Guys, I'm writing just to say that I think the EF91 CV4014 Mullards is the best valve for me on my LD MKII. I just love how they smooth the harshness in sound and the sibilance as well. They may not be the best ones in details and speed (the Voskhod is the king there) but they are very...

Just wondering... C38 and C39 are 0,001uF film caps (102J means that) but what's their voltage? 630V as written on them?   Are they really necessary? With the passive mod we've bypassed the output stage altogether.

  Quote:   +1   In addition the DI's PSU works in Class A, which means it always runs at max consumption.

I'm not a big fan of tube based DACs. I miss to see their purpose other than add coloration and distortion to the output stage. IMHO a DAC's duty is to decode the sound and output it at the most neutral and faithful tone. Then you can alter it with a tube buffer or, like myself, with a tube...

Yeah, even if it will not solve my problem or fit my tastes it will sure be lots of fun. Because of it I'm getting a lot of knowledge in how those DAC works and their components.   I have a neat idea on how to add an USB input but I don't know if it will be possible until I have the unit...

In the end I decided to buy the cheap Lite DAC-AH, I've ordered it today.   If I don't like it, I will easily sell it to a friend of mine who wanted it, so there'll be almost no loss.   Though, before giving up, I'll probably mod the hell out of it.

Good point.   Today I've isolated the frequencies that produce that harshness and they peaks at 6,5 Khz but they range from 6 k to 7 k. Personally I hate equalizers because I see them as a sort of "cheat" or shortcut and they always end up screwing the sound, so I prefer a "hardware"...

I see (I've read the first pages of that topic), so you're suggesting me to act on the headphones rather than the DAC.   It's a pity because I really love my K601, the only problem is that "glare" that comes in on bad recordings around 8Khz. Today I've tried to solve the problem with my...

well, actually I think that's what I was looking for: something that would cut or "round" those very high frequencies that gives sibilance in my ear.   Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong?

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely look into it.   Any other suggestions?

Today I've found this while browsing for DACs:   http://www.ebay.it/itm/ROSS-MARTIN-AUDIO-24-Bit-PCM1794A-SPDIF-TOSLINK-DAC-LOW-DISTORTION-USA-/320791440472   I've seen a thread here on head-fi but couldn't get if it might be the right one for me or not.   Any advice?

Hi everyone,   this is my story: some time ago I've decided to get into the head-fi, so I recycled some things that I previously had (my Beresford TC-7510 DAC and my sweet AKG K601) and threw a Little Dot MKII in the mix.   My chain is as follow:   Source: iMac 24" Transport: HA...

I have a little dot mkII, no opamps for me! :P   Yeah mordy, I have the gold grid 6N6P and they gave a little bit of boost on the low end but did nothing really for the highs.   But I'm quite sure that the problem is with my DAC.   The Mullards M8083 (CV4014 military variant) arrived...

Hey mordy,   I tried that tubes as well and couldn't like them as well due its harsh highs. As of now I'm good with the French 6AM6S tube (EF91). They have tamed the highs a bit and have good bass and warm mids.   I'm still waiting for the mullards M8083 to arrive: we had several areas...

ahhh ok, "large shield" is referred to the upper shielding of the tube, it makes sense!

hey eclipes, what's the difference bewteen the small shield and the large shield ones? Just wondering.

Guys, I've snatched a super offer on the bay: 4 mullards m8083 (the seller says they are of the cv4014 type but can't find that on the image provided) for 14$, free shipping, that makes them 2,50 € each! I've found my bargain!   He has more here   ...

hey thank you dadong, I added them to the list under observation! I hope I can get them!

Thank you mordy, I'll definitely look after your suggestions!

hey dadong, I'm really interested in these ef91 mullards, the problem is that I cannot find them for cheap on the bay. The cheapest I've found are 6 euros each + 6 euro shipment, which breaks my valve spending rule. Do you get them anywhere for cheaper?

Hey mordy, I can say that my Voskhods from the '73 didn't change sound signature after more than 100 hours of burn in... now I'm burning in some Voskhods gold/platinum grid from the '87 and sound a bit more tamed on the highs... will report back when they'll have at least 50 hours on them.  ...

I've given up after 100+ hours of burn in on my '73 Voskhods, now I'm burning in some Voskhods from the '87. Already they sound a little bit "softer" then their older brothers. I'll report back after 50h or more of burn in.   The french EF91 tubes still aren't here :(

ditto that.   K601 owner here.

Meanwhile I'm still waiting for my EF91 french tubes to arrive >:(

I have them, but only the ones from the 80s (1987). I still have to try them because I want to finish the burn in process of my voskhods from the '73