[kyle1010]

I just picked up a 6 month old set of SE846 IEM's from a local audio buy/sell site. Very nice!

Yeah I gotta have those. It sucks Shure flaked out on CanJam SoCal cuz I like to try before I buy with headphone stuff, but if they mean what they advertise as "true subwoofer performance" you know I'm all in.

 

[kyle1010]

Tube amps are seriously the strangest electrical devices ever. Did some tube rolling earlier and ended up with the TS 5998s, stock drivers(since I'm waiting to buy the Sylvania metal base 6SN7s soon), and of all things the Sophia 274b. I tried this combo about a month ago when I first got the 5998s and hated it. Brittle, sharp, overly crisp, and artificially wide sounding. Yuck. Same combo after that extra month's worth of burn-in time sounds great now. Smooth, bassy, warm, and wide. Still not as liquid and tonally perfect as I'd like, but we're getting there. Tubes man...strange creatures.

Also, heading to T.H.E. Show Newport on Sunday. Anybody want me to audition any gear while I'm there and report back with impressions? New LCD-X rev2's? HD800S's? Lemme know.

 

[Badas]

Tube amps are seriously the strangest electrical devices ever. Did some tube rolling earlier and ended up with the TS 5998s, stock drivers(since I'm waiting to buy the Sylvania metal base 6SN7s soon), and of all things the Sophia 274b. I tried this combo about a month ago when I first got the 5998s and hated it. Brittle, sharp, overly crisp, and artificially wide sounding. Yuck. Same combo after that extra month's worth of burn-in time sounds great now. Smooth, bassy, warm, and wide. Still not as liquid and tonally perfect as I'd like, but we're getting there. Tubes man...strange creatures.

Also, heading to T.H.E. Show Newport on Sunday. Anybody want me to audition any gear while I'm there and report back with impressions? New LCD-X rev2's? HD800S's? Lemme know.

It gets even stranger when working on tube synergy. I have two beautiful sets of NU 6F8G's. They produce a wonderfully sweet sound. In a number of ways I think they are nicer than my favourite driver the TSRP 6C8G. However the NU synergy is a nightmare. They do not behave with other tubes. With a lot of tubes they buzz (an actual audiable buzz). Switch the power tubes and everything is quiet again. Unfortunately they do not behave with the best power tubes. If they did it would be a compelling sound.

 

[kyle1010]

It gets even stranger when working on tube synergy. I have two beautiful sets of NU 6F8G's. They produce a wonderfully sweet sound. In a number of ways I think they are nicer than my favourite driver the TSRP 6C8G. However the NU synergy is a nightmare. They do not behave with other tubes. With a lot of tubes they buzz (an actual audiable buzz). Switch the power tubes and everything is quiet again. Unfortunately they do not behave with the best power tubes. If they did it would be a compelling sound.

Yeah that's weird. I hope I never run into that problem. WA22 is picky enough, I don't need the tubes themselves to also be drama.

 

[leftside]

I don't seem to hear as many differences in sound between the various tubes as other people, so I purchased some very cheap tubes to see if I could hear the differences more clearly. Sure enough, the differences were very obvious. The most obvious differences (to my ears) were the highs and treble. Very bright. In general, I found the cheaper tubes to sound more harsh. The more expensive tubes are more smooth and lush. Of course the bass, imaging and detail are better with the more expensive tubes, but it's the differences in the highs and treble I noticed the most.

 

[Badas]

  I don't seem to hear as many differences in sound between the various tubes as other people, so I purchased some very cheap tubes to see if I could hear the differences more clearly. Sure enough, the differences were very obvious. The most obvious differences (to my ears) were the highs and treble. Very bright. In general, I found the cheaper tubes to sound more harsh. The more expensive tubes are more smooth and lush. Of course the bass, imaging and detail are better with the more expensive tubes, but it's the differences in the highs and treble I noticed the most.

 
I would agree with that. You didn't so happen to buy Sylvania did you? I find them very bright and harsh in the treble (especially the driver). A lot of fans tho.

 

[leftside]

It wasn't Sylvania's. I like their early VT-231's and metal base. I bought a batch of tested NOS tubes from a guy for less than $100, cleaned up the pins and gave them a test. My ears seem to stop being able to tell the difference once I reach a certain price point - typically around the $250-$300 mark for a single rectifier or pair of driver tubes. Notable exception are the B65's. I'd also really like to try the Tak. Haven't really bothered trying any other power tubes since I got the 6BL7's.
 
I seem to have also "settled" on the Cossor 53KU as my go to rectifier tube. I can't tell too much difference between it and the WE 274A and I'm always worried about damaging the expensive WE 274A when I'm rolling out the driver tubes. Still roll in other rectifier tubes for fun sometimes.

 

[leftside]

Obtained some more ECC33 (black base, dark grey/black plates, yellow Mullard lettering) and some more ECC35 (black base, dark grey/black plates, white Mullard lettering). Compared them to the Osram B65's. The ECC33's and ECC35's sound very similar. They are louder than the B65's. The ECC's are more "in your face'. I was listening to Atmosphere by Joy Division and the drums are louder - almost a little startling, whereas with the B65's they are smoother/more lush, and more at the same sound level as the rest of the music. I'm not saying one is "better" than the other - just different flavors - but I think I slightly prefer the B65's - certainly for slower music like Joy Division and Massive Attack. Perhaps for harder hitting music I'd prefer the more lively ECC's.

