SLP-05 Making Its Way to Alaska!

[pstrisik]

Thanks Anthony. Not much activity here and I haven't found much else in terms of Cary user discussion. Too bad.

I'm reading up on tubes and will likely do a swap at some point. No hurry right now. I guess I can leave the stock tubes in sockets that won't matter and only buy better tubes for the critical spots. I take it you like the TungSols better than the EH's. I have TungSol KT120's in my amps and like them alot, but that's an apples and oranges comparison. I have Gold Lion 6922's in my CJ preamp and would try them if they make this type (I think they do IIRC).

As far as venting, I moved that little Class D amp (three channel for center and surrounds) out from the bottom and lowered that shelf another inch, so that should be fine.

I haven't been counting hours precisely, but probably at about 70-80. I can tell pretty readily that it's going to be a keeper. I'll post more impressions after it's fully broken in and I have some time for real listening.

[joeling]

Originally Posted by pstrisik

Thanks Anthony. Not much activity here and I haven't found much else in terms of Cary user discussion. Too bad.

I'm reading up on tubes and will likely do a swap at some point. No hurry right now. I guess I can leave the stock tubes in sockets that won't matter and only buy better tubes for the critical spots. I take it you like the TungSols better than the EH's. I have TungSol KT120's in my amps and like them alot, but that's an apples and oranges comparison. I have Gold Lion 6922's in my CJ preamp and would try them if they make this type (I think they do IIRC).

As far as venting, I moved that little Class D amp (three channel for center and surrounds) out from the bottom and lowered that shelf another inch, so that should be fine.

I haven't been counting hours precisely, but probably at about 70-80. I can tell pretty readily that it's going to be a keeper. I'll post more impressions after it's fully broken in and I have some time for real listening.

Originally Posted by pstrisik

Progress report (at least it's not hourly! )

All set up and playing. I'm running it at lower volume for as long as I can stand it up to the 100 hours. It's been running for about six hours and doesn't seem to be getting too warm above the tubes. I'll keep monitoring it. I can tell right off the bat, even at fairly low volume, that the bass is stronger than with my CJ 17LS.

The blue meters are purty. What are they need for in practice? Does it tell you when the power supply tube is fading (along with any obvious malfunction)?

Very nice ！If not for the challenge on clearance， a set of PSVANE CV181 would work nicely

[pstrisik]

Originally Posted by joeling

Very nice ！If not for the challenge on clearance， a set of PSVANE CV181 would work nicely

Thanks!

Are you running these? They are quite expensive and a quick read of some discussions indicate some longevity/reliability issues. Sure are pretty though!

I could fit them as I moved that small amp below and dropped that shelf an inch or so. I could even remove the shelf and sit the pre at the bottom. But I'm inclined to try more reasonably priced alternatives before going exotic.

I found a nice description of sound characteristics of various NOS tubes from Brent Jessee - about a third of the way down the page where it's titled "OK, SO TELL ME HOW THEY SOUND!!":

6SN7 TUBES IN STOCK

[pstrisik]

I corresponded by email with Dan Wemmer at Cary tech support. He was very helpful. I'll post all the info below. Much of it relates to earlier questions and discussion in this thread.

1) The SLP-05 does not invert phase. (no mention of phase in the manual)

2) Q: It was suggested on a forum that Cary recommends leaving the preamp on 24/7. I was skeptical about this, mostly with regard to tube life. Is this true?
A: Yes. I've never known of a tube preamp that I wouldn't recommend leaving on all the time. In the old days it was never even questioned about leaving a preamp on all the time. It takes a few hours for a tube to sound it's best. Preamp tubes use a small amount of current and if they are ventilated well will stay cool. It's the on/off shock that's bad on tubes. Think of a light bulb. How often do they just blow out while on. It's that turn on zap that blows them out.

3) Q: What is expected tube life if on 24/7? I’ve always heard 10,000 hours for small tubes, which is just over a year. I hope it would be much more than that.
A: At least 3-5 years. When they start losing detail, highs, get flabby bass then you should look at replacing them. I typically like to replace tubes around the 3 year or so area.

4) Q: The tube boxes came numbered (but not the tubes themselves). Is it really important to follow that numbering for tube position? If yes, what is that based on? Are you testing the tubes to determine best channel matching or something similar?
A: Tubes even when matched always have small gain differences. We have tested the tubes in specific positions in the unit to make sure that each channel (single ended and balanced) have exactly the same amount of amplification so that channels are perfectly matched.

5) Q: (for future reference) I see your upgrade options on the website though all is “N/A” for the 05. Specs say film and foil caps. No upgrade options for this model?
A: Nothing at this time. The SLP-05 is our full all out preamp and uses polypropylene capacitors in the signal path. If someone has a favorite capacitor that they would like installed they can send those to us along with their preamp and we will install them and fully test out the preamp for a labor charge. The charge will depend on what is done and the capacitors must be a size that will fit easily. I would recommend Teflon caps like the Cardas or V-Cap although very rarely does anyone agree on what cap brand or type is best. I prefer Teflon caps over oil.

6) Q: The specs say painted aluminum chassis. To me, the top seems to be some kind of acrylic when I tap it. Am I wrong about that? Or is the top considered the cover and not the chassis? It came with a slight surface scratch near the tube sockets. Will that polish out? It’s definitely not worth returning it for though.
A: The top plate is an aluminum plate painted with a thick coat of DuPont enamel automotive paint. Very sorry that there is a scratch. We do our utmost to be careful of this. A car polish will work well on this. The car polish with black tinting works well.

7) Q: I would love to have more traffic on the only Cary user forum I have found (Audio Aficionado). Any chance of mentioning it on your website (maybe with the disclaimer that is not a Cary sponsored forum)?
A: I can forward that information on. I don't know if we would list sites.

