[UntilThen]

UT mentioned a user swapped 'Hexfreds' on the GEL3N amp. Was he rolling an op-amp?

Also that's interesting that the sound of the EL3N's can be described as airy, sweet, clear, punchy, etc. on the GEL3N amp - no doubt due to the prowesss of the amp itself and proper implementation, because on the Elise & Eforia with adapters anyway, they sounded the opposite - lush, slow, fairly dark yet still a great tone as if they have a lot of potential... One thing they always did great though was soundstage.

It's not an op-amp. Glenn can make hexfred as a plug in into the rectifier socket.

EL3N in the transformer coupled amp will be nothing like what we've heard on Elise with 6 x EL3N. Which is why I wanted to try it.

 

[UntilThen]

There is no reason that I can't.

That would be good. I have a NOS pair of Telefunken EL11 in tip top condition that I want to swap in from time to time. Telefunken EL11 have a distinctly brighter and clearer tone compared to the Philips Miniwatt EL3N.

 

[heliosphann]

Wow guys so interesting. Page 1893 has quite some things I've never heard pf over the years. Senn. HD-250 and 580. I've tried the 280, 380, 579 which was a standout, 598, 600, 650, 660 S which was a major disappointment, and a few higher. Mainly I'm using the 380 for good closed 'cans and the 600 with an upgraded silver cable for good linear / punchy openbacks.

UT mentioned a user swapped 'Hexfreds' on the GEL3N amp. Was he rolling an op-amp?

Also that's interesting that the sound of the EL3N's can be described as airy, sweet, clear, punchy, etc. on the GEL3N amp - no doubt due to the prowesss of the amp itself and proper implementation, because on the Elise & Eforia with adapters anyway, they sounded the opposite - lush, slow, fairly dark yet still a great tone as if they have a lot of potential... One thing they always did great though was soundstage.


I have 6 Philips EL3N spurred on by UT's proclaim of them on the F.A. threads back in 2016. Those were the most readily available and perhaps cheapest, as well. I do wonder however if a GEL3N with 6x slots for EL3N (or 6x EL34 etc.) would yield even better resolution? In every case without fail I've always gotten better sound from 8x tubes with my adapted Euforia than 4-6x. (improved transient response, instrument separation, soundstage, bass definition, etc. depending on synergy of course with both tubes and headphones). Maybe 6x. EL3N + 2x rectifier or driver tubes as well.

660s polarization still going strong!

 

[UntilThen]

I have 6 Philips EL3N spurred on by UT's proclaim of them on the F.A. threads back in 2016. Those were the most readily available and perhaps cheapest, as well. I do wonder however if a GEL3N with 6x slots for EL3N (or 6x EL34 etc.) would yield even better resolution? In every case without fail I've always gotten better sound from 8x tubes with my adapted Euforia than 4-6x. (improved transient response, instrument separation, soundstage, bass definition, etc. depending on synergy of course with both tubes and headphones). Maybe 6x. EL3N + 2x rectifier or driver tubes as well.

Going to defer to Glenn to answer this. The merits of using quad EL3N for power tubes compared to using 2. In the current implementation the transformer coupled GEL3N amp outputs between 1.5 to 2 watts which is more than enough to drive most headphones.

The beauty of using EL3N is that there's still good healthy supply of NOS tubes. When I spoke to Peter of Acoustics Dimension 6 months ago, he told me he still have lots of tubes in original Philip Miniwatt boxes and they are still very cheap by today's standard. 25 euro each.

 

[UntilThen]

There is no reason that I can't.

EL3N driving EL11. Wouldn’t that be interesting.

Also Glenn, can c3g be used as drivers in GEL3N amp with adapters?

And another question. Can EL12 be used in the power slots with adapters? EL12 is the equivalent of EL6 which Sam has tried in the GEL3N amp.

 

[UntilThen]

I think it’s starting to be overwhelming again.

 

[whirlwind]

I must be the only person around here who finds too much choice to be overwhelming........

Hi Tyrell,

I understand completely where you are coming from. I love to roll tubes to change up the tone a little.....but at times you just come home and want to sit down with a beverage and just enjoy the music.

Once you have gone through the tubes and find your favorites, then you can just roll once a month or so to change up the sound a little.

If you have a lot of tubes and just roll them constantly, it can be very fun...but eventually it can get to be like a dog chasing his tail.

I hope your hearing problems clear up so you can once again enjoy your music. I would be a lost soul without my music.

I wish you the best.

 

[whirlwind]

I wasn’t very sure what one stage means but this just came through from Glenn. He calls it one tube mode.

All EL3Ns and yes when on one tube mode the audio bypasses the front two drivers and goes straight to
the outputs through the volume control. When in this mode there is no coupling capacitors in the signal path.
The amp is dead silent in this mode just less gain. It still can drive most any headphone but the volume has to
get turned almost all the way up. This also gets the volume control out of the circuit if it is turned all the way up.
Ask Joe about one tube mode he will tell you how it sounds

I love the sound of these tubes.

