Vincent SV-237 Hybrid Amplifier

[Guest thathifiguy]

Hi all,

 

 

Just received my NOS Telefunken 12AX7 smooth plate tube to replace the stock Chinese made 12AX7 in the front window.

 

I figured I would take a few shots of the internals while I was at it.

 

This is a pretty impressive looking unit for the asking price, or at least I think so.

 

 

[Dolphy]

I'm big fan of the Vincent amps, I noticed a distinct improvement in the mid section when I changed the tubes. What are your impressions of the new tubes and where did you get the NOS from?

[Guest thathifiguy]

I'm big fan of the Vincent amps, I noticed a distinct improvement in the mid section when I changed the tubes. What are your impressions of the new tubes and where did you get the NOS from?

 

I bought them from eBay seller N7RK. He runs http://www.arizonatubesupply.com, very pleasant to deal with. 

 

So far, just replacing that single tube (still eyeing off NOS 6N1P-EV) I would say the mid range is far less grainy (not that it felt grainy to begin with) and the sound seems far more dynamic.

[Equaliser]

If want a bigger improvement to the low end spectrum for bass, you can remove those 4 10000uf Rubycon filter capacitors and bump them up to 18000uf no problems.

[djmt]

Hifiguy,

 

I was hoping you might help me with tube rolling challenges with the Vincent  sv 237.

Haven't yet had difficulty with the tube as I'm still having trouble with the top cover plate. Was wondering if the hex keys are imperial rather than metric? Metric seems to fit but slips when using enough force to turn the screw and I'd hate to strip it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Mike

[Guest thathifiguy]

56 minutes ago, djmt said:

Hifiguy,

 

I was hoping you might help me with tube rolling challenges with the Vincent  sv 237.

Haven't yet had difficulty with the tube as I'm still having trouble with the top cover plate. Was wondering if the hex keys are imperial rather than metric? Metric seems to fit but slips when using enough force to turn the screw and I'd hate to strip it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike, I no longer own the amp as I upgraded to a Vincent pre/power combo.

 

I don't recall any difficulty though, I just have a Stanley driver kit I picked up from Bunnings, I just used that.

 

 

[Wayne Elliott]

1 hour ago, djmt said:

Hifiguy,

 

I was hoping you might help me with tube rolling challenges with the Vincent  sv 237.

Haven't yet had difficulty with the tube as I'm still having trouble with the top cover plate. Was wondering if the hex keys are imperial rather than metric? Metric seems to fit but slips when using enough force to turn the screw and I'd hate to strip it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike,

 

Be careful with the screws. Although not familiar with the SV237, I stripped the screws on my SA-T8 Pre.. What a pain getting them out with Ezy-Out. They are either cheap Chinese rubbish or I did read that you need a Torque Driver to get them out? Rolling the Tubes in the SA-T8 made a pretty big jump in performance, but an even bigger upgrade was getting rid of 12 Wima Caps in the critical path and replacing with various Mundorf Caps. I'd strongly advise doing this if possible (room could be an issue). The SA-T8 went from "Giant-killer" as stock, easily competing or surpassing Pre's twice it's RRP, to "Slayer of All", competing or surpassing Pre's 3 or 4 times it's RRP.

[djmt]

1 hour ago, thathifiguy said:

Hi Mike, I no longer own the amp as I upgraded to a Vincent pre/power combo.

 

I don't recall any difficulty though, I just have a Stanley driver kit I picked up from Bunnings, I just used that.

 

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'll hit Bunnings tomorrow.

 

[djmt]

46 minutes ago, initforthemusic said:

Hi Mike,

 

Be careful with the screws. Although not familiar with the SV237, I stripped the screws on my SA-T8 Pre.. What a pain getting them out with Ezy-Out. They are either cheap Chinese rubbish or I did read that you need a Torque Driver to get them out? Rolling the Tubes in the SA-T8 made a pretty big jump in performance, but an even bigger upgrade was getting rid of 12 Wima Caps in the critical path and replacing with various Mundorf Caps. I'd strongly advise doing this if possible (room could be an issue). The SA-T8 went from "Giant-killer" as stock, easily competing or surpassing Pre's twice it's RRP, to "Slayer of All", competing or surpassing Pre's 3 or 4 times it's RRP.

