[HOWIE13]

  For the past months I really enjoyed tube rolling with the ember. I'ts a fantastic amp and one of my all time favorites. It drives the HD800 as HEK very well when using the right tubes.
 

 
Among my favorite tubes are the Fivre 6SN7, RCA 5692 Red base, Tungsram E80CC, Philips E188CC. Of course each has it's strengths and weaknesses based on what music and headphones I am listening to. It took me a long time to figure out there is no one tube to rule them all.

I love the sound of that Tungsram- it's great in Horizon too.

 

[RedBull]

That look like one happy Ember. Surrounded by great headphones, tubes and fed by the mighty Yggy!

 

[nix177]

Can some veterans here give me your bias opinion on some settings on ember 2.1 on ken rad 6sn7gt with HE400i and HD650. Since I am still new to audiophile and I don't really have a reference point on what is good or bad sound yet. I will try my best to describe:
 
My current setup Modi 2 Uber > Ember 2.1 with ken rad 6sn7gt vt-231 (low gain), (low or med output resistance), bypass cap > he-400i (35 ohms). 
 
My questions is I am not sure if I should set it to low OR med output resistance. When I set it med output it seems there is more distance from me to the stage and the vocal is more focus but I lost some bass detail (I think, I am not sure. Maybe just tighter? but definitely I hear less stuff on the lower end). When I set it to low output, I can hear more bass detail example drums traveling further from right to left but vocal is more upfront and everything seems floating and the stage is not as tangible. So I am not sure what is good or preferred. 
 
Also I have a pair of HD650 coming next week. What is your gain setting and output setting for this cans? Since it is high impedance HP instead of lower impedance HP like my HE-400i.

 

[Tunkejazz]

Can some veterans here give me your bias opinion on some settings on ember 2.1 on ken rad 6sn7gt with HE400i and HD650. Since I am still new to audiophile and I don't really have a reference point on what is good or bad sound yet. I will try my best to describe:

My current setup Modi 2 Uber > Ember 2.1 with ken rad 6sn7gt vt-231 (low gain), (low or med output resistance), bypass cap > he-400i (35 ohms). 

My questions is I am not sure if I should set it to low OR med output resistance. When I set it med output it seems there is more distance from me to the stage and the vocal is more focus but I lost some bass detail (I think, I am not sure. Maybe just tighter? but definitely I hear less stuff on the lower end). When I set it to low output, I can hear more bass detail example drums traveling further from right to left but vocal is more upfront and everything seems floating and the stage is not as tangible. So I am not sure what is good or preferred. 

Also I have a pair of HD650 coming next week. What is your gain setting and output setting for this cans? Since it is high impedance HP instead of lower impedance HP like my HE-400i.

I have that tube and the He400i. I use it with low output R. Great bass, but a bit thin mids in my opinion. I use high gain, my brain believes that the sound is coming out more dynamic, but I guess it is a placebo effect.

BTW, I think the only tube that gave me a significantly more visceral and deeper bass is the rca 6C8G. Unfortunately it needs a different adaptor. An alternative to the KR in the same family with slightly less bass but better mids is a Sylvania bad boy (3 holes in the black mica from 51/52).

But I still haven't found a tube that comes close to a pair of Visseaux 6J5 that HOWIE13 introduced to all of us.

 

[d3rrlck]

  Can some veterans here give me your bias opinion on some settings on ember 2.1 on ken rad 6sn7gt with HE400i and HD650. Since I am still new to audiophile and I don't really have a reference point on what is good or bad sound yet. I will try my best to describe:
 
My current setup Modi 2 Uber > Ember 2.1 with ken rad 6sn7gt vt-231 (low gain), (low or med output resistance), bypass cap > he-400i (35 ohms). 
 
My questions is I am not sure if I should set it to low OR med output resistance. When I set it med output it seems there is more distance from me to the stage and the vocal is more focus but I lost some bass detail (I think, I am not sure. Maybe just tighter? but definitely I hear less stuff on the lower end). When I set it to low output, I can hear more bass detail example drums traveling further from right to left but vocal is more upfront and everything seems floating and the stage is not as tangible. So I am not sure what is good or preferred. 
 
Also I have a pair of HD650 coming next week. What is your gain setting and output setting for this cans? Since it is high impedance HP instead of lower impedance HP like my HE-400i.

 
The gain setting for ember is on the input, low and high input attenuation. The modi 2u has a weak lineout, so make sure your ember is set to low input attenuation, otherwise you'll lose some volume there. 400i is only 35ohm ( i have same HP, and I also have the ken rad 6sn7gt glass). I remember playing around with the output resistance, and didn't like the sound on 35 and 120 ohm settings. I think you should stick to the .1ohm output resistance as the 35/120ohm setting is designed for higher impedance headphone 300ohms above. The consensus about impedance matching is the output resistance of the amp should be (at least) 8 time lower than the impedance of the headphone.
 
To bypass or not to bypass the cap is actually up to you. Some say that bypassing the cap gives you a more transparent sound, more true to the source as there is less processing in the signal. I prefer with the caps on.

 

[HOWIE13]

I have that tube and the He400i. I use it with low output R. Great bass, but a bit thin mids in my opinion. I use high gain, my brain believes that the sound is coming out more dynamic, but I guess it is a placebo effect.

BTW, I think the only tube that gave me a significantly more visceral and deeper bass is the rca 6C8G. Unfortunately it needs a different adaptor. An alternative to the KR in the same family with slightly less bass but better mids is a Sylvania bad boy (3 holes in the black mica from 51/52).

But I still haven't found a tube that comes close to a pair of Visseaux 6J5 that @HOWIE13 introduced to all of us.

