[whirlwind]

Ooof, made a mistaken leaving my tester headphones plugged in while turning on the GOTL with my 421As, one of them arced ten seconds in, goodbye tester headphones!!! I should have let them warm up first...I have had them arc quite a few times before and know better.

I have to admit, using 5998s and 421As these days gives me the heebee jeebees. It is such a love-hate relationship, they sounds so good...looks like I am in the market for some crappy headphones.

Great sounding tubes...no doubt...dynamics are killer.
Don't plug any headphones in the amp for 10 minutes or so after start -up and always unplug them before powering down.
Seems you are having much fun with the amp.

How is the sound compared to your BHC ?

I thought I had weaned myself from posting.... until I got a PM from @Gkar asking me how's my Glenn 300b amp. Well Gkar I don't have a Glenn 300b amp and I haven't even powered on the GOTL for a month !

That is very rare... not using my GOTL for so long. I was just listening to my Axis VoiceBox S speakers powered by my Sansui au alpha 907mr.

Well that changed tonight when I decide to connect up my GOTL again with Sylvania 6sn7w metal base and 6 x 6bx7gt. Wow !!! I have forgotten how frightfully good this amp can drive the HD800 to incredible sonic delights. Looks like I'm right back into headphone listening again. Will have to try the LCD-3f later.

Congrats @L0rdGwyn on the GOTL. So you bought it off @wazzupi. I thought you were in the queue for one yourself. It's a great sounding amp. Enjoy !

Here's a photo I just took of the GOTL besides the behemoth Sansui amp.

Hey Matt.....hope work is going well for you.

 

[UntilThen]

Hey Matt.....hope work is going well for you.

It's going very well Joe. I'm into fitness now. It's never too late !

Here's how it looks like on a sunny Winter's day in Canberra. That's my new horse.

 

[whirlwind]

It's going very well Joe. I'm into fitness now. It's never too late !

Here's how it looks like on a sunny Winter's day in Canberra. That's my new horse.

Very nice. My kind of horse.

After a recent trip to the Dr. I decided to join my wife in her daily walks in the evening, pretty relaxing I guess and can't hurt me health wise I am sure.

I must admit though...it is not as fun as kicking back with one of Glenn's amps and throwing on some Robin Trower .

 

[whirlwind]

Ouch! Thank goodness it was the cheapo that bit the dust. Good practice.

Last week was a tough one for me. Lost two ECC35s and the tube that became my recent favorite the Fivre 12SL7. Two were my fault for not checking the voltage and one was the tube itself.

Sorry to hear....that is a real kick in the gut.

 

[UntilThen]

I must admit though...it is not as fun as kicking back with one of Glenn's amps and throwing on some Robin Trower .

Don't forget that glass of red wine.

 

[UntilThen]

Wow LCD-3f sounds amazing through the OTL amp. Amazing what a month's absence can do to rekindle your love for this sweet sweet sound and the bass in this instance.

 

[UsoppNoKami]

Wow LCD-3f sounds amazing through the OTL amp. Amazing what a month's absence can do to rekindle your love for this sweet sweet sound and the bass in this instance.

Howdy Matt, glad you're doing well with work in Canberra. Could never stand that place, but to each his own haha.

Still waiting for Glenn to hit me up with a message saying my amp is built/otw .. in the meantime I have been enjoying the Sansui AU-7700 with speakers at desk & my B&W speaker set up in the living room. Headphone usage has been mainly gaming at night lately lol.

best,
Ken Ji

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I worn people about these tubes. Have a pair of 5998s and will never use them again they blew my HD-650s.
Must be a design flaw tn this type of tube. It would go unnoticed as a voltage regulator that it was made for.

Great sounding tubes...no doubt...dynamics are killer.
Don't plug any headphones in the amp for 10 minutes or so after start -up and always unplug them before powering down.
Seems you are having much fun with the amp.

How is the sound compared to your BHC ?

Yes, I am going to be even more careful. Here I thought I was using my throw-away headphones, well now I can throw them away. I'll start using your 10 minute rule Joe if I am feeling dangerous and want to use the 421A, even with my tester phones.

I haven't compared the two amps directly yet, maybe I will today. I will say just from memory, the Bottlehead Crackatwoa is still a great amplifier, and with some tube combinations in the GOTL, it can hang. With others though, the GOTL takes the transparency and dynamics to a whole new level. I am finding I really enjoy the 6BX7s with a pentode input, either C3g, EL32, or EL3N!

 

[zach915m]

The tubes could have been better, the Mullard is not a particular spectacular example, on the warm side and lacks full air.