 

[Badas]

This is a stunning tube combo for the WA22.

TAK274B. I purchased a second TAK274B second hand with about 1000 hours on it. $250. I like it more than my other TAK274B. The extra hours obviously helps.

NU6F8G drivers. Such a pain in the ass tube. Lovely sounding. A little less mid-range that the Tung-Sol roundplates. Tung-Sol blooms in the mid-range sometimes. NU is smoother and sweeter in the treble. I think I like the NU just a bit more than the Tung-Sol. Both a close tho. The pain thing about the NU is you get noisy ones. I had to cycle through a few to find this quiet set. These are 100% quiet.

GE6AS7GA. Not concidered highly. However always been a favorite of mine. Synergy seems to work. Actually a fairly neutral tube. Doesn't do anything wrong. A little mid-range warmth that suits the NU. Side note NU's don't play nice with 6BL7 power tubes. Get very noisy. They play nice with these tho. Another reason why I'm using them.

 

[a1uc]

This is a stunning tube combo for the WA22.

TAK274B. I purchased a second TAK274B second hand with about 1000 hours on it. $250. I like it more than my other TAK274B. The extra hours obviously helps.

NU6F8G drivers. Such a pain in the ass tube. Lovely sounding. A little less mid-range that the Tung-Sol roundplates. Tung-Sol blooms in the mid-range sometimes. NU is smoother and sweeter in the treble. I think I like the NU just a bit more than the Tung-Sol. Both a close tho. The pain thing about the NU is you get noisy ones. I had to cycle through a few to find this quiet set. These are 100% quiet.

GE6AS7GA. Not concidered highly. However always been a favorite of mine. Synergy seems to work. Actually a fairly neutral tube. Doesn't do anything wrong. A little mid-range warmth that suits the NU. Side note NU's don't play nice with 6BL7 power tubes. Get very noisy. They play nice with these tho. Another reason why I'm using them.

wow awesome price on the 274B

 

[Badas]

wow awesome price on the 274B

Yes. Very happy with that purchase. I wanted a spare. Sounds cleaner and smoother. My first one obviously needs more burn time. I've heard these need lots of time to settle. So I will roll my first one back in soon.

I've also been playing around with Solid State rectification. With good results. I have more work to do on that and will report on it after I finish experimenting.

 

[Badas]

Some more Solid State mucking around.
 
Tried one of these:
 

 

 
Sounded the same as the other Solid State rectifier which is really nice. However it had the same over heat issue where at 2 hours the whole amp gets very hot.
 
Then I got the Weber Copper Caps (ordered two).
 

 

 
This is the bomb. The best sound. Everything is better than the best tube rectifier I own (Takasuzuki 274B). Sweeter clearer treble which produced more detail. I heard things in my favorite tracks that I hadn't heard before. Alison Krauss's New Favorite. Her voice croaks on some high notes. Never heard that before. Noise level is extremely low. Just not there at all. I've always had one of my drive tubes (TS RP 6C8G) that on occasion got a little buzzy/hum sound. Not a bit of noise from it last night. I've noted some rectifiers work better with the other tubes in the amp. Solid State kept them all dead quiet. I would guess good clean voltage keeps the other tubes happy. Holographics and soundstage sounded as good as the TAK274B. Bass deeper and clearer. Speed was excellent. Not as quick as the other SS rectifiers but better than the TAK274B. I'm not too worried about speed. It sounded good enough and I don't listen to a lot of lightning fast music.
Music in general had more snap and sounded far more natural.
 
With the amp on for three hours the amp was warm. No heat issues. Normal tube rectifier makes the amp hotter.
 
I adore Weber's Copper Cap. May look odd however it sounds amazing.

 

[kyle1010]

This is madness! But I like it. Hey so did you get rid of your LCD-Xs?

 

[Badas]

This is madness! But I like it. Hey so did you get rid of your LCD-Xs?

Yes. I got the AudioQuest NightHawks and got addicted to them. The Hawks have the best treble I have heard from a HP. They sound like speakers. Not perfect as they bloom a bit in the upper bass notes. However overall I like them better than both of the Audeze HP's I owned.

So I sold the LCD-X and decided to just keep the LCD-3C and the Hawks.

 

[kyle1010]

Yes. I got the AudioQuest NightHawks and got addicted to them. The Hawks have the best treble I have heard from a HP. They sound like speakers. Not perfect as they bloom a bit in the upper bass notes. However overall I like them better than both of the Audeze HP's I owned.

So I sold the LCD-X and decided to just keep the LCD-3C and the Hawks.

Interesting. I'm thinking about switching to an LCD-3C, LCD-3F(2016 drivers), or selling my Xs and re-buying a pair of non-2016 driver Xs. The new drivers aren't doing it for me. Way better mid detail, better imaging, and smoother highs but the bass quantity is noticeably less and I can't deal with that for my electronic music. I feel as if I go with the 3C, I'll lose out on the sharp fazor imaging I'm used to with the Xs. Is that true? But I read that their bass output is on par with the Xs. The 2016 3F's graphs look like they have more sub bass than the original 3Fs so that might work too. Not sure what to do here. I might rent a 3F from the cable company library to do some A/B for a week or so. Hopefully they have the 2016 version. Any other advice?