bharat2580
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2014
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I've had my LD MKIV SE for several years now and use it primarily with 600ohm DT-880's. It is very versatile and I have also used my PS-500e and HE400 on it as well. I do find that mine is rather sensitive to RF so I have to careful of placement around computer and WiFi stuff. I've been using my Vallhalla more with the DT880 for classical.
How's the tube decay? Don't own any tube amp at moment but heard they die out like light bulbs over time and need replacement. Curious how long the bulbs would last in the LD MKIV SE of yours. I'm considering adding this amp to warm up the harsh brightness in my Beyerdynamic DT 880 / 600 ohms but don't like the idea of having to swap out tubes over time and having the sound consistency degrade. Maybe I be better off sticking to solid state amps and getting another headphone with a signature less bright?
My experiences tell me that, in general, Beyerdynamic DT 880 / 600 ohms works better with an OTL tub amp like LD MKIV SE. For Beyerdynamic DT 880 / 600 ohms, it is hard, if not impossible, to find a solid state amp to match or beat the performance of an OTL tub amp.
Would you be able to suggest any OTL tube amp with a more affordable price tag than MK IV? I'm looking at less than 250 if possible. My DT880/600 are my only headphones that are too bright for me and adding a dedicated tube amp for this makes the affordable price of the DT880 not so affordable anymore.
How's the tube decay? Don't own any tube amp at moment but heard they die out like light bulbs over time and need replacement. Curious how long the bulbs would last in the LD MKIV SE of yours. I'm considering adding this amp to warm up the harsh brightness in my Beyerdynamic DT 880 / 600 ohms but don't like the idea of having to swap out tubes over time and having the sound consistency degrade. Maybe I be better off sticking to solid state amps and getting another headphone with a signature less bright?
I won't worry about the life of the tubes. Most of them are rated 3000 hrs and above, with some (e.g. C3g) rated at 10,000 hrs.
Changing tubes are much easier than changing FET's. Just lift the tubes and replace them with suitable ones. You do not need to open the cabinet.
In fact this is where all the fun in tube rolling, and all this thread is about!
You will soon notice there are many friendly helps from this thread to help you get started, This thread is one of the most helpful and friendly threads I've seen.
Enjoy!
Do tubes degrade over time (eg. Shelf life) even if you don't put in he usage hours?
Not as far as I know. Remember a lot of the NOS (new old stock) tubes are from the 50's-70's and they are still going strong.
A Little Dot MK II or MK III then might be cheaper. Massdrop had the Darkvoice on sale a while back for a good price but that has expired.
If you are looking for tubes to take the brightness out of the DT880's then you might be disappointed, I'd try some EQ software first to take the treble two bumps out.