 
Yes, all things considered, 'Bad Boy' is my favourite 6SN7 too. 

 

 

[nix177]

Thanks for all the helpful info. That really give me better idea on my reference point. I really like the 1952 6sn7gt too. 
 
Funny story. At first I was thinking to get a nice HP and dac/amp combo and be done with because the HP was on sale. In one short month, I got 2 of each: 1952, KR, RCA smoke, 6DJ8 Bugle Boy, 6n6p. Then a Hickok tester. Now, I am on a road with no return. I am extremely satisfied with the result though. I need to look into the Visseaux 6J5.

 

[HOWIE13]

  Thanks for all the helpful info. That really give me better idea on my reference point. I really like the 1952 6sn7gt too. 
 
Funny story. At first I was thinking to get a nice HP and dac/amp combo and be done with because the HP was on sale. In one short month, I got 2 of each: 1952, KR, RCA smoke, 6DJ8 Bugle Boy, 6n6p. Then a Hickok tester. Now, I am on a road with no return. I am extremely satisfied with the result though. I need to look into the Visseaux 6J5.

Looks like you are well and truly hooked!  

 

[nix177]

Can someone give me a link for these amazing dual 6J5 adapter?
 
I was looking on ebay... these tubes are ridiculously expensive now a days. 100 a pop.

 

[d3rrlck]

  I need to look into the Visseaux 6J5.

 
You can't go wrong with the Visseaux 6J5 but they're expensive nowadays. A cheaper alternative would be Zenith or Brimar 6j5, or if you can still find a national 6j5, these 6j5s are pretty much close sounding tubes. Here's the link to the adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/201458214762?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[ericr]

For those looking for a great tube at a reasonable price I'll recommend the often overlooked but excellent Raytheon 6CG7 (not the later 6FQ7).

The 6CG7 is the 9-pin equivalent of the 6SN7. So you get a 6SN7 type sound at a great price and no adapter is needed. If you are patient on eBay you can buy one foe $25-35. If anyone is interested I can post a picture of the Raytheon construction.

Seeing I've settled on the better (and much more expensive) 6SN7W, I would gladly loan a Raytheon 6CG7 to anyone in the USA for 30 days. All I ask is you post your thoughts on the tube here in this thread and pay the return postage. Send a PM if interested.

 

[HOWIE13]

   
You can't go wrong with the Visseaux 6J5 but they're expensive nowadays. A cheaper alternative would be Zenith or Brimar 6j5, or if you can still find a national 6j5, these 6j5s are pretty much close sounding tubes. Here's the link to the adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/201458214762?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 
Totally agree. The Zeniths in my experience are very similar to Visseaux.
 
If anyone wants their tubes to lie parallel to the front edge of Ember you may need to also use a socket extender so the adapter clears Ember's front capacitors. 
 
Alternatively, you could use a dual 6J5 to 6SN7 adapter and place it into a standard 6SN7 to ECC88 adapter to give extra height, and place that into Ember. Viz:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pc-Dual-6J5G-6C5G-VT-94-L63-CV1932-VR67-VT154-TO-6SN7GT-CV181-B65-tube-adapter-/201563928382?hash=item2eee25773e:g:EOQAAOSw95lXFE-B
 
and:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pc-6SN7-TO-ECC88-6DJ8-6N11-6922-6N6P-tube-adapter-for-you-amp-/201079159018?hash=item2ed14078ea:g:3~sAAOSw9mFWLioO

 

[HOWIE13]

For those looking for a great tube at a reasonable price I'll recommend the often overlooked but excellent Raytheon 6CG7 (not the later 6FQ7).

The 6CG7 is the 9-pin equivalent of the 6SN7. So you get a 6SN7 type sound at a great price and no adapter is needed. If you are patient on eBay you can buy one foe $25-35. If anyone is interested I can post a picture of the Raytheon construction.

Seeing I've settled on the better (and much more expensive) 6SN7W, I would gladly loan a Raytheon 6CG7 to anyone in the USA for 30 days. All I ask is you post your thoughts on the tube here in this thread and pay the return postage. Send a PM if interested.

 
That 6SN7W is a great tube.

 

[Tayyab Pirzada]

I'm new to tube rolling and have a Project Starlight (not Project Ember). But this seems to be the forum to ask this.
 
I have an RCA Clear-Top 12au7 (which sounds great to my ears), and a Telefunken 12AT7 on the way.
 
Can someone describe to me some good tubes? I don't have the patience to go through 127 pages, and I think the first post in this thread is quite outdated now.

 

[Astral Abyss]

  I'm new to tube rolling and have a Project Starlight (not Project Ember). But this seems to be the forum to ask this.
 
I have an RCA Clear-Top 12au7 (which sounds great to my ears), and a Telefunken 12AT7 on the way.
 
Can someone describe to me some good tubes? I don't have the patience to go through 127 pages, and I think the first post in this thread is quite outdated now.

 
I'd recommend getting the 6SN7 adapter that Jeremy sells (it's by far the best made one I've seen).  It'll introduce you to the wonderful world of the 6SN7.  So many inexpensive tubes to try and enjoy.  Also, tube knowledge doesn't really become outdated, only the prices and rarity change, not the quality of the tubes.
 
If you want to stick with 9-pin tubes, I'd recommend the 6922/7308 or the European equivalent E88CC/E188CC.  Amperex/Phillips is my favorite brand.  Telefunken are too rich for my blood.  The Russian made 6N6P and 6N30P are also excellent.  Smooth sound, slightly rolled off highs, solid bass.  
 
 
EDIT:  Don't know if the Starlight can handle the 6n6p/6n30p current requirement... I'll have to look.  You can always try the Russian 6n23p otherwise, also excellent.