mordy
Headphoneus Supremus
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It all depends on the current capacity of the transformer. You need to find out how many amps the transformer in your amp can support - maybe gibosi has this information?
2359glenn | studio
- Thread starter Silent One
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spanyam
Head-Fier
Ohhhhhh wait a minute, I did have this exchange with Gibosi a while back. I think mine should be good. Here's the thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/2359glenn-studio.600110/post-18592838
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
6336A came thanks to speedy East Coast shipping
Hot? Yes. But the previous 6080s weren't much cooler. Will have to get a fan setup for these if I want to long term. These Belton sockets are crazy good! The chassis is only lukewarm to the touch after more than an hour.
Good sound? Yep, significantly blacker background vs 6080. Very fast and controlled. Ocean of details presented with extremely linearity. No obvious wall of sound type staging. Sounds pretty perfect
There is a rattling sound from both channels. I had it on the other power tubes as well but here it's not as annoying. Not sure what it's from or if I can fix it. We'll see with burn in. There is a 60hz, maybe higher, hum and I don't think it's the tubes. Again, not very loud. Any serious noise can only be heard after the One o'clock mark on the dial; that's been my experience with all the tubes I've rolled. Ive seen some mods on here about helping the hum.
I've been listening to the JAR650 religiously lately so today I swapped to the 600's. The 6080 tubes really messed up their sound. Very honky midrange and fatiguing mid-bass. But with these 6336As, oh man. A totally different headphone! Super open and the bass sounds so good. The HD600 bass is pretty amp picky. The JAR650 doesn't have this problem, as it sounds good through tubes and solidstate. But with the 600 I've found that it sounds weak and tilted bright with my solid state gear. I've heard it open up only with vintage stereos before and now this OTL with the 6336A. Here it sounds like an animal!
I seem to have a nack for purchasing tubes with mismatched labels (top envelope print are different styles) and getter flashing which some part of my brain really hates, but that's life
.I remember digging around some old forum on DIY audio and someone was saying just how good these tubes were for OTL amps. They were totally right.
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I am curious as to what you mean by this exactly - rattling physically, or some sort of rattling noise coming through your headphones?
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah through the headphones. It comes in and out for different amounts of time. Could it be a transformer issue? I've heard it with every tube roll. It resembles the sound of physical tube rattle when something is loose, like a metal on glass sound. I could easyily be describing something that is normal for everyone. Maybe I should try those tube dampener rings.
spanyam
Head-Fier
C
As an aside, can anyone recommend good socket protectors (or replacements if the change is easy) for the Glenn? The power output sockets are very tight, and one of the pins gets partially pulled out every time I remove a tube.
I remember getting the slight rattling sound too. Like a glassy pop, clank, clink kind of sound with the 6336A.
As an aside, can anyone recommend good socket protectors (or replacements if the change is easy) for the Glenn? The power output sockets are very tight, and one of the pins gets partially pulled out every time I remove a tube.
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
So much like the HD600, the audeze LCD-3 wakes up quite a bit with the gotl. Now I am an LCD-3 enjoyer, but I've found that it can be so revealing to the source and the recording that sometimes it's rather annoying. Here with my PCM1704 dac feeding the gotl (6336A + 6SN7GT), the LCD-3 is very warm and dynamic BUT it's lacking clarity and the image sounds pretty mushy from the vocal ranges down. Because I have heard these cans through more than a few chains before, I can say that this is just a synergy thing between the headphone and the DAC. Sometimes it's not all roses and sunshine. I will swap DACs tomorrow and see if the clarity of the image changes as much as I predict it should. I've heard this headphone sound like a laser with other dacs; not what it's doing exactly here.
I have to say again that these 6336A's look so freakin cool in the amp, just lounging on my desk. Sonically they are champs, and the background hum/rattling has gotten a bit quieter.
Edit: yeah I just swapped DAC's to my Belcanto and it's certainly not lacking clarity anymore. Definitely the DAC makes a huge difference when listening to highly transparent planar headphones. OTL + planar is definitely a win, finding the right source though....
