Luxman + HD800S here too, it’s such a synergistic combo. I listen to nothing else at the moment.

I have experienced this too with the Icon and judging by how much more it happens during the day as opposed to very late at night, I d say too that it is related to power quality. However the noise of a defective tube is not that dissimilar so it can be confusing to figure out what’s what. The...

most definitely Nos

if you want warm and gooey get your hands on a Mullard ECC83 in place of your Gold Lion, much more of an effect on overall sound plus the most magic midrange!

6SN7 are not as readily available here in the UK as they are in the states so take this from someone who hasn’t tried several of the great ones but my favourites with the Icon have been a pair of CBS Hytron- dirty cheap on eBay. Such an expansive sound space and 3D sense with the HD800S...

I gave up on the Tubestore very early on. On my first order they sent the wrong 12AX7 which at least was in working order. When I emailed them to let them know they admittedly sent me a replacement free of charge but the replacement was humming so intensely that it was unusable. I ve had more...

So passing through Spiritland in Mayfair today I had the opportunity to have a quickie with the Heddphone and a very brief side to side with the 800S. Listened to Pagan Poetry and Unravel by Bjork and Song of Los by Apparat, no acoustic instruments or anything orchestral as I was not in the...

They are both great amplifiers but to my ears the Luxman is a significant step up in transparency, layering and detail retrieval. Both are musically involving with the luxman having faultless PRAT while the icon is generally more laid back. I tend to listen to the Luxman more these days also...

My bad, I didn’t know you had the Jensens. You are good as you are I think !

@theBlackKey , your new valves will shine so much more efficiently with the new capacitors, those have to be replaced sooner rather than later . Glad you re enjoying :-)

I m actually referring to True-fi, it just wasn't to my taste I guess or perhaps not right for my setup.

I wonder if they still have the one month free trial. I tried sonarworks with mine and always prefered them without any EQ for classical orchestral material which is- to my ears anyway- the ultimate test...

Of course but recommendations are very much based on personal taste :-) Very decent: Gold Lion Very lively and accurate/resolving: Tungsram Incredibly insightful and detailed: Telefunken goosebump inducing midrange magic and musically haunting: Mullard MC1

Just thought I d mention that a year ago I had emailed Icon Audio regarding options for replacement of the driver tube and they were not in favour of using an ECC82 in place of the ECC83 as it draws more current or heat- it's not electrically the same. I too had used one for a week before...

I wonder if it would be too much to drive these through the speaker taps of my 10W per channel amp...

I can't wait for these to be available in the UK! I heard them in CanJam London and although I was impressed, they felt slightly underdriven by a Hugo2. Would love to see if my amps are up to the task, at this price they are very attractive for many of us on a more modest budget.

Anyone in here with expert knowledge of ECC83 variants? My Ebay is inundated with Mullard M8137 , the military grade ECC83 equivalent. SInce it was supposed to be a sought after ECC83 of course a lot fo those listed on ebay will be fake but what would be the tell tell signs?

Is it a good match ?

I have a Tungsram ECC83 that I agree sounds reminiscent of Telefunken so I d be very keen on trying their EL84s. One of my Gold Lion EL84s spectacularly died on the weekend so I m using a quad of Siemens that sound wonderful and very extended and solid down in the sub 100hz region!

I m noticing very similar taste in valve preferences ;-) so I d like to ask what your preference on the EL84s lies towards. I also run a really good EL84 amp as a head amp and overall so far it’s again the Gold Lion that do the trick. I ve tried some Siemens too, they sounded good for about 200...

To my ears they bloom after about an hour, so yes. On the other hand I really enjoy listening within minutes after switching on to hear how the sound gradually opens up, it often helps me get completely immersed.

I think i finally have to try the 800 and compare to the 800S with my own ears.

Glad you re enjoying it :-) Did you find it a lesser combo with the 800S?

That was quick! Remember , it needs a bit of time and a good 12AX7 ;-) Enjoy

Thanks for clarifying and sorry if I created confusion.