I'll give it one more go after a trip to Bunnings. Thanks for the warning. I won't push my luck too far.

Edited June 13, 2018 by djmt
Grammar

[Guest thathifiguy]

21 minutes ago, djmt said:

I'll give it one more go after a trip to Bunnings. Thanks for the warning. I won't push my luck too far.

I don’t recall any issues with the 237, however I did roll the stock tube on my PHO-701 and remember the screws being ridiculously tight and frustrating to remove.

[djmt]

2 hours ago, thathifiguy said:

I don’t recall any issues with the 237, however I did roll the stock tube on my PHO-701 and remember the screws being ridiculously tight and frustrating to remove.

Somewhere in a production line I hear a Chinese worker laughing

Edited June 13, 2018 by djmt
?

[Guest thathifiguy]

11 hours ago, djmt said:

Somewhere in a production line I hear a Chinese worker laughing

No doubt!

[Lazz]

On 13/06/2018 at 8:12 PM, initforthemusic said:

Hi Mike,

 

Be careful with the screws. Although not familiar with the SV237, I stripped the screws on my SA-T8 Pre.. What a pain getting them out with Ezy-Out. They are either cheap Chinese rubbish or I did read that you need a Torque Driver to get them out? Rolling the Tubes in the SA-T8 made a pretty big jump in performance, but an even bigger upgrade was getting rid of 12 Wima Caps in the critical path and replacing with various Mundorf Caps. I'd strongly advise doing this if possible (room could be an issue). The SA-T8 went from "Giant-killer" as stock, easily competing or surpassing Pre's twice it's RRP, to "Slayer of All", competing or surpassing Pre's 3 or 4 times it's RRP.

What tubes did you try and how did it change the sound. How many caps did you have to change, and where did you purchase the Mundorf's from. 

[Wayne Elliott]

Hi Laz,

 

I'll PM you.

[Pradeep]

Hi

am Having 237 Mk new and wish to change tubes for betterment.

which brand tube is better.

can we feel big change in sound quality after changing the tubes.

pls reply

pradeep george

Edited October 21, 2018 by Pradeep

[Guest thathifiguy]

18 hours ago, Pradeep said:

Hi

am Having 237 Mk new and wish to change tubes for betterment.

which brand tube is better.

can we feel big change in sound quality after changing the tubes.

pls reply

pradeep george

I replaced just the 12AX7 with a NOS Telefunken and it brought a good improvement.

 

The SV237 sounds excellent even with the stock tube, but the upgraded 12AX7 just took it even further.

[andyr]

On 13/06/2018 at 6:50 PM, djmt said:

Hifiguy,

 

I was hoping you might help me with tube rolling challenges with the Vincent  sv 237.

Haven't yet had difficulty with the tube as I'm still having trouble with the top cover plate. Was wondering if the hex keys are imperial rather than metric? Metric seems to fit but slips when using enough force to turn the screw and I'd hate to strip it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Mike

 

Vincent is German, is it not?  As such, they would use metric - not imperial.

 

Are you sure they aren't 'torx' bolts?

 

Andy

 

[djmt]

That they were Andy. Due to 66 year old eyes I now have every type of wrench known to man. The Gold Lion did make an improvement though.

2 hours ago, andyr said:

 

Vincent is German, is it not?  As such, they would use metric - not imperial.

 

Are you sure they aren't 'torx' bolts?

 

Andy

 

.

[andyr]

15 minutes ago, djmt said:

That they were Andy. Due to 66 year old eyes I now have every type of wrench known to man.

 

Great to hear that, djmt.  Yes, I agree - my 69 year old eyes leave a lot to be desired!    Buy yourself a light / magnifier headband! 

 

Andy

 

[Rodney Lyne]

On 13/06/2016 at 12:24 PM, liteneasy said:

If want a bigger improvement to the low end spectrum for bass, you can remove those 4 10000uf Rubycon filter capacitors and bump them up to 18000uf no problems.

@liteneasy do you know if such a mod is possible on the sv-236 mkII

[surfnetb]

On 13/06/2016 at 12:24 PM, Equaliser said:

If want a bigger improvement to the low end spectrum for bass, you can remove those 4 10000uf Rubycon filter capacitors and bump them up to 18000uf no problems.

Hi mate, when did you get them from? are they the same voltage and the same dimensions? ( size and   pins ). Cheers.