[UntilThen]

he's got a fellow Pittsburgher sitting next to him! Where was this shot you know?

No idea. It’s a YouTube clip.

 

[UntilThen]

For those of you with a Glenn amp, how do you compare them to other tube amps you've tried, especially TOTL amps like EC ZDS, aficionado, DNA stratus, bottlehead mainline, WA5, WA22. Tried to search for comparative reviews but couldn't find any.

I have a short comparison / impressions of my Glenn Super 9 OTL amp against the WA5 Le... in this thread somewhere.

Would love to hear a EC ZDS sometime. This is an amp I am curious about.

Heard the WA22 at the shop briefly before I got hold of the GOTL. Can’t remember to post much impressions.

I have a DNA Stratus on order to arrive next year. This is the one I would like to test against the GOTL. Remember Glenn’s OTL is much cheaper in price to the Stratus but the GOTL is right up there in entertainment value against the WA5 Le. In my opinion as usual.

 

[UntilThen]

I just got four tung-sol 7236 in the mail see how these sound as outputs in the OTL
Has anyone tried these as outputs?

I have tried T.S. 12sn7gt with 2 x 7236 and 2 x 5998.

A premier tone !

 

[UntilThen]

I have six. Waiting

Heh. Give it a whirl. Should be a hurricane force.

 

[UntilThen]

Bass head should be right at home with GOTL. It’s not a boomy bass. The OTL bass is dynamic and punchy. That’s how I like it. Tubes can vary the tone.

 

[UntilThen]

In my early days of head-fi, I've always wanted to sample as many amps as possible, tube amps in particular. I've been through quite a few now. The urge to experiment more now is diminishing basically because I'm at a stage where what I'm hearing is kind of right to my ears. It doesn't grow old. Everything I look for in a setup is there. It's vivid, clear, extended and the listening sessions just draws me in. This contentment is a good place to be.

That goes for tube rolling too. I'll occasionally still change my tubes but I'm totally happy with Mullard ECC35 and 6 x 6bx7gt which is my what I'm using for a while now.

Yggdrasil > GOTL > HD800. Listening to Norah Jones and the splendid musicians.

 

[mordy]

Yes, there comes a time when you find what you want and you are content to leave things where they are. At least that's how I felt with my old amp.
Enter GOTL - it is different ballgame. Tried different things, and at least I know now where NOT to go, more or less lol.
Tried 13.3A of fire power after Glenn OK'd it: Driver 0.3A 6N23P, 2x1.5A 6BL7 and 4x2.5A 7236.

The 7236 tubes run hot, around 240F. This is the first time I felt that the amp got fairly warm (but not hot). Maybe those silicone mittens for barbecuing are a good idea for changing the tubes....
So I am running the amp flat out, and it just doesn't sound right. It is as if the 7236 tubes are overpowering the other players, and they are not allowed to make themselves heard fully. The lightness,attack, speed and vividness are compromised. There is a little more bottom punch, but the musicality is suffering.
Don't know if I can express my self clearly. Think elephants dancing - powerful maybe, but clumsy and not elegant.
Pulled out one pair of the 7236 tubes. Now we are talking - similar in sound to the same combination using a pair of Mullard 6080.
This is special, magical. From memory the Mullards have an edge with a more lively presentation, but this is close.
Will gather more impressions.....

 

[JazzVinyl]

Yes, there comes a time when you find what you want and you are content to leave things where they are. At least that's how I felt with my old amp.
Enter GOTL - it is different ballgame. Tried different things, and at least I know now where NOT to go, more or less lol.
Tried 13.3A of fire power after Glenn OK'd it: Driver 0.3A 6N23P, 2x1.5A 6BL7 and 4x2.5A 7236.

