Eden Navigator WP100 + Tubes?

[JBMysteron]

Having trouble finding literature on this particular preamp

Does it in fact have tubes or not?

 

[JBMysteron]

Also if so, how many/what are they?
If you can provide pics I would be eternally grateful!

 

[Eric Moesle]

The Navigator has one preamp tube, a 12ax7.

I, and others, have tried a variety of tubes in it with the results being exactly the same - different tubes had no effect whatsoever on the sonic character, so tube-shopping for that model is a waste of time.

I did try a 5751 in it at one time, and the result was a significant decrease in gain, even with the "tube character" knob dialed all the way off.

The Nav is a good sounding preamp, but if you are looking for warm tube saturation, the Navigator isn't for you.

 

[bobcruz]

Also, be aware that the tube character knob is SS emulation. You cannot overdrive the tube in the Navigator, so that may explain why tube rolling has little effect.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

Also, be aware that the tube character knob is SS emulation. You cannot overdrive the tube in the Navigator, so that may explain why tube rolling has little effect.

Very interesting. Is there documentation of this? It seems like a wasted opportunity. One thing I've noticed about this control is that there seems to be less high frequency content in the distortion generated than I would expect.

 

[m.oreilly]

i'd also like a little more info on this...

 

[bobcruz]

I saw that information posted several times on the Eden forum, including from experts who repair Eden amps. If there's no information about the tube character circuit in the manual, a schematic would give you the full details.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

Bob is absolutely correct. Looking at the Eden forum and seeing posts from people who seem like they are representing the company, it does appear that the distortion circuit is indeed a tube emulation. The tube is used as an impedance matching buffer on the input. Not a bad use for a tube. I hope it's run at full voltage instead of being a plate starved design, but given that the WP100 sounds so nice, I guess it's not really an issue. The bottom line is that if the tube is functioning properly, one 12AX7 will not sound very different from another in this circuit.

 

[Son of Bovril]

+1 IME tube rolling this pre is a waste of time, but this pre sounds so good it really doesn't need it anyways