So, there you have it!

.

[dminches]

Originally Posted by pstrisik

3) If I'm not using headphones, can I leave those two sockets empty and save the tubes? I will be using the balanced output, so those tubes are not an issue.

4) I've not liked the basic EH tubes in my CJ pre (6922's) and went with Gold Lions after trying a few brands. Is there a prevailing opinion about the best replacement tube for the Cary? Preferably not exotic NOS. I don't mind NOS if not too expensive. I guess I would be getting six.

Peter, I would put a pair of stock tubes in the headphone sockets. First, it will keep dust out. Second, and more important, if you accidentally his the headphone switch it could be bad without tubes in there.

Regarding tube rolling, I am using 4 Tung Sol 6SN7 black glass, round plate tubes and 2 Sylvania 6SN7WGTs. Most vintage tubes will be superior to the the stock new production. I would recommended testing different ones out to suit your liking.

For whatever reason, I have issues with Tung Sol tubes in sockets 4 and 5. There is no good reason for this, but this is why I am using Sylvanias in those sockets.

[pstrisik]

Originally Posted by dminches

Peter, I would put a pair of stock tubes in the headphone sockets. First, it will keep dust out. Second, and more important, if you accidentally his the headphone switch it could be bad without tubes in there.

Yes, I think this is the way to go.

Originally Posted by dminches

Regarding tube rolling, I am using 4 Tung Sol 6SN7 black glass, round plate tubes and 2 Sylvania 6SN7WGTs. Most vintage tubes will be superior to the the stock new production. I would recommended testing different ones out to suit your liking.

I'm overwhelmed with this choice. Most NOS worth checking out are quite expensive. The TungSol's you mention are some of the most expensive. I have a audiophile colleague up here that builds his own DAC/Pre/Amps and has quite a collection of tubes. I will be checking with him about 6SN7's he may have and arrange to borrow some for audition. That will help narrow if he does have some.

Meanwhile, I will enjoy the unit as stock for a few months at least. I may look into first replacing the rectifier tube as the cost for one is more affordable for experimenting. I have read some experiences that this can make a noticeable difference.

Originally Posted by dminches

For whatever reason, I have issues with Tung Sol tubes in sockets 4 and 5. There is no good reason for this, but this is why I am using Sylvanias in those sockets.

This is odd. Maybe looking at the pins of those two tube makes side by side you could see what difference there is and find a clue about what is causing this. Coincidently, I just bought a dealer demo pair of CJ LP125M monoblocs. Out of the box, one had >10db less gain. It went back to CJ for warranty service and I was told that it was a bad socket affecting just one pin of one tube. It was the metal contact within the socket (maybe a piece of spring metal to keep tension?) that had failed.

Have you talked with Cary to see if they are familiar with this symptom?

[dminches]

I think it is a tube socket / pin issue. A friend of mine has had the same issue.


For $300 you can get 6 nice NOS 6SN7s which would better the stock tubes. As I said, Sylvania 6SN7 WGTs don't have the hype that some of the Tong Sols do.

[kiwi_1282001]

Nice to see the discussion on the SLP-05 pre-amp.

Thanks pstrisik for the Q&A. Very insightful. I would never have dreamed leaving the SLP-05 on full time and quite shocked it is ok to do so!


Just to share my experience with tube rolling.

I purchased a full set of RCA 6SN7 GTB NOS tubes to change out the standard EH ones. They were a real disappointment. While they smoothed the mids and delivered a bit more flesh and dimensionality to vocals this was at the expense of treble extension and air and a loss of immediacy and impact in the bass. Not an acceptable trade off so the stock EH's were re-installed.

My power supply rectifier tube gave up the ghost after about 4 years. It should really have lasted longer but perhaps all the switching on and off shortened its lifespan. Anyhow when I opened up the unit I was not pleased to find Cary was using a very cheap SINO 5AR4. Anyhow I replaced the SINO 5AR4 with a Sovtek 5AR4 (nothing special - at around US$13). My tube supplier told me the Sovtek would be considerably better than the SINO. Boy was he right! I really don't understand why a rectifier tube should impact sound but the Sovtek further improved bass speed and impact. I was very pleased.

So I lost one round and won the next one. Hope you guys have even better success!

The SLP-05 remains my most satisfying audio purchase ever.

[pstrisik]

Hi kiwi.... Thanks for sharing your tube experience. RCA's and the British tubes (Mullard, etc.) seem to have a reputation for warmth. This often does mean great midrange but soft highs I think. This will be a difficult choice for me as I tend to like warmer sound, but don't want to lose too much definition.

I don't have a sense of what changing the rectifier does for the sound. The overwhelmingly dominant opinion seems to be that the Mullard 5AR4 and close cousins are the magical choice, but I'm not reading anything about what sound quality changes result. I don't know if it would do similar as if replacing the 6SN7's (warmer/softer) or something different. It may be that using a replacement for the 5AR4 that softens and ones for the 6SN7's that has more detail (or the other way around), would have good results. It's just that we can get into the thousands of dollars experimenting with these permutations and combinations!

So, I am leaving the preamp on full time for now. It's a bit of a pain having to get up to flip the cinema/preamp switch after a movie when we are already cuddled up and want to switch to music. But I guess that is a small price to pay. I may have to find some tinted film or plastic to darken the meter lights though! I wish Cary had included a button to dim and/or turn off those lights.

[dminches]

I would not leave the SLP-05 on full time. Your tube life will really suffer. I don't like the bulb analogy. Yes, it may blow when you turn it on, but that's because the filament is worn out. If you left all your lights on 24/7 they would not last very long.

I have 4 NOS Tung Sols that cost about $800 for the quad. There is no way I am leaving them on 24/7.

I can see leaving a SS pre amp on, but I would not leave a tube amp on.