[SoundApprentice]

These are the other gain tubes I got. Not sure if they are anything special. The Telefunken is a 12AU7 and the RCA (?) is a 12BH7A. Again, not sure of age or output power left in these, but the Telefunken sounded meatier while the RCA had more gain and was a bit more crisp in presentation. Both exhibited a lot of noise, however. When I put the new Genalex in, I immediately got a lower noise floor and better dynamics.
 
The two 5687 drivers I am using are some RCAs that came with the amp, not sure of date/variant.
 
s1rrah had offered to share some of his tubes with me, so I am going to hold off on purchasing anything until I can play with what he sends my way.

 

[IFoundFate]

Haha, I knew the avatar picture looked familiar! Yeah I was second in line, but the first guy took forever to respond and I ended up with it. I was actually thinking of switching the LEDs but not sure, it's unique.
 
Sure, I'll open it up tomorrow. It's not like I will be voiding the 9 year old Raptor warranty . Funny how we both got the same amp and same headphones at the same time. It was meant to be...
 
Are you talking about these Genalex tubes?
http://www.amazon.com/Genalex-Gold-Lion-12AU7-Tube/dp/B00D0E8EFQ

 

[IFoundFate]

Evidently these are Philips tubes, I checked his FS post and that's what it said. The gain 12AU7 also has it branded on but the 5687s have nothing.
 
Edit: looks like I'm blind, the 5687s say 5687 WB, but the brand has worn off. Amd 12AU7 says Jan Philips ECG 5814A

 

[SoundApprentice]

  Haha, I knew the avatar picture looked familiar! Yeah I was second in line, but the first guy took forever to respond and I ended up with it. I was actually thinking of switching the LEDs but not sure, it's unique.
 
Sure, I'll open it up tomorrow. It's not like I will be voiding the 9 year old Raptor warranty . Funny how we both got the same amp and same headphones at the same time. It was meant to be...
 
Are you talking about these Genalex tubes?
http://www.amazon.com/Genalex-Gold-Lion-12AU7-Tube/dp/B00D0E8EFQ

 
Keep the blue. 
 
Yep, that's the tube, but I bought it off of eBay from Yen Audio. Saved a couple of bucks and very fast shipping to me. They had the best price I could find. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-NEW-Genalex-Gold-Lion-12AU7-ECC82-B749-Vacuum-Tube-TESTED-/290665993554?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item43ad0b1552

 

[IFoundFate]

   
I can tell you that the Genalex tube is very nice compared to the used Telefunken that came with my Raptor. Much quieter, better dynamics, tighter bass. But, again, I have no idea how old that Telefunken is. 

 
So what do you mean about better dynamics? For $31 I could justify that purchase. Does it have a better soundstage? I like the HE-500s but it's not what I imagined for the reviews of these bad boys.
 
These are my first audiophile headphones, so I may just have had high expectations.

 

[IFoundFate]

Hey, your link lead me to a Google search with led me to finding the 12AU7 tubes that are in my Raptor.
http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/12AU7-ECC82-Tube-Types/JAN-Philips-ECG-5814A-12AU7

 

[SoundApprentice]

   
So what do you mean about better dynamics? For $31 I could justify that purchase. Does it have a better soundstage? I like the HE-500s but it's not what I imagined for the reviews of these bad boys.
 
These are my first audiophile headphones, so I may just have had high expectations.

Wider sound stage, tighter bass, and a bit more detail/clarity in the highs. The Telefunken is much bassier and darker sounding in comparison so far. Not sure how it would compare to the Philips. I need to live with the current tubes for a few weeks to really get an ear for them before I start changing a bunch of things around. I'm happy to share tubes with you once I figure out my preferred set up. 

 

[IFoundFate]

I'm tempted to snag one of those Genalex 12AU7s now. I will likely buy it tomorrow, but I'm going to call Ray tomorrow and ask him for recommendations first.

 

[IFoundFate]

Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 on its way now. Should be here by the 9th.
 
