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Little Dot MKIII Tube Rolling - Page 123

post #1831 of 2785
4/23/09 at 5:13pm
This is absolutely right. High impedance headphones like a lot of voltage, and OTL amps are good at that. Low impedance cans demand a lot of current, and OTL amps are not so good at that.
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post #1832 of 2785
4/24/09 at 1:48pm
Just tried some more with M8083 (EF91) and really like their clear and spacious sound. I did not notice any negative change switching from M8161 (EF92) yet. It really cleans up the sonic stage quite a bit. It is also fun to see the "fireworks" ever time M8083 lights up.

Also I notice that my M8083 seems to remove the channel imbalance. Initially, I thought the imbalance comes from the power tube (since I have been told the M8161 is matched). It turns out the M8161 may have some effect there. I guess when I have bad combination (same imbalance on both power and drive tubes) and it is more noticeable than a better comb (opposite imbalance between power and drive tubes). Is it possible? (Haven't done much switching around.)

It seems tube mismatch is inevitable. What is your solution when you have imbalanced tubes?

DT880 is much picky and revealing on the imbalance. HD600 is more forgiving. This is clearly understandable due to the strength of DT880 in details and soundstage.
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post #1833 of 2785
4/28/09 at 11:09pm
Hey there -

Just got my MK III yesterday and I am loving this little baby!

Question: I've got some Ulyanov 6S19P-B power tubes I've used with my LD II++. Would these be usable with the MK III?

Thanks.
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post #1834 of 2785
4/28/09 at 11:18pm
Nope.

You can use 6N6P or 6N6P-I. David even just recently mentioned that you can also drop in the 6N30P if you have a new version (v2) of the MKIII. It will run a little warmer though - and you'll pay out the arse for those tubes. The 6N6P is a good and most importantly, cheap, tube.
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post #1835 of 2785
4/29/09 at 8:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dukja View Post
Also I notice that my M8083 seems to remove the channel imbalance. Initially, I thought the imbalance comes from the power tube (since I have been told the M8161 is matched). It turns out the M8161 may have some effect there.
FINALLY, my 6N6P power tubes arrived. They started their journey on 4/7 from Ukraine and I have been waiting for it everyday.

But patience pays off. My LD MKIII sound like a TOTALLY new amp. I am so satisfied by its new sound. All the muddy, hot, noisy feeling is gone with more detailed sound. Sound gets focused and condensed through out the whole freq span. Most importantly the soundstage is dramaticlly improved with DT880. And I am using M8161 (not the spacious M8083)!!!! I was very impressed by M8083 with old power tube, but M8161 with new power tube comes even beyond that.

The imbalance is also disappeared. I think the now balanced sound is one of the sources bring dramatic soundstage improvment.

WoW! I didn't know that the old power tubes will cause that kind of damage to SQ. I know they have been old (~1000 hrs according to previous owner, Nick), but not THAT bad. Poor Nick, he must sold it becuse of the sonic torture of those old power and drive tubes (M8100).

I was set to get new tubes since the 1st day I got it. Unfortunately, I was suffered so long due to the long long shipping time.

I read some posts mention that tube amps have great soundstage and I couldn't believe it at all. Now, I know what are they talking about. Wow!

Now I get the chance to really listen to the difference of M8083 and M8161.
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post #1836 of 2785
4/29/09 at 9:04pm
Nice, time for some more tube rolling then. If you got your tubes from Ukraine, then you probably got a nice reserve of backup tubes. Enjoy!
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post #1837 of 2785
4/29/09 at 11:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Max F View Post
Nice, time for some more tube rolling then. If you got your tubes from Ukraine, then you probably got a nice reserve of backup tubes. Enjoy!
So did you mean that those tubes from Ukraine are pretty good? Do you have some known good sources there? Unless they are very good or the long shipping time really make me hesitate (but now I got 2 reserves )

The ebay seller is doing a great job labeling the tube will several numbers to help the buyer match them (I got 4). I don't quite get those (there are two bold numbers, and two labeled "Id or Io" and two labeled "S"). I just pick two that have closed matched bold number (reads 12.2/12.2 & 12.3/12.5).

Any idea? Thanks!
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post #1838 of 2785
4/30/09 at 2:10pm
No I meant that they usually sell you a bunch of tubes - not just two - for a good price. So now you have some backups.
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post #1839 of 2785
4/30/09 at 5:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Max F View Post
Nope.

You can use 6N6P or 6N6P-I. David even just recently mentioned that you can also drop in the 6N30P if you have a new version (v2) of the MKIII. It will run a little warmer though - and you'll pay out the arse for those tubes. The 6N6P is a good and most importantly, cheap, tube.
Ah, thanks. That's too bad.

Will check out the 6N6P. Is there a certain manufacturer/brand to look for?
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post #1840 of 2785
4/30/09 at 11:58pm
They're all Russian made. Some say certain factories are better than other, but I don't know. There are plenty available on e-bay - most are from Eastern Europe.
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post #1841 of 2785
5/1/09 at 6:30am

Mullard M8161

Hello,
I would like to know what is the difference between this tube
CV4015 M8161 EF92 9D6 MULLARD KQDDK TUBE VALVE NOS PAIR su eBay.it Audio, Vintage Electronics, Consumer Electronics
and this
CV4015 M8161 EF92 9D6 MULLARD QDD TUBE VALVE NOS E PAIR su eBay.it Audio, Vintage Electronics, Consumer Electronics
Which is better?
Thanks.
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post #1842 of 2785
5/1/09 at 11:39am
Oskari gave pretty good interpretation of tubes. Please read the posts and follow the links there:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/lit...ml#post5598900

Good luck!
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post #1843 of 2785
5/1/09 at 8:48pm
I'm interested in trying the most tubey-sounding driver tubes going. As in lush, liquid, warm, creamy - just totally over-the-top in all these aspects.

What would be a good choice for this?
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post #1844 of 2785
5/2/09 at 2:42am
I'm using some Raytheon JRP-6AK5W tubes right now and they sound pretty tubey to me. I also found the Western Electric 403B to be even more lush with a bigger soundstage. Others may disagree.
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post #1845 of 2785
5/3/09 at 10:48am
Cool, will check those out, thanks.

Looking to try the warmest, most gooey, syrupy and creamy tubes going... willing to sacrifice detail for all this gushy goodness, as well.
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