[HOWIE13]

These are the best sounding 'Beats' I've ever heard.
 
 

 
 
 
 
Got them for 13 Euros from someone like this guy, on the beach in Fuengirola:
 
 
 

 
They were so good I bought a second pair for my 26 year old daughter, who loves them.
 
Maybe I'll seek him out next month when I'm in Spain again and ask him if he has an HD800 or T1.

 
 
 
 
 
.

 

[DavidA]

  Hi UT,
 
Amazing - u read all the 6354 posts about "You know that you are and audiophile when"?
 
My conclusion is that audiophiles like to talk about their hobby.
 
But you have to be prepared. Say you are showing off your system to a young teenager. After playing a very dynamic recording in it's full glory, you ask: How does it sound?
 
Answer: Horrible!
 
What can u do with kids that have been brought up on Dr. Dre Beats?
 
 
 

My son (in college) and his friends don't even bother with Beats or Bose, most have Sennheiser (Momentum, HD-6XX), Beyer (DT-770/880/990) or Grado headphones while I've seen a few of his friends with MDR-1A or EL8.

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Good find mordy ))) One of the newer RCA 6080s I bought has started to crackle a lot. It is the first tube I've had go bad.
 
Not wanting my HD800S to join @UntilThen 's HD650 in headphone heaven quite yet, I've gone back to my GEC 6080s, which sound better anyway. I did order a pair of the 1957 RCAs out of curiousity..

You need to be careful with your HD800S. Certainly only use it with tubes that are good, without pops and crackles. I have a pair of Fivre 6N7G 'Horn' that buzz occasionally. I've put that aside too. Probably will bin it. 

 
Those 1957 RCAs looks interesting. The RCAs have a nice midbass as Mordy says.

 
UT...what happened to your Senn HD650 ?

 

[UntilThen]

UT...what happened to your Senn HD650 ?

A defective tube killed it. I heard a pop and the right channel died.

 

[whirlwind]

 

UT...what happened to your Senn HD650 ?

A defective tube killed it. I heard a pop and the right channel died.

Sorry to hear that....are you getting new drivers for them ?
 
Let me guess, you had your headphones already plugged in when you turned your amp on ?

 

[UntilThen]

  Sorry to hear that....are you getting new drivers for them ?
 
Let me guess, you had your headphones already plugged in when you turned your amp on ?

I was in the midst of my listening session when that happen. First a buzz, followed by a loud pop (on the right channel) several minutes later and the right channel became silent. It's the tube because with other tubes now and my T1, I have perfect stereo image. 
 
I don't think I'll repair it. Just use my T1 and HE560 for now.

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Sorry to hear that....are you getting new drivers for them ?
 
Let me guess, you had your headphones already plugged in when you turned your amp on ?

I was in the midst of my listening session when that happen. First a buzz, followed by a loud pop (on the right channel) several minutes later and the right channel became silent. It's the tube because with other tubes now and my T1, I have perfect stereo image. 
 
I don't think I'll repair it. Just use my T1 and HE560 for now.

Thanks....what tube was it, 5998 ?

 

[UntilThen]

Used RCA 6080. I'd be heart broken if it's my new 5998. 

 

[whirlwind]

  Used RCA 6080. I'd be heart broken if it's my new 5998. 

 
I asked because I have many 5998 tubes, because they sound wonderful in my amp.
 
They can all be very finicky when you first put them in and they warm up, especially if they have sit for awhile...some can ping for quite awhile...i usually wait 10 minutes before plugging my phones in when using these tubes.
 
Glad it was not an expensive tube that you lost.
 
The drivers for the HD650 can be purchased, i am sure they could steer you in the right direction on the HD650 thread.
It is a great can, I have owned it on two different occasions and would not be surprised if I owned it a third time at some point, if the right deal would come along. 

 

[UntilThen]

I have 3 5998 that are very stable. No noise at all. A pair (green lettering) I use in Elise while the other (white lettering) I leave it on the Darkvoice.
 
Thanks for the tip on HD650 driver. I've put it aside for now.
 
I'm amazed that these tubes from the 50s and 60s are still available as NOS and new.

 

[UntilThen]

It's time to give a short impression of the V-Monk plus that @geetarman49  send me.
 
I have never given too much thought to earbuds and I was naturally sceptical before hearing these monks. However they surprised me when I first listen to it using my iPod classic. The tone is lively with a rich midrange and an engaging bass. I was even able to plug it into Elise and the fun factor is high. 

 At 9 o'clock on the volume dial, it's hard to imagine you're listening through a $5 earbud. Whilst the soundstage seem compressed compared to fullsize headphones, the details are clearly present. The best earbud I've ever heard.

 

[pctazhp]

   
I'd say that assertation may be reaching a bit. I've shared hi-fi rigs with a good handful of varied late teen's through 20's, who are well versed in the Beats sound, and they were all quite impressed - some agape that fidelity like that is even possible. I've even spoke with some who say their Samsung earbuds and other cheapo's sound better than those rip-off's. What a convoluted corporate world we live in these days, where the masses are brainwashed into things like mindless shallow autotuned music, headphone brands, uncomfortable ugly clothes, etc. until they actually like it. Well for me, I've always been proud to be strange. We the audiophiles are the outcasts and should be proud of it - causing ripples in the tides to spur hi-fi innovation.
 
