[UntilThen]

For those that might be interested, I will most likely be selling some of the power tubes I've accumulated in anticipation of my Odyssey that was scheduled to be built last month. I've got Mullard xf2 EL34's, RFT EL34's, La Radiotechnique EL39's (w. adapters), GEC KT66's, and Tung-Sol 6550's. All are NOS and never installed.

I'm so sorry for your lost Thaddy.

 

[Thaddy]

I'm so sorry for your lost Thaddy.

As sad as I feel for Tomas and his family, I can't help but be curious about his work bench. It would be so exciting to see some amps in various stages of construction! It's unfortunate they'll never become working designs, and I know mine was being worked on as well. I've decided to hang on to the GEC's, Tung-Sol's, and Mullard's for a bit until I decide if a similar SET amp can be built by someone else, or if something comes along in the Classifieds.

 

[Isaacc7]

As sad as I feel for Tomas and his family, I can't help but be curious about his work bench. It would be so exciting to see some amps in various stages of construction! It's unfortunate they'll never become working designs, and I know mine was being worked on as well. I've decided to hang on to the GEC's, Tung-Sol's, and Mullard's for a bit until I decide if a similar SET amp can be built by someone else, or if something comes along in the Classifieds.

I know this is Head-Fi but if you want an amazing single ended amp that uses those tubes for speakers I can highly recommend the Dennis Had Firebottle KT88.

 

[UntilThen]

If you're still keen on proceeding with a custom amp, I suggest you see the builder of 1101 Custom amp but his queue is also long. There is a thread on Head-Fi.

Alternatively you could consider Ampandsound Mogwai Rev 2 or Bigger Ben.

 

[OctavianH]

As sad as I feel for Tomas and his family, I can't help but be curious about his work bench. It would be so exciting to see some amps in various stages of construction!

I might be able to help you seeing my amplifier during manufacturing. I think at this stage it makes no harm to share those.
Tomas was a very organized person and he loved symmetry. Before starting the build he was designing the layout of each socket and meter on the amp.

Some CAD designs looked like:

Afterwards he was starting to build.

And in the end, the result was:

I hope this will let you have an idea about the manufacturing process. It is not much, but I love the clean design and very well organised workbench.

 

[OctavianH]

What do we have here? The invasion of the ECC40 and a good starting point to learn more about this forgotten tube type.

 

[OctavianH]

Not very easy to switch to ECC40 when 4654K + 6SL7 sound so good. Well, no problem, they are not running anywhere.

 

[UntilThen]

4654K also known as EL39 with octal pins are right up my alley. Unfortunately my pair of EL39 top cap kept coming off despite super glueing it. I will buy another pair because the bass of EL39 is really special.

 

[UntilThen]

There it is the day it came. Fresh off the factory floor.

 

[UntilThen]

What am I going to do with these now.

 

[Isaacc7]

What am I going to do with these now.

Sadness…

A SE 300b using 6sn7 input with a mosfet follower isn’t an exotic or unusual design. The thing is that Tomas had a real flair for the looks and you could set your watch by his build quality. I’m sure if you used the same transformers you could replicate the sound of the Telemachus to a large degree but who knows about the rest. His track record and personal touch aren’t replaceable IMO. It’s one thing to want that design, it’s another to want a Telemachus.

I had grand designs for another Odyssey using 6j5, 6n7, kt81, n34, and 6aq5 tubes. I’ve got a load of Mullard, Telefunken, Richardson, Brimar, and GEC tubes ready. Been half heartedly looking for other amp builders. I dunno, maybe it’s still too soon for me to think logically about this stuff. Then again, enjoying music is an emotional experience so it shouldn’t surprise me that my equipment and the man that made it has such an influence on me. I’ll hang on to the tubes for now and see where this hobby takes me In the future.

 

[Isaacc7]

I posted over on the 6j5 thread that I had gotten a lucky break buying 50s Mullard 12j5gt tubes at a steal of a price. Put them in with the Mullard 807 outputs. Didn’t work, too rolled off and blah sounding. Bet the Cossor vt60a would be a great combo, they tend towards clarity and extension. That was better but still felt a bit closed in and lacked the clarity I’m used to with the VT60a. Switched to Ultralinear and that is the cure. Still not getting the clarity but there is a timbral layering now that is really interesting. It’s coming through with acoustic instruments.

I‘ve said it in the past but I really do think I’m getting to the end of my tube acquiring stage. I’ve got c3m and 6j7 to 6sn7 adapters coming. I also found the ktz41 tube which has an identical pin out to the 8d2 tubes I bought before. The only difference is that they are 4v instead of 13v. Oh, and they are GEC instead of Brimar. I anticipate them being 7c5 equivalents so will use 4 at a time in my Odyssey. I can use the 8d2 in my preamp but not the ktz41 alas. Even without those new tubes I have a seemingly unlimited number of variations of *sn7, *sl7, and *j5 to mix and match with output tubes.

As far as output tubes go I’m still lacking adapters for gu50, 6gk6, 12av5, and 2e26. Another pair of 6bg6 adapters are on the way so I can use them soonish. As it is I still haven’t listened to the reissue KT66, Mazda 807, Ken Rad 6f6 and need to go back and try the 6v6/7c5, el38, and 6ar6 now that I have a little better idea about setting operating points And have more inputs to choose from.

Plus, Tomas’s passing seems to have broken the manic spell I was under. Realizing there are more important things than audio has sobered me up. So yeah, think that others than sending more money to Deyan I’m pretty much done with tube buying.

 

[leftside]

Not very easy to switch to ECC40 when 4654K + 6SL7 sound so good. Well, no problem, they are not running anywhere.

4654K are friggin rare! Took me a long time to find a matching pair.

 

[leftside]

There it is the day it came. Fresh off the factory floor.

I've got a pair of those on order. Luckily there are quite a few NOS still available on eBay.

 

[triod750]

4654K are friggin rare! Took me a long time to find a matching pair.

Is there a difference in sound between 4654 and 4654k?