-range) but that's just me. I was happy with the others as well.

 

I am impressed by the quality of the whole package of construction and sonics. Obviously this company is making serious efforts, not least to improve the reputation of Chinese tubes.

 

I did buy from Amazon in case there were reliability or other problems but in 2 years I've had only fun. If you don't wish to tread the NOS path (and many don't) then Psvane is a great alternative IMO.

 

Just my 2c worth

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Guest deanB

My experience with Psvane is limited to 211 triode valves. The Doge 9 amps came with Hifi series. I used these for 380 hours with no issues and very good sound. Then I replaced them with Treasure Mk2, have 700 hours on these, not a burp or a crackle. Sound quality is a step up from the Hifi series but on a per dollar ratio, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

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I've only had experiences with the psvane12au7 family of tubes. I found the clean and clear but something was missing. It wasn't until i put in some old RCA 12au7 and Amperex tubes that i realised how much emotion was missing in the psvane tubes. I even tried one psvane in the output stage and once again more detail, completely quiet and a very good sound but no emotion.
This was all in my Tron7 phono.
Hope this helps......

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Around 12 months ago I initially replaced in my Vincent SA-T8 Pre-Amp, 3 Sovtek 12AX7 with Psvane 12AX711. Much better resolution, but initially quite bright. These settled down after about 70 hours, big improvement over the Sovteks. Much more resolving, improved macro,micro dynamics, dimensionality etc. So impressed I then replaced the 4 12AU7's, and further improvement. The Psvanes are an extremely quiet, exceptionally resolving Tube. I don't feel they lack emotion as mentioned above, but would say that resolution is their major asset ahead of emotion. This maybe Component dependant as the Vincent SA-T8 has "soul" in spades. So if your looking for a resolving Tube then I recommend Psvane's at least in 12 A series. If your looking for more warmth, "romance" and the like then I'd say look elsewhere.

 

Also replaced some Chinese tubes in a Doge 8 Phono with Psvane's. This was a smaller improvement. I feel this may be due to the Doge being a pretty average Phono, so Tube rolling in this may only bring small improvements.

 

Overall I'm happy with the Psvane's. Realise there could be better NOS, but the cost and time finding the right ones, is better spent elsewhere which I just did, by upgrading Caps in the SA-T8. Very pleased with that.

 

 

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Thanks for the feedback everyone. I figured I'd take a stab at the 6SN7 treasure globes and see how they go so I've ordered a pair for my preamp to try them out. The one pair I ordered for the main channel output positions cost me more than the entire complement of existing valves on the preamp so I'm hoping for at least some kind of improvement, though I'm not sure what it will be.

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1 hour ago, Ittaku said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I figured I'd take a stab at the 6SN7 treasure globes and see how they go so I've ordered a pair for my preamp to try them out. The one pair I ordered for the main channel output positions cost me more than the entire complement of existing valves on the preamp so I'm hoping for at least some kind of improvement, though I'm not sure what it will be.

Osram / Marconi / B 65, metal base 6SN7 is the king of 6SN7 followed by MELZ 1578 / 6H8C / 6SN7  (hole plate)

 

Everything else is just average.....?

 

 

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5 hours ago, Ittaku said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I figured I'd take a stab at the 6SN7 treasure globes and see how they go so I've ordered a pair for my preamp to try them out. The one pair I ordered for the main channel output positions cost me more than the entire complement of existing valves on the preamp so I'm hoping for at least some kind of improvement, though I'm not sure what it will be.

Good luck Ittaku. What Pre-Amp are they going in? Hope they work out. Just be aware if they are anything like the 12AX7's they'll need plenty of burn in/run in (around 70 hours). Gee, they were bright initially.

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2 minutes ago, initforthemusic said:

Good luck Ittaku. What Pre-Amp are they going in? Hope they work out. Just be aware if they are anything like the 12AX7's they'll need plenty of burn in/run in (around 70 hours). Gee, they were bright initially.