I have to say again that these 6336A's look so freakin cool in the amp, just lounging on my desk. Sonically they are champs, and the background hum/rattling has gotten a bit quieter.
Edit: yeah I just swapped DAC's to my Belcanto and it's certainly not lacking clarity anymore. Definitely the DAC makes a huge difference when listening to highly transparent planar headphones. OTL + planar is definitely a win, finding the right source though....
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Is this something that happens even after the amp has been on for an hour? Reason I ask is that I get these sorts of sounds in the first 10-15 minutes after powering on, but not afterwards.
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah pretty much. But currently its been on for over 5 hours and its not as loud as it was the first three hours. They are NOS tubes as well so I don't know if it will all disappear. I'm very content with it now as its gotten quieter. But with the 6080's I had in for multiple days the rattles and hum never changed. They got quiet after an hour and were only silent for a few mins before coming back to decent volume. That is whats happening here with the 6336A as well but not nearly as loud. I should mention I have really good and healthy hearing. I'm leaning toward it being a problem elsewere in the amp and not in the tubes since I've heard the same thing through a few different rolls. Not something I can address myself and its not a big deal right now.
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mordy
Headphoneus Supremus
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Sometimes these gremlins get better when you swap the position of the tubes - have you tried it with the 6336?
The other no cost thing you can do is to clean the tube pins. IMHO the best way is to gently scrape the pins with a little penknife or similar.
I wish I could hear exactly what you're describing, or something similar sounding (maybe can find a YT recording that is similar to share) - I wouldn't expect it to be a transformer issue - does it only occur with certain frequencies/frequency range (ie only bass, and or sub bass)? And it's definitely not the HPs, right? Happens with any of your HPs that are able to be driven properly from the GOTL?
Also, does it happen regardless of what output you use (TRS and XLR)?
Was this happening prior to the part replacements you made a few weeks ago?
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
@g0ldl10n it's definitely not the headphones as it is identical with all three pairs I've tried. It's not happening constantly but at intervals. Sometimes tapping the chassis causes it to stop but then it comes back within seconds. It's very reminiscent of a rattling glass sound combined with a low hz hum. With the 6336a it's been the quietest of the power tubes I've tried. I'm leaning towards it not being the tubes fault but something before them in the chain. I will be doing more tests this afternoon, different outlets and cables and such.
Xcalibur255
Headphoneus Supremus
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The 60hz hum will be your base background noise level from the transformer, no fixing that except to use tubes with the lowest gain possible so you're not amplifying it more than necessary. The "rattling" sound if I understand you correctly is probably thermionic noise coming from the output tubes. I hear this consistently with 5998s and it doesn't go away with warmup. Kind of sounds like some broken pieces of glass in another glass jar being lightly shaken around? In experience it actually tends to worsen as the tubes age, and the 5998 in particular seems susceptible to it. I have 6080/6AS7 tubes that don't make this noise, but all of my 5998 do. It might be related to the tubes very low plate resistance and its design intent as a regulating tube.
Nayyte
500+ Head-Fier
Yup makes sense. None of my testing otherwise has removed the noise. Sometimes it is very quiet but sometimes it creeps up into the music. Good thing is that the 6336A has the least annoying noise of the tubes I've tried.
Edit: have to mention that I've found a diamond tube roll for the Glenn and LCD-3. Sylvania 12sn7gt + Chatham 6336A. The 12v driver makes the hum and rattle even smaller and controls this power tube so well. I've just been listening for three hours totally taken away. Full range and exciting and heaps of detail.
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spanyam
Head-Fier
After enjoying the 6336A so much but suffering from the drone, I ordered a nos pair from a vendor that guaranteed they were Tung-Sol made, but I didn't realized till I got them that they came with GE branding. Visually, they look identical to the Chatham ones I have except of course for the branding. Anyone know more about these tubes and can confirm if I'm good to go? @gibosi or @Nayyte
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