Studer A810 head rewire

[ironbut]

Hi Song,
Glad to hear that you've narrowed down the problem.
Unfortunately the nos tube market is getting pretty low for some of the more sought after items. When it comes to the really big money tubes (like the TFK EF806s) it really pays to buy from a good tube dealer. That gives you some return options.
One thing that you should try before tossing any "bad" big money tubes into the trash is to spend a little time and clean the pins. On premium tubes, the pin surface is usually very smooth so any bumps that you can feel with a swab is probably oxidation.
If they're steel pins (as with the TFK) a little contact cleaner and something like a piece cut off of a Scotchbrite pad works pretty well. Be very gentle and as always, use the minimum amount of contact cleaner. I use some generic stuff called "Super Contact Cleaner" from MG Chemicals that's stocked at my local electronics store.

As Doc had mentioned quite a while ago, it's worth cleaning the pins of all the tubes in your Repro since it does lower the noise floor a bit.

[audioblazers]

I did try cleaning it with Progold but it didnt help much. I suppose I need something more abrasive. Well, at least I knw that the tube rush sound that I have been hearing is due to TFK ef 806s that I have been using. I suppose it better to buy from more reliable seller but it wouldnt be cheap.
Will be comparing my amperex 7308 PQ with telefunken e88cc and e188cc and lets see how it goes

[ironbut]

Yeah, ProGold works better as a protective coating once the pins are clean.
You should clean the pins with something that removes oxidation before using ProGold or you're just sealing it in.

[jcmusic]

I did try cleaning it with Progold but it didnt help much. I suppose I need something more abrasive. Well, at least I knw that the tube rush sound that I have been hearing is due to TFK ef 806s that I have been using. I suppose it better to buy from more reliable seller but it wouldnt be cheap.
Will be comparing my amperex 7308 PQ with telefunken e88cc and e188cc and lets see how it goes

Song,
If you are using these tubes with the Seduction in my system the Telefunken E88CC is the clear winner, closely followed by the Amperex JAN white labeled 7308 from the 1960's not the PQ version. The PQ version did not work in my application, all others were similar. Forgot to mention that I found the same results in my Tube Repro!!!

Jay

[audioblazers]

I m using tube repro. I got both tfk e188c and e88cc. Lets see how it goes. I m curious whether we can use tfk 804s in place of tfk ef 86 or 806s? saw a posting in whatsbestforum and was told its good

[microstrip]

Yeah, ProGold works better as a protective coating once the pins are clean.
You should clean the pins with something that removes oxidation before using ProGold or you're just sealing it in.

If the tube pins look dirty or oxide I clean them with a Dremel felt polishing tip at 12000 rpm. Only in desperate cases I use se a bit of polishing cream. After that I wash with water and soap using a tooth brush, rinse with plenty of water and a give a final wash to the pins using ethanol. Progold is just the final touch to protect them.

[audioblazers]

Correction- I have always thought that my hum issue was due to bad tfk ef 806s. Purchase 4 pairs and still experienced hum problem. After some trouble shooting with Doc, and connecting ground wire fr Studer to Repro, my hum virtually vanished. Credit to Doc for his excellence customer service for taking the trouble to guide me thru my problem- even sent me drawing to make sure I understand his instruction.

[ironbut]

Great news Song!
So, now that that's straightened out, how is the Studer/Repro sounding?

[xcortes]

I have always thought that my hum issue was due to bad tfk ef 806s. Purchase 4 pairs

They were scarce before. Now I'm pretty sure you purchased the remaining stock!

[audioblazers]

Xavier , not too scarce , just got to be patience. For 6922 tube, I have tfk e88cc, e188c and amperex 7308 PQ Holland, any idea which is better. A little lazy now. Just got myself a raven 10.5 (on raven ac3) as my 2nd tonearm with zyx omega gold, love it

Steve, on studer A810 stock electronic I don't find tape that exciting but with tube repro, it's out of the world and To my ears way better than my LP set up particular TP016, Rock with me baby , such quiet background and when Hatch sings it's as though he is In my room. To me , reel to reel is the source if you want the best music reproduction. If I m from USA, I will probably hunt for A820 but in Malaysia without tech support it's tough. Reel to reel is definitely a much cheaper entry to enjoy quality music production compared to most high end analog set up. With cables, phonostage, tonearms , cartridges , turntable which cost a couple of times the cost of studer/tube repro set up, I still prefer studer/repro and that sum up how I feels about studer/repro. Only set back is that we abt 26 tapes, 16 tapeproject tapes and 10 aaanalog tapes, listening to limited tapes can be boring. Wish I have at least 100 15 ips tapes 

[jcmusic]

Here are the pics I promised of the finished playback head output modification we performed on a Studer A810. The small black pushbutton in the hole in the headblock cover allows switching the playback head from its normal connection to the internal playback electronics to a pair of XLR outputs that have been added to a blank plate on the top rear next to the existing XLR jacks. The only caveat with this setup is that you don't want to throw the switch with the machine turned on, as connecting it to the "hot" internal preamp will magnetize the head. So the procedure for switching is: power down the Studer and the external preamp, wait 60 seconds and then push the button.

It's quiet, there is plenty of output for a Tube Repro, frequency response is quite flat, all in all it's a nice combo.

Here are some pic's of my Studer's headblock mod.

Jay

[jcmusic]

A couple more of the Studer and Otari.

Jay

[xcortes]

Is there a tenth AAA tape? I only have nine.

[audioblazers]

Xcortes. Somehow I missed your question. There is only 9 AAA tapes not 10. My mistake

[stellavox]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to view the photos (in Windows Photo Shop) and nothing is working - links OK?

Charles