Are the amperex 6080's I had made by mullard? I'm not as versed in tube history as I wish I was. I like them because they are dead quiet and matched. I was the victim of some nice but unmatched ebay tubes.

The other tubes I had was an RCA 6f8g round plate with smoked glass and the sittard GZ 34 rectifier with the X code, I believe it's a 58. Should be same internals as the metal based versions but I don't like traveling with my metal base.

I've lost (broken) a number of tubes traveling that I get a little shy moving around with my best stuff.

Unfortunately at shows I'm so inundated talking and explaining everything to everyone I never am able to swap tubes in and out. I wish I could give a full demonstration with different sets of tubes to show how the Glenn just shows you the tube you have rolled so accurately.

Maybe for RMAF I'll post what I want to tube roll here so you guys can tell me what you think!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I thought I had weaned myself from posting.... until I got a PM from @Gkar asking me how's my Glenn 300b amp. Well Gkar I don't have a Glenn 300b amp and I haven't even powered on the GOTL for a month !

That is very rare... not using my GOTL for so long. I was just listening to my Axis VoiceBox S speakers powered by my Sansui au alpha 907mr.

Well that changed tonight when I decide to connect up my GOTL again with Sylvania 6sn7w metal base and 6 x 6bx7gt. Wow !!! I have forgotten how frightfully good this amp can drive the HD800 to incredible sonic delights. Looks like I'm right back into headphone listening again. Will have to try the LCD-3f later.

Congrats @L0rdGwyn on the GOTL. So you bought it off @wazzupi. I thought you were in the queue for one yourself. It's a great sounding amp. Enjoy !

Here's a photo I just took of the GOTL besides the behemoth Sansui amp.

Thanks, Matt! Yes, I did go for Wazzupi's GOTL. I was in the queue, but lucky for me, I had made my build a bit complicated so my down payment was delayed, so it was no issue. I may or may not have asked Glenn to keep my place in the queue though for a different amp can't just step out of line!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Here was a quote from user @Taisser Roots after a brief try of a Glenn OTL amp at London CanJam last weekend. I'm not sure how much burn in the amp had, which tubes were in use or other customization options the amp had, but it makes me wonder what the $1700 IHA1 tube amp that appears a bit smaller may have against the Glenn amp.

"Glenn otl
no proper reference here
Nice slam
Less air than the iha1, it's definitely darker.
Similar resolve to that thing, I think more dynamic than the iha1. (Actually iha1 is more resolving by a good amount)

Less stage cohesion, but the seperation and stage still come across naturally, not as wide as the iha1"

In response I did mention that the Glenn amps have a lot of potential depending on tubes used and other customizations. Though I still haven't heard the GOTL. It looks like it was finally their first time on exhibit, but somehow the setup didn't impress folks there too much.
@jelt2359 maybe you have an opinion too...

I haven't been to a Canjam myself, but I always read people saying they have a very hard time evaluating gear and headphones given it is a loud, crowded environment and many headphones are open back. Taisser Roots must have excellent hearing to come to such a definitive conclusion on the IHA-1 and GOTL with a passing listen in such a place

 

[UntilThen]

Howdy Matt, glad you're doing well with work in Canberra. Could never stand that place, but to each his own haha.

Still waiting for Glenn to hit me up with a message saying my amp is built/otw .. in the meantime I have been enjoying the Sansui AU-7700 with speakers at desk & my B&W speaker set up in the living room. Headphone usage has been mainly gaming at night lately lol.

best,
Ken Ji

Fresh air, no crowds and no traffic jams. There's lots to love about Canberra.

I wonder whose amp is being built now.

I'm eyeing your ZMF Verite Pheasantwood with the brass or gold trimmings. I wonder if Zach still produce that.

 

[UntilThen]

Thanks, Matt! Yes, I did go for Wazzupi's GOTL. I was in the queue, but lucky for me, I had made my build a bit complicated so my down payment was delayed, so it was no issue. I may or may not have asked Glenn to keep my place in the queue though for a different amp can't just step out of line!

Seems like you're not plague by the channel imbalance which wazzupi often talk about. The amp must love your home.

 

[UntilThen]

Maybe for RMAF I'll post what I want to tube roll here so you guys can tell me what you think!

Zach, I'm a fan of using 6 x 6bx7gt power tubes. Pair that with a Sylvania 6sn7w metal base or a Mullard ECC35 and you're set !

Oh you your amp use a tube rectifier. The gz34 will do. That should be dynamic, sparkling with lots of drive.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Seems like you're not plague by the channel imbalance which wazzupi often talk about. The amp must love your home.

It is the clean Ohio power. I think Wazzupi was having issues with his 6BX7s actually. I have a couple different six-packs on hand myself, no issues so far, just great music.