Thanks. It'll be on the main channel outputs for a Supratek Dual Cabernet. Mick says there's no difference between different valves in his designs, but I find that hard to believe and have heard differences, if relatively subtle, between what I have tried so far. System below:

 

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Well done for pulling the pin. I am very confident you will hear a substancial difference.
Now, this has made me think i doubt there is 20 hours on my psvane's maybe I've been a tad hasty........ Another 50?

A bit off topic but seeing the op is sorted anyone care to mention their favoirite 12ax7 tube to date and why? For me it's been a pair of Amperex tubes with an Rca in the output. Sorry i don't know the tubes in question down to year etc....

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2 hours ago, TOPSHELF said:

Well done for pulling the pin. I am very confident you will hear a substancial difference.
Now, this has made me think i doubt there is 20 hours on my psvane's maybe I've been a tad hasty........ Another 50?

A bit off topic but seeing the op is sorted anyone care to mention their favoirite 12ax7 tube to date and why? For me it's been a pair of Amperex tubes with an Rca in the output. Sorry i don't know the tubes in question down to year etc....

Hi TOPSHELF, I would definitely try more hours on the Psvane's. The difference with run in, in my set-up, was pretty dramatic. Can you run them with background music for another 50 hours or so? I'm glad I persevered with them. Hope they eventually work for you in your set up. So many of these things are system dependant.

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2 hours ago, TOPSHELF said:

I would presume just turning the phono on would be enough? Can any one comment?

Most valves are run at full power at all times in small signal applications, so even just leaving them on has the same effect as other burn-in. Some may insist that you need a signal running through them but there is no science to support this.

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  • 4 weeks later...

New family members - the 6SN7-SE treasure globes, still breaking in, they put out hardly any illumination and my IR thermometer shows them sitting at less than 60 degrees compared to the usual 70 I see of my NOS valves. There is more leading edge to sound, more bite to string on rosin in violins, more leading impact, more detail and stage has expanded upwards and backwards in size, but the sound is now leaning on the cool side.  So far I like what I hear but they're still a bit too much on the cool side though with less than an hour on them it's impossible to pass judgement yet.

 

EDIT: A few hours later all the cool sound has completely disappeared and it's just now as lovely as always, but with all that added leading edge, detail and it has substantially increased the size of instruments in the stage. All in all a more than substantial upgrade to the preamp.

 

IMG_20180621_120840.thumb.jpg.4c123c41be4276f4eaf98cf5c48d44ae.jpgIMG_20180621_120412.thumb.jpg.14f5608de0e7fd58acbef1ebddadbc03.jpg

Edited by Ittaku
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Delivery was incredibly slow using the regular delivery option if anyone's considering buying these. According to paypal they were shipped almost immediately but it took over 3 weeks to get here via regular Canada post. The expedited shipping costs an extra $50 which seemed ridiculous to me but after waiting three weeks I was wondering if I shouldn't have just forked it out. I emailed them while I was waiting and they said it can even take 6-8 weeks at times... Just a warning if you think of buying anything from psvanetube.com .

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10 hours ago, Ittaku said:

New family members - the 6SN7-SE treasure globes, still breaking in, they put out hardly any illumination and my IR thermometer shows them sitting at less than 60 degrees compared to the usual 70 I see of my NOS valves. There is more leading edge to sound, more bite to string on rosin in violins, more leading impact, more detail and stage has expanded upwards and backwards in size, but the sound is now leaning on the cool side.  So far I like what I hear but they're still a bit too much on the cool side though with less than an hour on them it's impossible to pass judgement yet.

 

EDIT: A few hours later all the cool sound has completely disappeared and it's just now as lovely as always, but with all that added leading edge, detail and it has substantially increased the size of instruments in the stage. All in all a more than substantial upgrade to the preamp.

 

IMG_20180621_120840.thumb.jpg.4c123c41be4276f4eaf98cf5c48d44ae.jpgIMG_20180621_120412.thumb.jpg.14f5608de0e7fd58acbef1ebddadbc03.jpg

Would think the Tubes should improve even more with more time on them. What brand Tubes did they replace?