The 7236 tubes run hot, around 240F. This is the first time I felt that the amp got fairly warm (but not hot). Maybe those silicone mittens for barbecuing are a good idea for changing the tubes....
So I am running the amp flat out, and it just doesn't sound right. It is as if the 7236 tubes are overpowering the other players, and they are not allowed to make themselves heard fully. The lightness,attack, speed and vividness are compromised. There is a little more bottom punch, but the musicality is suffering.
Don't know if I can express my self clearly. Think elephants dancing - powerful maybe, but clumsy and not elegant.
Pulled out one pair of the 7236 tubes. Now we are talking - similar in sound to the same combination using a pair of Mullard 6080.
This is special, magical. From memory the Mullards have an edge with a more lively presentation, but this is close.
Will gather more impressions.....

Nice post, Mordy, I followed your sound description perfectly. That 6N23P is indeed a dandy driver in this amp.
I also find that 4x of the 6AS7G can get a bit 'swampy' with some drivers....

 

[JazzVinyl]

Tonight it is 2x Mullard 6080's plus 2x of my special 'red base' 6BX7's for powers and the famous Sylvania 6SN7W...as driver.

After almost a week with the ECC804, wanted to see how the old standard driver fared.

It fares very well, indeed. It is special in its ability to spread out the soundstage and let tiny minor details surrounding each instrument be brought to the top of the well head

Tonight's musical selection is (astonishingly) from 32 years ago, when digital recording was young. The year was 1986. A quirky group of studio musicians banded together to embrace the new digital recording technology. They called themselves "Flim and the BB's"... Now if you can come up with a worse name than that for a group of very talented studio musicians...please do share!

Credits say DDD (all digital recording...no analogue tape was used) and the location for the recording event was "Billy's garage"!

These guys set the bar for recording technique / soundquality and is still hailed today as a SQ level of excellence, to strive for.

Lots of bass thanks to the power compliment and the 6SN7W makes magic of the soundstage depth, width, and clarity.

Thank you, Glenn!!!

 

[mordy]

Tonight it is 2x Mullard 6080's plus 2x of my special 'red base' 6BX7's for powers and the famous Sylvania 6SN7W...as driver.

After almost a week with the ECC804, wanted to see how the old standard driver fared.

It fares very well, indeed. It is special in its ability to spread out the soundstage and let tiny minor details surrounding each instrument be brought to the top of the well head

Tonight's musical selection is (astonishingly) from 32 years ago, when digital recording was young. The year was 1986. A quirky group of studio musicians banded together to embrace the new digital recording technology. They called themselves "Flim and the BB's"... Now if you can come up with a worse name than that for a group of very talented studio musicians...please do share!

Credits say DDD (all digital recording...no analogue tape was used) and the location for the recording event was "Billy's garage"!

These guys set the bar for recording technique / soundquality and is still hailed today as a SQ level of excellence, to strive for.

Lots of bass thanks to the power compliment and the 6SN7W makes magic of the soundstage depth, width, and clarity.

Thank you, Glenn!!!

Tonight it is 2x Mullard 6080's plus 2x of my special 'red base' 6BX7's for powers and the famous Sylvania 6SN7W...as driver.

After almost a week with the ECC804, wanted to see how the old standard driver fared.

It fares very well, indeed. It is special in its ability to spread out the soundstage and let tiny minor details surrounding each instrument be brought to the top of the well head

Tonight's musical selection is (astonishingly) from 32 years ago, when digital recording was young. The year was 1986. A quirky group of studio musicians banded together to embrace the new digital recording technology. They called themselves "Flim and the BB's"... Now if you can come up with a worse name than that for a group of very talented studio musicians...please do share!

Credits say DDD (all digital recording...no analogue tape was used) and the location for the recording event was "Billy's garage"!

These guys set the bar for recording technique / soundquality and is still hailed today as a SQ level of excellence, to strive for.

Lots of bass thanks to the power compliment and the 6SN7W makes magic of the soundstage depth, width, and clarity.

Thank you, Glenn!!!

Found the album on YouTube - the sound quality is excellent!

 

[JazzVinyl]

Found the album on YouTube - the sound quality is excellent!