Power supply:

 
Almost the same look as the one on Ray's site. About those blue LEDs, there are two on the amp volume knob one on the left and one on the right. Today I took off the top plate and but it back on, I didn't touch any internals. When I flipped the switch, the left LED "popped", now only the right side is blue . I'm dumbfounded as to why it blew out, maybe just a coincidence.

 

[SoundApprentice]

  Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 on its way now. Should be here by the 9th.
 
Power supply:

 
Almost the same look as the one on Ray's site. About those blue LEDs, there are two on the amp volume knob one on the left and one on the right. Today I took off the top plate and but it back on, I didn't touch any internals. When I flipped the switch, the left LED "popped", now only the right side is blue . I'm dumbfounded as to why it blew out, maybe just a coincidence.

Oh man, I broke your amp. I'm sorry. I think an LED swap is an easy fix though. Email Ray and he can probably tell you how to do it and maybe even send you an LED?
 
I'm curious about changing the fuse. I read somewhere that "audiophile" grade fuses can improve dynamics with this amp. Could be a waste though since the AC cable swap had little effect. 

 

[IFoundFate]

Good news! Both LEDs are on now, not sure if it had to heat up again but it's back to normal. I was thinking about grabbing a PS Audio AC-3 cable for The Raptor or one from The CablePro. 
 
As for the fuse, I was looking at changing mine as well. They are relatively cheap too. I was looking at the HiFi Supreme Tuning fuse; they come in large and small, I think the one in The Raptor is a small one. But, I'm not sure if it needs a slow or fast fuse, or what the difference is. 
 
I spoke with Aaron (immtbiker) today, he said that he had Ray upgrade the transformer. So yours will likely be looking different to mine.

 

[SoundApprentice]

  Good news! Both LEDs are on now, not sure if it had to heat up again but it's back to normal. I was thinking about grabbing a PS Audio AC-3 cable for The Raptor or one from The CablePro. 
 
As for the fuse, I was looking at changing mine as well. They are relatively cheap too. I was looking at the HiFi Supreme Tuning fuse; they come in large and small, I think the one in The Raptor is a small one. But, I'm not sure if it needs a slow or fast fuse, or what the difference is. 
 
I spoke with Aaron (immtbiker) today, he said that he had Ray upgrade the transformer. So yours will likely be looking different to mine.

Yeah, need to measure the fuse length to see what size it is.
 
I have a PS Audio AC Cable. Not really a fan. It looks nice, but I don't think it really helped at all. I personally use DH Labs and Shunyata cabling. Both companies put a lot of engineering and R&D behind their products. The head guy at Shunyata used to develop communications and power products for the military. I purchased some bulk DH Labs Power Plus AC cable and made my own power cables as well. Quite easy to do and potentially much more affordable depending on what plugs you choose to use. 

 

[IFoundFate]

Good thing you told me that. What would be your recommendation then for a AC power cable? Price must be less than $250.
 
Also, would a DAC affect the soundstage? I have heard mixed reviews about the ODAC and it's making me curious.

 

[SoundApprentice]

Good thing you told me that. What would be your recommendation then for a AC power cable? Price must be less than $250.

Also, would a DAC affect the soundstage? I have heard mixed reviews about the ODAC and it's making me curious.

Buy used. You can find used Shunyata cables on here, audigon, usaudiomart, echohifi and ebay. Usually their diamondback and venom cables are around or under $100 used.I think I just saw 2 on usaudiomart the other day. I see used DH Labs power cables less often, but if you are handy you can buy the bulk cable from them if you call and then terminate with your choice of plugs. Just my 2 cents. I've seen and heard other expensive cables but I trust the people behind DH Labs and Shunyata.

DACs can definitely make a difference. I'm not familiar with that brand though. I know they are popular but dont know how it compared to other things. Used DACs are all over the place for good prices nowadays. Brands I am curious about trying myself are ALO, Yulong, Matrix XSabre, Anedio, musical fidelity, benchmark and NAD.

 

[SoundApprentice]

I emailed Ray about the fuse:
 

Slow blow 760 ma fuse.
Some believe that the sound does improve, I have not done it but you can always improve sound to your liking by tube rolling, better source signal, the matching interconnectors that work well for you or AC power cord.
Cheers.
Ray Samuels