[attmci]

Temperature have plunge downunder - 13c !!! Well I have always wish for cooler weather, especially with the long listening sessions with the OTL amp but the heat from the amp is hardly enough to keep me warm.

Just ran my hand over the Lundahl transformer and it's cool. I am running Sylvania 6sn7w and 6 x 6BX7gt and have been for almost a week. I think the desire to swap tubes is gone. This tube combination is perfect for me. Perfect with LCD-2f which I'm using a lot lately. 4 Fotons 1950s tubes arrived together with another 3 Svetlana 6h13c, making it six 6h13c !!! I did not even roll them in. It's still sitting in the boxes. No desire to roll in the russian tubes. Them 6sn7w and 6bx7s just sound too good for me and would you believe it, it's really quiet. So they will stay in Ulysses until the tubes burn out !

It's almost 6 months with Ulysses. I hate having to name my amp but it needs a name. Calling it the OTL amp is just too impersonal. There should really be an official names for the OTL and EL3N amps... for the 300b amps too. So anyway, here's a report card from my 6 months of using Ulysses.

This is a really good sounding OTL amp with HD800, LCD-2f. Period. Buy it without reservations. I would have gladly shown you the internals of the amp but I think Glenn needs to give his approval first. It's his intellectual rights. The internal is a work of art. So complex and yet so neatly laid out. I'm impressed. Above all, it's the sound that this amp produce that really impressed me. Simply lovely sounding.

Well I'm back to listening to music.... and to muse over my next amp.... no prize for guessing what it is but it will based on the 2a3 tubes.

UT.

You really should try this one last tube.......

 

[leftside]

Temperature have plunge downunder - 13c !!! Well I have always wish for cooler weather, especially with the long listening sessions with the OTL amp but the heat from the amp is hardly enough to keep me warm.


UT.

Anyone would think I live in Australia and you in Canada based upon the current weather:
https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-74_metric_e.html

 

[UntilThen]

Perfect weather in Vancouver 23c. That's when robins sings and flowers bloom. Springtime right?

It's still 13c now but that's ok during daytime. I like it cool.

 

[UntilThen]

You really should try this one last tube.......

I don't see no tube. You're right. There's one last tube to try before I retire like Tyll.

That's the yet to arrive Tung Sol 12SL7gt black glass round plates.

 

[whirlwind]

I’ll start this update with a pic. This weekend has been crazy, lots of running around to complete errands. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to find time to put in those straight bottle EL3 into the amp. First impressions: sounds very similar to the EL3N, but I think the top end might be slightly smoother. However I can’t be sure. Mids and Low end is still very impressive on either the EL3 or EL3N.

I’ve also been running single tube mode on the EL3N for the Fostex TH900 Mk2. The TH900 are easy to drive and single tube mode is enough to make the Fostex sing. The more I listen to the TH900, the more I feel it matches well with the EL3N amp.

Unfortunately I’ll not be able to do much listening on the EL3N next week as I’ll be traveling the entire week. I will surely miss it but I have the nifty ifi nano idsd BL to accompany me on the boring biz trip.

Thanks much for your first impression of the straight bottles Sound Infinity

 

[2359glenn]

Sam needs to try these as the output tubes. I think they might make a bigger difference there.

 

[2359glenn]

I don't see no tube. You're right. There's one last tube to try before I retire like Tyll.

That's the yet to arrive Tung Sol 12SL7gt black glass round plates.

I can't believe you are going to retire buying new tubes.
Guess you have most of the good ones already. I like the idea of rolling headphones instead of rolling tubes.
Hard to believe I am not a tube roller but once I found tubes I like they will be in there for years.
The most tube rolling I have done was to find quite #26 tubes for my preamp and quiet #27 tubes for my headphone amp.

 

[whirlwind]

Sam needs to try these as the output tubes. I think they might make a bigger difference there.

Good point, I will wait and see what he has to say about them as outputs, before I think about any
Should be dead silent as outputs too.

 

[attmci]

I can't believe you are going to retire buying new tubes.
Guess you have most of the good ones already. I like the idea of rolling headphones instead of rolling tubes.
Hard to believe I am not a tube roller but once I found tubes I like they will be in there for years.
The most tube rolling I have done was to find quite #26 tubes for my preamp and quiet #27 tubes for my headphone amp.

He won't quit. I have high confidence.

Sadly the head-fi is still a very small society comparing to other hobbies.

 

[UntilThen]

The truth is I was pretty much over with tube rolling after one and a half years of doing that with Elise, Euforia and La Figaro 339. At the end of that I had enough - literally. I thought that by buying Ragnarok I would be ween of tube addictions. Little did I know that I would be getting Ulysses six months after Ragnarok. That restarted my tube rolling again.