Matt, two tube mode adds tons of dynamics, staging, resolution....the slam is off the hook.
One tube mode gives you the blackest of black back rounds....as Glenn mentioned, less gain.
When I owned my Grado RS1, I loved it in one tube mode, so clear and transparent...more so than the HD800 in this department.

Just as Glenn says, in one tube mode you can crank the volume control just about all the way up or even all the way if in the mood and the volume pot is out of the circuit
the signal path is nice and clean. Just to get crazy i have used my GS-X mk2 as a pre-amp for one tube mode.....great stuff!

Two tube mode the back round is not as black, but everything gets kicked up 2x to 3x...seriously, it is a wonderful experience.

The amp powers 300 ohm dynamics and planar headphones equally and I can't imagine that there are too many headphones that it will not power.
I know @SoundTrooper uses his Abyss with it and loves it.

As I am sitting here listening to Calvin Russell it with and the LCD-3 ...I am wondering to myself why I want to even try other tubes in this amp to be honest....I guess just because I can
To be perfectly honest I am not expecting anything to sound better than the EL3N tubes...but who knows....Glenn used EL3N tubes as driver and powers for harmonic distortion.
I bought the adapters so I will try different tubes.

Many people have asked what amp that I like best...but that depends on music, headphones ect. I do not need three amps, but I use them all and don't want to part with any.
I will say that I use the GEL3N amp the most, so maybe that is my favorite....if my wife made me keep just one...then I guess i would pick it.

In the larger chassis Glenn can get in everything you would need for it to power speakers, my amp is for headphones only and the chassis is the exact same size as the GOTL chassis.
Here is a pics of all the amps to compare size wise.

Same size as GOTL....not as long as GS-X mk2 but about 4 inches deeper and weighs about 6X more, lol.
I can only imagine how much the larger chassis with the extra guts weighs....but it would be beastly!


Here is the amp using a 4 volt version of the rectifier you just bought...GEC U52
The volume control is between 9 and 10 0'clock in two tube mode here, with the LCD-3....it would be about same position with ZMF Atticus
With the LCD 3 I some times play it way too loud....maybe 12 O'clock....very loud but man the dynamics and impact are killer.



I can not imagine that you would not love the amp...but who knows everyone is different.

Some Calvin Russell for your listening pleasure.

 

[2359glenn]

Yea... They're getting close to my cut off but damn, they're so hard to find these days.

But damm they sound good

 

[2359glenn]

EL3N driving EL11. Wouldn’t that be interesting.

Also Glenn, can c3g be used as drivers in GEL3N amp with adapters?

And another question. Can EL12 be used in the power slots with adapters? EL12 is the equivalent of EL6 which Sam has tried in the GEL3N amp.

These tubes can be used no problem.
The question is what sockets do you want side pin or octal????
How many side pin tube bases does Deyan have??
It is easy to make octal to most any other tube socket bur as far as I know only Deyan has side pin bases.
This is why I originally said there was no tube rolling in this amp I did try the EL8 and didn't like it to much.
But the amp looks best with the side contact sockets and EL3N with red skirts.

 

[UntilThen]

In the larger chassis Glenn can get in everything you would need for it to power speakers

Thanks Joe for sharing. The EL3N amp is still a well kept secret. Only a handful have heard it. I intend to get on board with this. I won't need it for speakers. I have my Sansui and Redgum amps for that. However I want to get pre-amp for it and multiple inputs for it so that I can connect my turntable, dac and CD player to it.

 

[UntilThen]

These tubes can be used no problem.
The question is what sockets do you want side pin or octal????
How many side pin tube bases does Deyan have??
It is easy to make octal to most any other tube socket bur as far as I know only Deyan has side pin bases.
This is why I originally said there was no tube rolling in this amp I did try the EL8 and didn't like it to much.
But the amp looks best with the side contact sockets and EL3N with red skirts.

It's good to know that it can be adapted for the German EL11, EL12 steel octal pins tubes using adapters from Deyan but I'll be mainly using it with EL3N tubes.

Fully agree that the amp looks great with the Philips Miniwatt EL3N tubes and Yamamoto's socket plus the Lundahl transformers. Now all there is to do is to hear and experience it.... all in good time when my amp's built

 

[2359glenn]

If you are not going to have speaker outputs there is no need for the larger chassis unless you like the way it looks.
The larger chassis with speaker outputs is for the large switch that is needed to switch impedance.

 

[2359glenn]

It's good to know that it can be adapted for the German EL11, EL12 steel octal pins tubes using adapters from Deyan but I'll be mainly using it with EL3N tubes.

Fully agree that the amp looks great with the Philips Miniwatt EL3N tubes and Yamamoto's socket plus the Lundahl transformers. Now all there is to do is to hear and experience it.... all in good time when my amp's built

'
You better ask Deyan if he can make a EL11 to EL3N adapter?

 

[UntilThen]

Totally love the way the black large chassis looks. Post #28337