Yes, back in the day, they made a big splash. When CD was new, it was mostly old recordings, sloppily slapped onto CD and rushed to market. Much of it didn't sound too dandy!

These guys, and the all digital, no analog tape, showed what was capable from the new format.

I remember being none too happy that an LP new, back then, cost 5 bucks and for years and years, CD's were $19.95...which I could not afford many of...at the time.

I continued to buy LP's and had fun buying LP lots from folks dumping the LP format, for the "promise" of the "light of the laser".....

Cannot tell you how many people who have expressed to me, regret, in dumping all thier LP's.

 

[mordy]

Rolling "auxiliary" power tubes with 6N23P and a pair of 6BL7 Syl FP.
Mullard 6080: Excellent with special energy across FR.
Tung Sol 7236: Very good with special emphasis on bass.
GEC 6080: Too polite and proper.
Bendix 6080: Very good bass and lots of detail, but too bright.The Bendix tubes haven't gotten too much publicity on this forum. They have graphite plates and are very heavy - feels like little hand grenades. Take a long time to warm up.

Maybe time for some 6AS7 tubes?

Observation: Those tubes that respond with a wide range when adjusting the tone controls on my ss preamp (for speaker listening) usually sound better. And tubes where changing the bass/treble controls don't have much impact usually don't sound as good.

Question for Glenn: Does it make any difference where the power tubes are placed in the six sockets if you are only using two or four of them? Is it better to put them in the back? Front? Space them out?
The only thing I know is that there is some kind of relationship between tubes (and drivers) re positioning because some people report that a problem with hum was resolved by changing the positions of tubes.
And sometimes normally quiet tubes start to hum in combination with other normally quiet tubes.

 

[2359glenn]

It does not matter the socket they are all in parallel of course left and right sides have to be the same.

 

[rnros]

I have a DNA Stratus on order to arrive next year. This is the one I would like to test against the GOTL. Remember Glenn’s OTL is much cheaper in price to the Stratus but the GOTL is right up there in entertainment value against the WA5 Le. In my opinion as usual.

Hi UT, I'll look forward to your comparison notes on the Stratus and GOTL. Congrats on your purchase.
Although, would also be interesting to hear comparison comments on the Stratus and GEL3N since they are both OTCs.
Are you still planning to get some version of the GEL3N?
Now why do I think you will also be posting some of the first rolling notes of 6SN7s in the Stratus in lieu of the 6N1P?

 

[UntilThen]

Hi UT, I'll look forward to your comparison notes on the Stratus and GOTL. Congrats on your purchase.
Although, would also be interesting to hear comparison comments on the Stratus and GEL3N since they are both OTCs.
Are you still planning to get some version of the GEL3N?
Now why do I think you will also be posting some of the first rolling notes of 6SN7s in the Stratus in lieu of the 6N1P?

Thank you rnros. I too look forward to your comparison of the GOTL vs GEL3N.

In deciding on my next tube amp, I have to make a choice. It will be my last purchase and it's not famous last words. I know it.

I have been blessed in meeting Glenn and the many interactions we had. He's been a delight to deal with and a real gentleman. More blessed in that I now own the Glenn OTL amp, which I think highly of. I wanted to sample amps made by some of the best designers of tube amps known in Head-fi. Craig, Donald and Glenn comes to mind. I thought of DNA Stratus and EC ZDS. Well I have the GOTL already. So the choice of the next amp is the Stratus. I have not heard it. Neither have I heard the GOTL when I order it and it turn out to be an end -game capable tube amp.

Part of the reason for going with the Stratus is the 2A3 tubes. This article has my interest. It is well written.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/1108/

In it, the author stated that his gold standard is still the 2A3 but that the evaluation sessions showed him that the EL3N is very close. I may never get to hear the GEL3N but we could both be hearing a sound signature that is in some ways similar. Speculations of course.

No 6SN7s in the Stratus. It's the cheap 6N1P drivers instead. I have a Philip Miniwatt 6BQ7A and a pair of Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV already.