[fhuang]

 
Tempting - maybe i'll have to stretch my budget - I have physical border of Euro 2.500,= headphones, above this price i think i can better spend it on speakers
Hearing the enthusiast comments about Utopia, i'll might give it a try. Seems to be a real allrounder, so no need to have a big headphone-collection anymore.

 
 

 
Well, despite my praise of it, you'll notice I don't own it. IMO $4000 is just too much money. It's better than my HE1000's and LCD-3's but doesn't exactly render them obsolete either. Though I will probably get it eventually if it comes down in price.

 
 
very true.  it's just a lot of money or too much money or just a headphones.  still, headphones and speakers are two different things.  i actually was thinking getting a pair of focal sm6 speakers before.  about the same money as the utopia. 

 

[Chardo]

I've been absolutely loving my Studio 6 since I bought it a bit less than a year ago. I'm now beginning to do some tube rolling and would like your advice.

I replaced the stock 6V6s with a pair of JAN Phillips 6v6s that I bought from Ken.
 
I just picked up an an RCA 6SN7. I bought it through tctubes, based on PAM005's recommendation that they're good to deal with, and I will second this. They were terrific.
 
I'm now looking to replace the stock 5AR4 / GZ34 and would like your recommendations. Based no what I've seen I know the Mullard metal base is said to be without equal, but heck it commands a price. How about the fat based Mullard? Is it close to the metal base in sound quality? And is there something still less expensive that you'd recommend?

 

[PAM005]

Hi Chardo, good to hear you've had good experience with TCTubes ! Regarding your question, a good 5ar4 is the NOS Siemens / Phillips version availlable at Acoustic-dimension.com They're located in The Netherlands but they ship worldwide. Price is about Euro 100,- incl. 21% vat.

 

[Chardo]

Thank you for the recommendation, PAM005. Much appreciated! I'll check with Acoustic-dimension.

 

[PAM005]

And last - not very big improvement, but still worth - try some Sylvania OB2 Not that expensive...

 

[Chardo]

Thanks. It looks like I'm fortunate in that my Studio Six came with a pair of Sylvania OB2s along with a pair of RCAs.I have the Sylvania's installed. 

 

[goldendarko]

  Thanks. It looks like I'm fortunate in that my Studio Six came with a pair of Sylvania OB2s along with a pair of RCAs.I have the Sylvania's installed. 

Mine also came with Sylvania OB2's

 

[PAM005]

Lucky both of you - mine came with Raytheon OB2's!

 

[TomSix]

Hi Folks, A few quick designer's notes on stock/current manufacture tubes in the Studio Six *Disclaimer First: I am the circuit designer for the ALO Studio-Six amplifier and companion phono stage. Having gotten that out of the way, let me offer a few thoughts now about 6V6 output stage tube selection. Here is a basic rule of thumb: almost all quality NOS 6V6 tubes manufactured from the 1940's through at least the mid 1960's will generally give a subjectively more pleasing result than essentially all New Manufacture 6V6 tubes. I'm not knocking new manufacturers, it's good people are still making quality tubes, its just that most of the older manufacture tubes really do tend to deliver that "extra something" in terms of nuance retrieval and tonality etc. I'd encourage anyone with a Studio Six to consider the NOS tube rolling suggestions by others in this thread. I'm going to refrain from going into recommending any particular NOS tube manufactures or variations, as other senior users in this thread can more properly do so. I will lastly say this: a fair number of the more modestly priced NOS 6V6s sound (this is subjective, of course) just as good as some of the more expensive and exotic ones. So, If you love the audio performance of your ST-6 and have as yet only used the stock tubes,  (particularly the 6V6s and the 6SN7) you're in for a revelation if you try some NOS

 

 

[PAM005]

Hi Tomsix - thanks for your advice and even more thanks for designing this beautifull amp. I do enjoy it every day!!! For sure it will be a keeper for many years...

 

[goldendarko]

Got my new LAu all broken in and am commencing comparisons with the Studio Six. Early impression is that they are very different presentations but both top notch amps.

 

[TomSix]

Hello GoldenDarko,
 
It will definitely be interesting to hear your impressions contrasting the Studio-Six with the excellent Cavalli Liquid Gold. I particularly enjoy reading your well-written postings and review commentary about your experiences with various 'phones and gear.
 
I have a question for you,  and comment/suggestion to share:
 
Question: Have you yet had opportunity to try other 6V6 tubes (any NOS?) in your ST-6, or only have yet utilized the  J.J. 6V6's ?
 
Comment/suggestion: In my experience with J.J. 6V6 I have found them to be a somewhat unusually non-optimal tube for the ST-6. It has been a few years since I last listened to J.J. 6V6 tubes, but I developed some rather firm impressions of them when I was trying them at that time in their production. Others have commented that the J.J 6V6 has a sonic signature (and perhaps internal construction design?) that sounds much more like a 6L6 design than sounds like the usual sonic signature of other 6V6 types.  I found that when using the J.J. 6V6 in  the ST-6 my impression was a noticeable decrease in fine detail resolution and a flatter,  less "3D" (less focused) overall sound picture in comparison with other 6V6 makes tried.These difference were rather stark, not subtle. I do not mean to criticise J.J. tubes in general, in fact I find their EL84s  to be some of my favorites of that tube type. I also have had good results with most other J.J. tubes I have tried, in particular their KT88 and 5AR4 offerings. 
 
So, the upshot is that I'd strongly encourage anyone using J.J. 6V6s in their ST-6 amps  to explore other 6V6 tubes, particularly quality 1940s through 1960s NOS tubes.
 
Don't get me wrong: the ST-6 still sounds really nice in general with the J.J. 6V6s, and if that's all one has tried it might be hard to imagine one may be missing out on much --ha!  But as mentioned in my previous post, one may well be amazed at how much more richness, detail and "color" is to be found with NOS 6V6s.
 
I'd definitely be interested to hear of other's impressions.

 

[longbowbbs]

TomSix, I should post a pic of the S6 next to the Moon 430HA.....

 

[goldendarko]

TomSix, I've only used stock tubes on the Six even though I've had it for about a year and a half. I really need to get around to tube rolling but there's so many tubes out there it's overwhelming. Do you have any you'd recommend, I am interested in trying some NOS tubes soon.

 

[goldendarko]

TomSix, I should post a pic of the S6 next to the Moon 430HA.....

I had the 430HA for a little while too, still preferred the Six though.