[mudguardiain]

Mudguardiain....couldn't agree more about being a form of therapy.I see my Cayin as not just a amp but a musical instrument .If I don't have that type of connection its not making me happy with what its reproducing.

I began my pursuit of finding decent audio gear after finding I wanted to try and get as close to the same emotions I was getting seeing a band play live, whilst this can never be recreated fully through audio gear I am finding my current equipment is doing a pretty good job of this. I like live recordings & ones that are not too over produced, just love hearing the musicians interact, tubes definitely seem to help with this.

 

[betula]

Beyond the beautiful blue glow of the Bendix, I also really dig the two shiny little dots inside the E80CCs. Tubes are so pretty (and hard to capture with a phone camera).
So grateful to this little glass tubes that are older than me, for bringing me such an amazing musical experience!

 

[NJoyzAudio]

Beyond the beautiful blue glow of the Bendix, I also really dig the two shiny little dots inside the E80CCs. Tubes are so pretty (and hard to capture with a phone camera).
So grateful to this little glass tubes that are older than me, for bringing me such an amazing musical experience!

Betula
Couldn't agree with you more!
When I do switch out my Mazda 6V6G's for the 5992, its always so entertaining to see the 5992's blue glow with the E80cc's

My 5992's with the E80cc's at night, lights off, on the HA-3A
(no enhancements, just straight off the phones camera)

Very Entertaining and relaxing with the music I'm enjoying at the time!

 

[betula]

Betula
Couldn't agree with you more!
When I do switch out my Mazda 6V6G's for the 5992, its always so entertaining to see the 5992's blue glow with the E80cc's

My 5992's with the E80cc's at night, lights off, on the HA-3A
(no enhancements, just straight off the phones camera)

Very Entertaining and relaxing with the music I'm enjoying at the time!

Those 5992s seem to have a lot stronger blue glow. I wonder, how much better they sound compared to the GTY. The price difference between them is more than double.

 

[NJoyzAudio]

Those 5992s seem to have a lot stronger blue glow. I wonder, how much better they sound compared to the GTY. The price difference between them is more than double.

Betula

I've wondered the same thing at the exact opposite approach, seeing that the Bendix Eclipse-Pioneer 6V6-GTY's are half or less than the 5992's
They do use some similar components internally, but there are still some differences internally from the research I've found, but they are close, very close.
I can say that I do enjoy the 5992's when I roll out my Mazda's. Its just a different sound than the Mazda's but it is enjoyable, with the bonus of the blue glow for entertainment.

I'm toying with the idea of acquiring a set of the Eclipse Pioneer 6V6-GTY's to settle this question, especially based on your comments for these tubes. (I've followed your tube changes and comments in this forum, and respect your thoughts and testing, which has stated this line of thinking)
Also wondering what the Eclipse Pioneer 12AU7's might bring to the table with the 5992's, as their build quality is better than many other 12AU7's.
Only reason I have not pulled that trigger is they are a pricier option for a 12AU7 (vs. going with tried and true other NOS 12AU7 options) and not sure if it will bring anything more than the E80cc's do at their lower cost (when you can find true NOS).
As you have found, I think the E80cc on the HA-3A is a very nice sounding combo!

Food for thought for me....

Thank You for your response.

 

[betula]

Betula

I've wondered the same thing at the exact opposite approach, seeing that the Bendix Eclipse-Pioneer 6V6-GTY's are half or less than the 5992's
They do use some similar components internally, but there are still some differences internally from the research I've found, but they are close, very close.
I can say that I do enjoy the 5992's when I roll out my Mazda's. Its just a different sound than the Mazda's but it is enjoyable, with the bonus of the blue glow for entertainment.

I'm toying with the idea of acquiring a set of the Eclipse Pioneer 6V6-GTY's to settle this question, especially based on your comments for these tubes. (I've followed your tube changes and comments in this forum, and respect your thoughts and testing, which has stated this line of thinking)
Also wondering what the Eclipse Pioneer 12AU7's might bring to the table with the 5992's, as their build quality is better than many other 12AU7's.
Only reason I have not pulled that trigger is they are a pricier option for a 12AU7 (vs. going with tried and true other NOS 12AU7 options) and not sure if it will bring anything more than the E80cc's do at their lower cost (when you can find true NOS).
As you have found, I think the E80cc on the HA-3A is a very nice sounding combo!

Food for thought for me....

Thank You for your response.

Same way, mentally I am getting close to pulling the trigger on the 5992, but it would be the biggest sum of money I spent on a pair of tubes so far ($600 with import tax). Often with quality tubes you pay for longevity as well, which is fair. I just think, the GTY is already pretty well-built and already pretty good sounding. Would I only pay for longevity or better sound as well and to what extent? I guess, we won't know until one of us decides to scratch that itch.

 

[Honeypot]

Which 5992 are you referring to?

At the moment I've got Mullard 6v6gt t shape, Mullard 6v6g stcc wd arrow, Mazda 6v6gt st. I like all of them.
To be honest I feel much more difference in sound coming from the driver tubes.
However I would like to either buy another set of the 6v6 stcc (to have a replacement) or something new.
I heard around here good thing about the reflecktor 6v6 g or gt (can't remember) or some brimar maybe?

For 12au7 I've got 2 sets of Mullard 12au7 10m, two sets of Tungsram (Mazda and tungsram) and a set of cv4032 12au7a.
For drivers I'm set for now.

Any other suggestions for power tubes?

