I've been wanting to ask this for a while but I kinda just forgot ... Does lower/higher bias point change the sound of the tubes - or just the power output? Like if one modifies the Aegis bias point to get near maximum plate dissipation for KT88, will the KT88 in that case sound better than...

Yea I have the 5691. Like you said, I think it's more of a lateral move than an upgrade. I have tried around 6 7 types of 6SL7 and was surprised most of them sound really good, like there's subtle change in the tonal balance rather than clear technical upgrade between them. The fomo is strong...

Wow, this is the first time I've seen these brown micanol 6SL7 with white text! I've been looking out for a reasonable priced 6su7gty pair since I built the Aegis, no luck yet. Currently rotating the Tung-Sol 6SC7GTY and I'm liking the sound ... makes me wonder if the 6su7gty is any...

Any chance for a picture of the Tung sol? Are they the 6sl7gt variant with black glass and clear top? I've been trying to get my hands on the famous tungsol 6su7gty and was always left wondering if other tung sol variants are worth collecting (the smoked & black glass, the 6sl7gt ..etc)

I have these for around $50 a piece (mostly for the nos paper box circa 1940s - in less than pristine condition these could be found for much cheaper). Very nice tube warmth with some coloring in the mid range. Depends on the power tube sometimes I prefer these to the much more expensive 5691...

A friend lent me the Susvara for the week. Very impressive technicality and similar power requirement as my OG He6 - I don't think the Aegis has any trouble driving them both, though a speaker amp would probably fare better. The Susvara is still a bit too "tame" for my taste; the EL156 helps a...

If you don't mind the look (and the slight inconvenience), go for it. You could always mark the direction of the guiding pin with some "engraving" or permanent marker pen. There's also the 3d solution of AnyDave or some guiding pin strap on I've seen on some guitar tube repair...

Sound changes aside, it would be catastrophic if one swaps dac and forgot the volume pot is maxed ... It also depends on the DAC but most I found sound (a tiny bit) better on fixed output (compared to variable output). I do admit that I'd love the idea of integrated (or headphone amp) with a...

Input tube monday! So my 7F7 and 6SC7 came in today. One of the 7F7 glow much brighter than the other, not sure if that's something to worry about though (balanced channel and no hiss no noise whatsoever). These sound quite nice, less warmth than their 6sl7 counterpart ... There's something...

Nothing like the nos 6550 (especially the tungsol solid plate); If you want to try 6550, among the new production the Svetlana winged c 6550 is quite ok, a tad bit warm though. I have fond memories of the nos 6550, used to run a quad of them in my old Kt88 push pull amp for the He6. The price...

I have seen a lot of resin wood guitar knob - they looks cute but are too small (for me) to be used as volume knob ... Haven't found anyone locally to do custom resin wood knob either. Now if Zach was to offer stabilized wood knobs for the (commercial) Aegis and the Homage ... I'll be paying...

Tubes problem, sadly. It might goes away on its own, but most of the time - the static stays ... I have a pair of metal can 6cs7 with the same behavior - on a good day I could get through one track without much problem. If it's other tubes I'd advise cleaning the pins and play with them a bit...

New rectifier day - Brimar 5r4gy disk getter. Very holographic and balanced; compared to the Mullard Gz34 fat base, it does trade a bit of mid range euphonic for more space between instruments. There seems to be loads of variants for this tube with different getters/plate structure though...

I always favor Low Impedance tap in Transformer coupled amps. The higher tap brings the mid forward and creating more warm & bass bloom - very romantic sound... I mostly listened to metal & classical music though, and I prefer the tightly controlled & airy sound of the low impedance tap. But if...

I had the Atrium Open on long term loan for a few weeks, really tempted to get a stabilized resin pair though I feel it's quite redundant with my other cans. Classic rock sounds sublime on the AO though ... Camel & Dire Straits really stands out! I don't have much trouble with treble/brightness...

Exotic 5u4 is hella expensive though. Sometimes when I see people listing 5u4 Osram and Cossor I am glad the diy version could not take those .......... On the topic of tube, my El39 finally came in and I could see why people like them. I expected it to be quite a departure from the EL38...

To complete our armaments, we need a sword to compliment the Aegis! I also hope for another L0rdGwyn's DIY Excalibur/Durandal/Muramasa ... An OTL would be nice, like the discontinued Airmid :p.

Is that a 3-way impedance switch I spy on the Aegis ...? Very nice top plate with the slightly recessed tube socket look! I'm guessing the other switch is the xlr - rca input switcher ... just wondering if a xlr transformer input is in the commercial version. I kinda want to build a transformer...

FWIW, I especially liked the EL38 with the RCA 5691 for the Atrium Open (and Sylvania 6sl7/GE 6sc7 for other headphones). Most of the time I prefer the El156 though, and consider them a bit better than the El38. But I would be 100% happy with the EL38 and Sylvania 6sl7 (sounds quite similar to...

I'm watching out for the Mullard & Phillips El33 but they are quite hard to come by nowadays. Will 6p25 and 6m6g works the same way as the El33 though? I see many vendors listed them as direct replacement for the El33.

As long as the transformers are good, you can't really end up with a brick in any case. Tube amps are quite robust and much easier to repair than their solid state counterpart (especially smd based one). But I knew that feeling! Mine was when I saw one of the pin of the Lundahl main transformer...

Don't worry, better be careful - I even trace the wire in the manual by eyes to see which pad goes into which xD. If the manual does not require you to do something in a specific way, then it does not matter which way. L0rdGwyn is so throughout with the build instruction I could not even...

EL38 came in today. One pair is twin halo getter and the other is (I guess?) trough getter? Time to put them to the test vs EL156. One pair's pin looks to be quite dirty so they have to go to storage till holiday is over and I can get my hands on some deoxit. One question though, should...

Thanks for the info. I was looking at radiomuseum and saw el37 listed as different connection to el34, the small pin out picture is also different where EL37 has (m) instead of g3 like the EL34. So many pentodes, so little time! Everytime I see an old pentode pop up, my mind goes immediately...

El156 came in today; big, powerful & expansive sound. Can't wait to compare them to the el38 & el39 which might arrive next month. Since I can't get my paws on any decently priced 5r4, EL41 will have to wait ... really tempted to grab a pair of metal base Siemens EL41 though. On the topics...