Little Bear Tube Phono Pre??

[Wharfcreek]

For anyone buying a 'new' one of these Little Bear units....... I might offer the following assembly suggestion: When the unit arrives, it does NOT come with any assembly instructions. For all practical purposes, none are necessary; it's just a few wires, some standoffs and the screws/nuts to hold them in place. So, when I did my LB I installed the power transformer on the bottom plate, then installed the circuit board, then cut the PT wires to nicely fit the connections on the PCB. It all looked great, but the first time I went to remove the top and bottom to install the PIO .1 caps, I realized that cutting the PT wires was a mistake. I looked back at the pic of the thing on 'the bay' and saw that they had twisted the longer wires and just installed them that way. This provides some room to be able to pull the PCB and work on the solder joints from underneath without having to disconnect the PT from the PCB...... a real advantage! So, I'm just tossin' that out there for anyone's future consideration. Also, some 1/2" stick-on rubber feet will provide the needed room on the bottom to keep the screw heads from rubbing on what ever you set the thing on. The pics of the thing show it without any real frame of reference for size.....so I was somewhat surprised when mine arrived and I realized both how large and how heavy the unit is. The feet were a welcome addition as mine will likely sit atop some thing I don't want to get scratched up. BTW, anyone come up w/ a suitable and 'affordable' PIO .47 for this? WC

 

[sled108]

Well, the Soviet 6Z4P-EV just arrived in less than 2 Weeks from Russia...It looks the Same as the 6Z4, but it has Black Plates...It sounds Great, and it's nice to be able to use a Mil. Spec.Tube for a Plowshare use...

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

Well, the Soviet 6Z4P-EV just arrived in less than 2 Weeks from Russia...It looks the Same as the 6Z4, but it has Black Plates...It sounds Great, and it's nice to be able to use a Mil. Spec.Tube for a Plowshare use...

I should have mine in a day or two based on the tracking...looking forward to it.

 

[sled108]

Yeah, this guy seems Good...And, for the Price...It seems to Me to be a Good Bit of History...

 

[TankPopper]

well. ive got some bad news here... My unit worked fine for the first few days (other then the hum..) but now its all messed up! the output is completely distorted and theres tons of hum (much more then before)!

i didnt use it for about three weeks and in that time i did change my preamp, so that might have something to do with it.. what do you guys think? my current preamp is kind of makeshift, its wide open on a wood board because i havent build a case for it yet.

p.s
i contacted the seller and he is sending me new tubes, so maybe that will solve it.

 

[TankPopper]

well.. seems like the problem was the pot and im preamp.. the phono stage is fine.

so, what are the equivelents of the 6n2 tubes? could the 12ax7 be used?

 

[Jimerson]

I think most of us switched to the Russian 6n2p-ev with good results.

 

[vinylkid58]

so, what are the equivelents of the 6n2 tubes? could the 12ax7 be used?

I don't think the heater arrangement is compatible, otherwise you could roll 12AX7 variants til the cows come home.

jeff

 

[sled108]

I have used 6DJ8's in mine...They work fine, but with Less Gain...The ones that I used Sounded too Close to make it worth the loss in Gain..

 

[vinylkid58]

I have used 6DJ8's in mine...They work fine, but with Less Gain...

I would have thought that using a completely different tube would throw the RIAA curve out of whack.

jeff

 

[sled108]

So far...The 6N2P's are All that I can find for the 'LB'...They have the same Sound as a 6DJ8, and they have over Twice the Gain...
If you Really want to Play Around with this...You would have to Cut One of the Heater Leads, and run it to the Un-Used #9 Pin...You could then Run 12AX7's etc...But, you would not have the Shield that the 6N2P or 6DJ8 have on the #9 Pin...

 

[ephilbe]

After much research on both the Yaqin MS22B and The Little Bear I think I'm going with the LB T10. I was all about that Les Carpenter mod for the Yaqin (eliminating the op amp and replacing with a third 12ax7, among other parts upgrades) that people seem to be raving about at first, but the T10 seems to be a bit more cost effective in my book. BTW, my choice is partially based on having a crack at changing the heater filament pins to accept the 12ax7 and open up the world of tube rolling. It would appear that the 6N2's and 12ax7's are pretty matched in spec aside from the obvious. And on another note, I stumbled across one of these little guys. The 6x4 and 6z4 seem to be an awfully close spec match as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320960126873?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[CT Jim]

I just bought the little bear SS unit, and reported in the turntable forum.

It has developed distortion also, and as far as I;m concerned, this is a crap line of products/

 

[Wharfcreek]

CT, did you report your problem back to the folks at LB? They're pretty cooperative, and my guess is that they would have replaced the unit for you if defective. They may have asked you to check a thing or two.....but that's not unreasonable. I might remind you that even the best of products can fail......which is why they offer warranties and generally have service policies. Hell, even the space shuttle blew up! So, not saying you don't have the right to be unset....but until a manufacturer acts unreasonably about a problem resolution, condemning them or their entire line of products may be a bit hasty.

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

I posted in that thread and think it may be a bad batch of units...it happens. LB is usually a decent buy...and at $100.00 or so it's a crap shoot sometimes. Personally I have only had minor issues and these were easily fixed with a few dollars in material and some better tubes. Beyond that the sound is pretty amazing.

Perhaps these types of units are better suited to DIY types?

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

Well, the Soviet 6Z4P-EV just arrived in less than 2 Weeks from Russia...It looks the Same as the 6Z4, but it has Black Plates...It sounds Great, and it's nice to be able to use a Mil. Spec.Tube for a Plowshare use...

Finally got my new [old] TT in line and was able to hear this tube. Pretty nice

Now I feel a little awkward running a VPI through it so maybe I need a nicer looking enclosure :scratch2:

 

[Wharfcreek]

Scale,

I think CT purchased the SS unit.....which if I'm not mistaken, can be had via auction for under $10.....so, when dealing at that level, I'm incline to think that there may be a few more problems than at the 10X cost 'tube' unit. But, that said, I still think the LB people aren't bad to work with..... 'bad match', unreasonable expectations? I don't know....but I'm pretty sure they'll attempt to make good. WC

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

Scale,

I think CT purchased the SS unit.....which if I'm not mistaken, can be had via auction for under $10.....so, when dealing at that level, I'm incline to think that there may be a few more problems than at the 10X cost 'tube' unit. But, that said, I still think the LB people aren't bad to work with..... 'bad match', unreasonable expectations? I don't know....but I'm pretty sure they'll attempt to make good. WC

ooops! my bad

 

[CT Jim]

yes, I did buy the SS model, but read with interest how everyone who bought the tube units "fixes" them.
I need a preamp, and I bought the SS model on a whim, but I'm not going to fix it or play with it. It doesn't work, subsequently it's not worth anything. My shipping was more than the buy, but I only wanted something that works, and I'll say was neat to look at.
I'll let the seller remedy the situation, then I'll leave it alone. They can spend their time doing burn-ins before shipping if they want. I'll pass.

I guess I don't get as excited about fixing something new as some do!

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

yes, I did buy the SS model, but read with interest how everyone who bought the tube units "fixes" them.
I need a preamp, and I bought the SS model on a whim, but I'm not going to fix it or play with it. It doesn't work, subsequently it's not worth anything. My shipping was more than the buy, but I only wanted something that works, and I'll say was neat to look at.
I'll let the seller remedy the situation, then I'll leave it alone. They can spend their time doing burn-ins before shipping if they want. I'll pass.

I guess I don't get as excited about fixing something new as some do!

FWIW if you want an inexpensive and proven phono pre the DJ pre II is very good.