Thanks in advance

 

[HiFilife]

All,
About to pull the trigger on one of these and am looking to buy a DAC. I've seen some recommendations in the thread and most are out of my price range. I had planned to purchase a Bifrost 2/64 but some previous posts seem to indicate it really isn't suited for the HA-3A. Has anyone tried a Eversolo DMP-A6 with this? I really want a good streamer and this would double as a DAC as well.
Or any other sub $1000 USD DAC recommendations?
Thank you!

 

[betula]

All,
About to pull the trigger on one of these and am looking to buy a DAC. I've seen some recommendations in the thread and most are out of my price range. I had planned to purchase a Bifrost 2/64 but some previous posts seem to indicate it really isn't suited for the HA-3A. Has anyone tried a Eversolo DMP-A6 with this? I really want a good streamer and this would double as a DAC as well.
Or any other sub $1000 USD DAC recommendations?
Thank you!

What is wrong with the Bifrost?
To be fair, my personal experience is that an amp like the 3A deserves a decent DAC. And the said thing is, most decent DACs are around 1K, or that's where they start. I am not too keen on delta/sigma anymore, but the RME-ADI2 is a decent one from those, or the Qutest is a good DAC too, but I personally think the Cyan 2 is way better than both.
The A6 is a fantastic streamer, and it is worth its price for being a streamer only, but the internal DAC is really not that good. It is ok, and perhaps good enough to survive on it for a few months until you save up, but the DAC part of it is like any $300 d/s DAC. A bit flat and nothing special. As a streamer the A6 beats twice as expensive standalone streamers though.
I think you could be fine with either the Bifrost or the built in DAC of the A6 for a short time, until you are able to get something I mentioned above. Pegasus and Ares II are good too, but IMO the Cyan 2 beats them all and not just by a small margin. It is worth browsing the classifieds for better prices. Just my 2C.

 

[betula]

Which 5992 are you referring to?

Bendix 5992. (6V6).

 

[npatrix]

Has anyone tried a Eversolo DMP-A6 with this? I really want a good streamer and this would double as a DAC as well.
Or any other sub $1000 USD DAC recommendations?

I had the DMP-A6 Master Edtion, which is a great device as a streamer, the screen is great and all the functions spot on, but the DAC with the HA-3A sounded too "Digital", a bit harsh, after 1 month, I stopped looking to VU meters, spectrum analyser... and sold it!
I've bought a Chord Qutest (slightly above your $1000 budget) and the synergy was much better, actually sounds amazing. But I'm in this hobby and pulled the trigger on a Cyan2, still waiting to be delivered, will share my opinion when it arrives.

 

[HiFilife]

What is wrong with the Bifrost?
To be fair, my personal experience is that an amp like the 3A deserves a decent DAC. And the said thing is, most decent DACs are around 1K, or that's where they start. I am not too keen on delta/sigma anymore, but the RME-ADI2 is a decent one from those, or the Qutest is a good DAC too, but I personally think the Cyan 2 is way better than both.
The A6 is a fantastic streamer, and it is worth its price for being a streamer only, but the internal DAC is really not that good. It is ok, and perhaps good enough to survive on it for a few months until you save up, but the DAC part of it is like any $300 d/s DAC. A bit flat and nothing special. As a streamer the A6 beats twice as expensive standalone streamers though.
I think you could be fine with either the Bifrost or the built in DAC of the A6 for a short time, until you are able to get something I mentioned above. Pegasus and Ares II are good too, but IMO the Cyan 2 beats them all and not just by a small margin. It is worth browsing the classifieds for better prices. Just my 2C.

Thanks for the input! I think I'll scale up a bit and get the Cyan 2 based on your input (and some others previously). Looks like that has to be ordered from Kitsune direct - https://www.kitsunehifi.com/product/holo-audio-cyan-2-dac/.

 

[HiFilife]

I had the DMP-A6 Master Edtion, which is a great device as a streamer, the screen is great and all the functions spot on, but the DAC with the HA-3A sounded too "Digital", a bit harsh, after 1 month, I stopped looking to VU meters, spectrum analyser... and sold it!
I've bought a Chord Qutest (slightly above your $1000 budget) and the synergy was much better, actually sounds amazing. But I'm in this hobby and pulled the trigger on a Cyan2, still waiting to be delivered, will share my opinion when it arrives.

Thanks! Yeah, I think I'll grab the Cyan 2.

 

[mudguardiain]

I had the DMP-A6 Master Edtion, which is a great device as a streamer, the screen is great and all the functions spot on, but the DAC with the HA-3A sounded too "Digital", a bit harsh, after 1 month, I stopped looking to VU meters, spectrum analyser... and sold it!
I've bought a Chord Qutest (slightly above your $1000 budget) and the synergy was much better, actually sounds amazing. But I'm in this hobby and pulled the trigger on a Cyan2, still waiting to be delivered, will share my opinion when it arrives.

I think you should love the Cyan, I am using the Spring 3 & from what I’ve read the Cyan is pretty similar. I had a Qutest, & although very good the Holo is a big step up, probably would have gone for the Cyan 2 if it had been available at the time.

 

[Gggggas]

Beyond the beautiful blue glow of the Bendix, I also really dig the two shiny little dots inside the E80CCs. Tubes are so pretty (and hard to capture with a phone camera).
So grateful to this little glass tubes that are older than me, for bringing me such an amazing musical experience!

Betula
Couldn't agree with you more!
When I do switch out my Mazda 6V6G's for the 5992, its always so entertaining to see the 5992's blue glow with the E80cc's

My 5992's with the E80cc's at night, lights off, on the HA-3A
(no enhancements, just straight off the phones camera)

Very Entertaining and relaxing with the music I'm enjoying at the time!

What are these E80CC tubes? I have the Cayin HA-3A incoming and I see that everybody upgrades to these.
Thank you in advance