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6 minutes ago, initforthemusic said:

Would think the Tubes should improve even more with more time on them. What brand Tubes did they replace?

What you see in front of them, some no-name Russian made Czech army WWII military NOS. Have tried a few of the common new brands and weren't impressed, the old military ones were more neutral.

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  • 1 month later...

Are the NOS mil-spec ones what Mick supplies?

 

Those tube dampers you've got on there, did they make any impact on the sound?

 

I'm just about to have a Cortese built (probably with the 6SN7,I really wanted the DHT circuit but Mick assures me the 6sn7 is better everywhere) so starting to look at how to improve it once I get it :P

 

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2 hours ago, Gremrock said:

Are the NOS mil-spec ones what Mick supplies?

 

Those tube dampers you've got on there, did they make any impact on the sound?

 

I'm just about to have a Cortese built (probably with the 6SN7,I really wanted the DHT circuit but Mick assures me the 6sn7 is better everywhere) so starting to look at how to improve it once I get it :P

 

The NOS mil spec I bought afterwards. The valves Mick provided were similar but didn't sound quite as good. I took a simple punt on the ones I bought off ebay in Europe. They were dirt cheap and sounded even better than the standard ones. They were nowhere near as good as the treasure globes I bought though, but they cost 1% of the price!

 

The 6SN7 is proving the flavour of the month. It's an extremely natural sounding solid and neutral full range tube and I think I agree with Mick (now) - it's probably one of the best tubes for a preamp ever conceived, along with the 6H30Pi. The biggest problem with 6SN7s traditionally is they're quite a microphonic tube and that's what got me trying the tube dampers. They made quite a large difference in my opinion, though I have to admit I couldn't hear any difference between the dirt cheap $2 silicon dampers and the Herb's much more expensive dampers, but Herb's look much better ?

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Haha the orange silicon ones look okay to me, I understand the silicon also absorbs a certain amount of heat..

i think I’ll try the PSVanes after reading your thoughts too, the WE 101d replica I had in the linear 1 were miles better than the full music it comes with ($750 vs $300 though). Have you experimented with other tubes? Do the 3 on the PSU make any difference? If you happen to spot a set of them in the classifieds again tag me I’ll buy them ?

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42 minutes ago, Gremrock said:

Haha the orange silicon ones look okay to me, I understand the silicon also absorbs a certain amount of heat..

i think I’ll try the PSVanes after reading your thoughts too, the WE 101d replica I had in the linear 1 were miles better than the full music it comes with ($750 vs $300 though). Have you experimented with other tubes? Do the 3 on the PSU make any difference? If you happen to spot a set of them in the classifieds again tag me I’ll buy them ?

I found only subtle differences by changing the PSU tubes. I changed the 5U4C rectifier it came with with a modern 5AR4 which the specs show delivers more current and really didn't hear anything (I've never heard anything from changing rectifiers though) and I changed the 6N3C with modern 7581As which are a drop in replacement tube with more power - these did seem to improve the dynamics making it more robust from top to bottom somehow but it still was only a subtle change (unlike changing the output tubes.)

 

38 minutes ago, Gremrock said:

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/store/products/treasure-globe-6sn7-se-pair-gf-limited-special-edition/ are these the ones you got? I think it was the black bottle treasures that were up, so I feel a little better knowing there’s 1 up on what I missed out on haha

Yes they're the ones. Changing them in the output stage had the most dramatic difference by far if you only want to change one set since they're so expensive. Massive increase in detail and leading edge with far more information being conveyed and beautiful tonality. Changing the second set (the driver stage) improved the sound stage focus and solidity but it was a small change compared to the output stage change.

Edited by Ittaku
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I'll have to find something better sounding than these for you to buy, then I can buy yours for half price :)

At $500+ they'll have to wait a while, I just blew an extra grand or more upgrading to the latest LCR phono circuit 

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