...WOW, how did I just get so deep on a blown mind after a long day? 

 Or maybe it's more like Stax can buy Beats... or at least Skullcandy 

 

Sure. It's all the fault of the "evil" corporations. Individual choice and responsibility has nothing to do with it.

 

[pctazhp]

@hypnos1 I remember when we got our first black & white TV in 1953. My mother wanted to be with the rest of the family when we were glued in front of it. But she refused to watch, so she would sit with her back to the TV playing solitaire. That didn't last too long. It was The Ed Sullivan Show that finally brought her into the 20th century )))

 

[Audict123]

Sorry to intrude the regulars in this thread I didn't post for a while but did keep an eye on the Elise thread(s) occasionally. I'd like to report on the use of Visseaux 6J5 or 6C5 in Elise. The Visseaux earned their reputation in the Project Ember thread, but (or because of that?) they are hard to find and the prices are getting silly. Particularly for the 6J5G coke bottle form (>200 dollar/pair NOS/NIB). So, I started experimenting with other forms. Turns out that the 6J5MG of 6J5MGT are 100% identical, construction wise and sound wise. They are glass tubes in metal cans that can easily be removed.  Then they look like this:

 
Photo is taken from 'ask jan first' site - where it is claimed they still have stock of these. The site is outdated though...
 
I really really love these. Combined with the stock russian 6H13C powers, the bass is huge. With the 6H5C (close, but not identical in properties and sound) even more so. I think it bleeds a bit into the low/mids but boy these combination are 'physical'. Mids and highs are just like I like them: detail, but not exaggerated (I'm very sensitive to that). With 5998, the bass seems shifted to deeper frequencies. Still very physical, powerfull, probably more realistic. But the highs are over the top, this combination wears me out within an hour. Chatham 6AS7G: too polite. Where has the bass slam gone? Cetron 7236 : this may be the optimum for continued listening of all genres. Great bass, mids and highs with space and energy but not fatiguing.
One downside: I get some audible noise with all 6J5's I put in Elise via the ECC33->ECC31 adapters. Being single triodes, one set of triode connections of each tube socket is not connected. Maybe the noise creeps in there? I planned some experiments on potential remedies for that. Whatever: if you have some of these tubes, try them in the driver position and please report back! I know some of you come from Project Amber and have (or had) them. Decentlevi raved about them in Amber, but didn't like them much as drivers in Elise. As always, taste & synergy play a role. But in my view, these rate among the best. Quite similar in the excitement departmeent to FDD20 but without the hassle of external power.

 

[HOWIE13]

  Sorry to intrude the regulars in this thread I didn't post for a while but did keep an eye on the Elise thread(s) occasionally. I'd like to report on the use of Visseaux 6J5 or 6C5 in Elise. The Visseaux earned their reputation in the Project Ember thread, but (or because of that?) they are hard to find and the prices are getting silly. Particularly for the 6J5G coke bottle form (>200 dollar/pair NOS/NIB). So, I started experimenting with other forms. Turns out that the 6J5MG of 6J5MGT are 100% identical, construction wise and sound wise. They are glass tubes in metal cans that can easily be removed.  Then they look like this:

 
Photo is taken from 'ask jan first' site - where it is claimed they still have stock of these. The site is outdated though...
 
I really really love these. Combined with the stock russian 6H13C powers, the bass is huge. With the 6H5C (close, but not identical in properties and sound) even more so. I think it bleeds a bit into the low/mids but boy these combination are 'physical'. Mids and highs are just like I like them: detail, but not exaggerated (I'm very sensitive to that). With 5998, the bass seems shifted to deeper frequencies. Still very physical, powerfull, probably more realistic. But the highs are over the top, this combination wears me out within an hour. Chatham 6AS7G: too polite. Where has the bass slam gone? Cetron 7236 : this may be the optimum for continued listening of all genres. Great bass, mids and highs with space and energy but not fatiguing.
One downside: I get some audible noise with all 6J5's I put in Elise via the ECC33->ECC31 adapters. Being single triodes, one set of triode connections of each tube socket is not connected. Maybe the noise creeps in there? I planned some experiments on potential remedies for that. Whatever: if you have some of these tubes, try them in the driver position and please report back! I know some of you come from Project Amber and have (or had) them. Decentlevi raved about them in Amber, but didn't like them much as drivers in Elise. As always, taste & synergy play a role. But in my view, these rate among the best. Quite similar in the excitement departmeent to FDD20 but without the hassle of external power.

 
Very interesting.
Could you post a picture of your set-up and maybe show a link to the adapter you are using?
Are you just putting one single triode 6J5 into each driver socket using an ECC31 to 6SN7 adapter?
I would have thought each driver socket would need two 6J5's connected by a standard dual 6J5 to 6SN7 adapter, which is what we used with Garage amps.
I would think your 6J5 set up could be modified to hopefully remove the noise.