[A2029]

Really nice long exposure camera shots! Love the thermionic glow!

Sticking with the Melz 6N1P, I swapped the power tubes to a pair of Tung-Sol 7802. Despite looking very similar to the Tung-Sol 6080 (there are subtle differences), these have nearly 3x the transconductance of the 6080 (20,000 vs 7,000 µmhos). If my math is correct (@A2029 keep me honest) a pair of these run the amp at about ~28-30 ohm output impedance.

Yup, you got it, output impedance should be somewhere in that range

Sticking with the 7802, I swapped in the Foton 6N6P. This is simply awesome. The grip, clarity, layering, microdetail, texture, slam - it's all there. Defying logic, there's ALSO a greater sense of smoothness, fludity, and slight decay that's absolutely ear melting. The sound manages to stay totally coherent without falling apart from diffusion.

I'm a big fan of the 6N6P as drivers as well. They are usually dead silent on pretty well every amp especially when they have their sections paralleled in 6N6P to 6J5 adapters.

 

[raindownthunda]

Taking a break from Blue Halo+ adapter rabbit holes. Back to the basics, au naturel.

Enjoying a mellow night of live jazz and orchestra recordings.

Supremely clear, natural sound with the Atrium Closed. I can't emphasize enough how much the Yggdrasil More Is Better has spotlighted this amp and headphone's ability to reproduce the feeling of live music. The gear simply melts away, leaving just the artists performing in the room with you.

Anyways, great mood for shooting more amateur glow-porn.

 

[Wes S]

Taking a break from Blue Halo+ adapter rabbit holes. Back to the basics, au naturel.

Enjoying a mellow night of live jazz and orchestra recordings.

Supremely clear, natural sound with the Atrium Closed. I can't emphasize enough how much the Yggdrasil More Is Better has spotlighted this amp and headphone's ability to reproduce the feeling of live music. The gear simply melts away, leaving just the artists performing in the room with you.

Anyways, great mood for shooting more amateur glow-porn.

Gorgeous pics and amp man!

 

[LinkAudio]

Awesome pictures and amp. Wondering how much power tubes rolling fun with coming soon 6-CHOICE SET (HEXA/OMNI) amplifier.

 

[ARCXENOS]

Tube rolling journey chronicles continue. I have been trying out the 6J7 -> 6J5 adapters made by 1101 Audio. These adapters are very high quality. I think they are nicer than any other adapter I have tried (including ones made by a certain head-fi'er).

First up: EF37A

After trying 4 different tubes with the signature "Mullard Red" coating, I found only 1 to be silent, 2 to have noticeable noise floor, and 1 to be totally dead. Bummer. Fortunately I had this gray coated NOS pair that are dead silent.

Sounding very nice! Smooth and detailed with great soundstage. Remind me of some of my favorite L63.

Next up: KTZ63!

Having some fun playing with the new iPhone 15 Pro camera settings/lighting:

I have been thinking of these metallized tubes lately… I wonder if the metal paint contains lead in them

I may have a pair or 4 that arrived but it wasn’t until I touched them did I start wondering of the possibility of it…

 

[raindownthunda]

I have been thinking of these metallized tubes lately… I wonder if the metal paint contains lead in them

I may have a pair or 4 that arrived but it wasn’t until I touched them did I start wondering of the possibility of it…

I have had the same thought. Who's going to volunteer to scratch a chip off and get it tested?? I've made it a habit to wash my hands after handling any tube in general. Might be overkill but with toddlers running around can never be too careful.

 

[ARCXENOS]

I have had the same thought. Who's going to volunteer to scratch a chip off and get it tested?? I've made it a habit to wash my hands after handling any tube in general. Might be overkill but with toddlers running around can never be too careful.

It took approximately 30 seconds to feel paranoid and then to put them back into the box and wash my hands

I read that some of them are zinc coated

But who didn’t say anything about zinc coated lead?!

 

[Galapac]

If toddlers have access to your tubes then you have bigger problems as they might think it is fun to watch them go BOOM on the floor and god knows what metals are inside of these.
There is too much to worry in the world then the minuscule paint on tubes.
Just proper handling and washing of hands as said above should do it.
The biggest scare now in the news is PFAs, so it seems each generation has their villain whether it be arsenic, lead, asbestos, etc.

 

[LobalWarming]

It took approximately 30 seconds to feel paranoid and then to put them back into the box and wash my hands

I read that some of them are zinc coated

But who didn’t say anything about zinc coated lead?!

How many times did you lick them before packing them away?

 

[ARCXENOS]

How many times did you lick them before packing them away?

They do look very chocolatey

 

[pravous]

I have been thinking of these metallized tubes lately… I wonder if the metal paint contains lead in them

I may have a pair or 4 that arrived but it wasn’t until I touched them did I start wondering of the possibility of it…

As someone who painted a ton of houses in high school and college if it was manufactured prior to 1970ish the paint had lead in it. Biggest risk for lead exposure is old double hung windows that get opened and closed every day. As long as you don’t lick them before you roll them you are fine. That being said lead free solder is the devil. 63/37 gives the nice shiny bead

 

[leftside]

How many times did you lick them before packing them away?

That's how I clean all my tubes. And the pins. Better than a Dremel.

 

[ARCXENOS]

As someone who painted a ton of houses in high school and college if it was manufactured prior to 1970ish the paint had lead in it. Biggest risk for lead exposure is old double hung windows that get opened and closed every day. As long as you don’t lick them before you roll them you are fine. That being said lead free solder is the devil. 63/37 gives the nice shiny bead

I think it was the fumes (or nasty old stuff dust) that made me think it was a problem.

But from what I have briefly inspected, there were no chips that fell off

I will do my best to not lick them

 

[bcowen]

That's how I clean all my tubes. And the pins. Better than a Dremel.

I believe the industry standard is 3 licks. Don't remember where I heard that, but I've used it as a rule of thumb over the years. And for some reason, European tubes always taste better than US tubes.

 

[LoryWiv]

I believe the industry standard is 3 licks. Don't remember where I heard that, but I've used it as a rule of thumb over the years. And for some reason, European tubes always taste better than US tubes.

Just be sure that if you re-flow the solder you wait an hour before that final pin-cleaning step.