It was great fun and an eye opener though. I was able to experience first hand how the different drivers and power tubes sound on Ulysses. Boy what an eye and ear opener. I can't believe how good Ulysses sounded with different tubes. I can clearly hear the differences and it's not subtle. I know which combinations I like. I mean really like. 6 x 6bx7gt really stands out. Looking back, I don't need the other power tubes. I would have been thoroughly happy with 6 x 6bx7gt. It's picky with drivers though. Or rather my ears are picky. I really like Sylvania 6sn7w metal base with 6 x 6bx7gt. Fancy liking the expensive 6sn7w metal base that is almost unobtainable now..... and I'm going to burn it all the way. Why not. Why would you buy a tube and not use it.

You know Glenn, of all people you should indeed have been a compulsive tube roller.

Now headphones... rolling headphones is even more fun but alas truly sorry for our pockets. Over the last few days, I started to like the LCD-2f more and more. It's got great bass, lush mids and overall a very relaxing sound but still clear and details sufficient for me. I mean I like rock and electronica genres just like Leftside and the LCD-2f is perfect for it. However I believe Leftside when he says that LCD-3 is even better. So .... who knows I may sell all my wooden headphones and get a LCD-3 to compliment the HD800.

Then I will retire...

 

[2359glenn]

The truth is I was pretty much over with tube rolling after one and a half years of doing that with Elise, Euforia and La Figaro 339. At the end of that I had enough - literally. I thought that by buying Ragnarok I would be ween of tube addictions. Little did I know that I would be getting Ulysses six months after Ragnarok. That restarted my tube rolling again.

It was great fun and an eye opener though. I was able to experience first hand how the different drivers and power tubes sound on Ulysses. Boy what an eye and ear opener. I can't believe how good Ulysses sounded with different tubes. I can clearly hear the differences and it's not subtle. I know which combinations I like. I mean really like. 6 x 6bx7gt really stands out. Looking back, I don't need the other power tubes. I would have been thoroughly happy with 6 x 6bx7gt. It's picky with drivers though. Or rather my ears are picky. I really like Sylvania 6sn7w metal base with 6 x 6bx7gt. Fancy liking the expensive 6sn7w metal base that is almost unobtainable now..... and I'm going to burn it all the way. Why not. Why would you buy a tube and not use it.

You know Glenn, of all people you should indeed have been a compulsive tube roller.

Now headphones... rolling headphones is even more fun but alas truly sorry for our pockets. Over the last few days, I started to like the LCD-2f more and more. It's got great bass, lush mids and overall a very relaxing sound but still clear and details sufficient for me. I mean I like rock and electronica genres just like Leftside and the LCD-2f is perfect for it. However I believe Leftside when he says that LCD-3 is even better. So .... who knows I may sell all my wooden headphones and get a LCD-3 to compliment the HD800.

Then I will retire...

Well you had to find out what tubes you liked the best. You wouldn't have believed me if I told you cheep 6BX7 would have sounded best.
And that Sylvania 6SN7 will last you 10 years + using it every day so use it if you like it.

 

[Monsterzero]

So .... who knows I may sell all my wooden headphones and get a LCD-3

Blasphemy!

 

[mordy]

Just got an old 1944 Ken-Rad 6N7 tube and I am trying it out. The tubes came in original JAN boxes that looked liked they were never opened. I was unable to get the tubes out without tearing the inserts holding the tubes in place.
Is there a way to do it without tearing the boxes?

 

[UntilThen]

Well you had to find out what tubes you liked the best. You wouldn't have believed me if I told you cheep 6BX7 would have sounded best.
And that Sylvania 6SN7 will last you 10 years + using it every day so use it if you like it.

Huh !!! Pearly words of wisdom. It's like Yoda talking to Luke Skywalker.

But that last sentence I'm not so sure. I'd be very surprised if that brand new NOS 6sn7w last 10 years. That would justify spending 175 pounds and Langrex sells some of the nicest tubes. Not cheep but nice.

There's a reason why I like the 6sn7w so much. It's the quietest driver in my inventory with 6 x 6bx7 and also one of the best sounding tube. The other driver that I have that is super quiet with 6bx7s is the Mullard ECC31. It's another superb driver but it has a darker, warmer tone. There are other very good sounding superb drivers like the Mullard ECC33, Siemens c3g, Gec B36 and Tung Sol 12sn7gt bgrp but they are not dead quiet with 6bx7s and these are all brand new NOS tubes. I would have love them just as much if they exhibit the same level of quietness as the 6sn7w and ECC31. So I use these drivers with 5998 or 6336b and believe me these are seriously good killer tones too.

However it's the wonderful voicing of Ulysses that breathes life into these tubes. Thanks for a wonderful sounding amp.

 

[UntilThen]

Mordy that's a rare find. If those are 6sn7w, the seller would be sitting on a fortune. However I am done with buying more tubes. I have to prove @attmci wrong.