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2359glenn | studio
Dec 21, 2019 at 10:33 PM Post #34,741 of 39,986
Sound Trooper said:
Hey there, I currently have 3 planar (Abyss Phi, Audeze LCD-3F & DCA A2C), these all sound fantastic with the GEL3N. I actually sold my Schiit Rag a few months ago as the GEL3N is the only amp I regularly use.
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Thanks!
Cannot wait for my GEL3N (actually 6EL3N) :wink:
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 6:44 AM Post #34,742 of 39,986
After ~2.5 days of c3g listening, I decided to give the new 12J5/ VT-135s a go. They internally look a bit different than the Sylvania 6J5s I have been listening to. The 12s have a black base whereas the 6s had a metal base. They sound pretty excellent straight out of the box.

Also - thanks again @Deyan for the great adapter. It is making this entire *J5 journey possible.

FWIW - no luck finding anything in the 6SN7 slot that added anything to the c3gs. I think the c3gs are pretty impressive ... but these other new inputs are not going to listen to themselves!

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Pix during: Fink - Perfect Darkness
(Guitars and vocals sounding lovely)


Writing during: James Blake - Mile High
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 11:30 AM Post #34,746 of 39,986
2359glenn said:
The C3g is one of the best driver tubes not many can beat the transparency of the C3g.
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Agreed. Find the same in both my 300B amp and 1101 V6 amp.
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 12:36 PM Post #34,747 of 39,986
Some interesting c3g history here: https://jacmusic.com/techcorner/ARTICLES/English/Portraits/C3g/C3g-C3m-info.html

Surprising:
  • They were made "exclusively for the German post"
  • "..they are EXPENSIVE. The price of C3g was 295DM for one tube. So that's about 200$ for one tube. In those days you could buy a new car for 5000$."
  • Apparently there is a "C3g-S is a hidden treasure. They are EXTREMELY rare."
As a bonus, this site also has a picture of the Lundahl factory https://jacmusic.com/Navigation/lundahl.html

+ why Lundhal transformers are good https://jacmusic.com/lundahl/applications/mains-transformers1.html
 
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Dec 22, 2019 at 1:02 PM Post #34,748 of 39,986
chrisdrop said:
Some interesting c3g history here: https://jacmusic.com/techcorner/ARTICLES/English/Portraits/C3g/C3g-C3m-info.html

Surprising:
  • They were made "exclusively for the German post"
  • "..they are EXPENSIVE. The price of C3g was 295DM for one tube. So that's about 200$ for one tube. In those days you could buy a new car for 5000$."
  • Apparently there is a "C3g-S is a hidden treasure. They are EXTREMELY rare."
As a bonus, this site also has a picture of the Lundahl factory https://jacmusic.com/Navigation/lundahl.html
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I have some 5 pairs of the C3g, including the S version. The S is supposed to measure in the top 10% of the C3g tubes. IMHO you cannot hear a difference and it is not worth spending the extra money. In addition, the S is written by hand, both on the tube and the box, whatever that means.
The C3g was used for trans-atlantic cables for communications. The glass is tempered glass (under the aluminum shroud) and extremely fragile. If you remove these tubes with a rocking motion (tube rolling) as with other tubes, you risk breaking the glass. The way to do it is to wedge a small flat screwdriver blade under the tube base, and gently work yourself around the tube to lift it up. Insert the tube only by pushing straight down without any sideways movements.
The shroud has a function (RF shield). Removing it makes the tube much more pretty, but some people claim that it effects the sound adversely.
Here is a picture of a C3g without the shroud, run at 425V plate voltage - spectacular tube glow in blue (Beryllium):
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This is my favorite tube picture.
 
Dec 22, 2019 at 1:04 PM Post #34,749 of 39,986
chrisdrop said:
FWIW - no luck finding anything in the 6SN7 slot that added anything to the c3gs. I think the c3gs are pretty impressive ... but these other new inputs are not going to listen to themselves!
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I tried many SN7 tubes with C3g in a driver triplet config.. in the end, there was only 1 tube that stood out for my tastes - a black glass Brimar 6SN7, it made the C3g treble less hot by adding some warmth and smoothness.

UsoppNoKami said:
I just found my fav combo for my Verite. Haven't tried EL type tubes nor do I have adaptors or any EL tubes, so with the C3g and other tubes that I own -



Brimar tall bottle black glass 6sn7
2x Lorenz C3g
2x TS 6BX7GT
4x Sylvania 6BX7GT
WE422A

Detail, body, smoothness... Lovely sound that the amp is feeding my Verite this evening. Got here by way of taking out the Melz 5-hole tube and trying Ken Rad VT231... Bad combo with the C3g lol.
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Dec 22, 2019 at 1:15 PM Post #34,750 of 39,986
Dec 22, 2019 at 2:56 PM Post #34,752 of 39,986
I am back home from a weekend of visiting family, which means back to working on my amp design. I know I have been silent about it, but the GOTL has been my companion throughout. Been listening to this combination mostly, early Fivre 6C5G and the GEC 6AS7G. Amps, amps, amps :)

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays to all, in whatever way you celebrate!

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Dec 22, 2019 at 5:53 PM Post #34,755 of 39,986
Earlier this year I purchased an Osram KT66 from a guy in Canada. I had reservations about purchasing just a single tube, as I had doubts I'd ever be able to find a matching one. Well, low and behold Martin Billington had a matching tube! The date codes are also very similar: March 1952 and June 1952.

I also purchased a bunch of metal base 6J5GT. I'll share my thoughts on those once I've cleaned the pins and given them a try in the new amp. Very reasonable priced: $10 - $20 each.

And that's it - these are the last tubes I'm buying. Famous last words?

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