[koolas]

Which Sylvania do you recommend and certain year or place you would buy them that ships in the US

I bought mine on ebay from US seller You can search for Sylvania 6AK5, for example these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-matched-1945-Sylvania-JAN-CHS-6AK5-5654-403B-6J1-tubes-Black-Plate-Top-/271373693523?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3f2f21f253

Mine are from 1942. They are on the bright side, but they have very good response to EQ and work really well with my orthos. By that I mean you can get much better bass on these with proper EQ than on any other of what I tested. The Telefunken seems very good though - I'm using it for a week now, and I'm quite happy with how it EQs.

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

I bought mine on ebay from US seller You can search for Sylvania 6AK5, for example these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-matched-1945-Sylvania-JAN-CHS-6AK5-5654-403B-6J1-tubes-Black-Plate-Top-/271373693523?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3f2f21f253

Mine are from 1942. They are on the bright side, but they have very good response to EQ and work really well with my orthos. By that I mean you can get much better bass on these with proper EQ than on any other of what I tested. The Telefunken seems very good though - I'm using it for a week now, and I'm quite happy with how it EQs.

Thanks koolas, I have a couple of tubes from Joedoe coming to give a listen, but if non of them take, and after I get done paying for my car repairs, I am going to jump on a pair of these. Have you heard this years production? I wonder if it is brighter like yours and I am okay with brighter amps with the Vibros, because it gives it that detail up top and that is always nice. 
 
Also has anyone paired this sucker with the He560 ? Has anyone used the HE-560 with the PanAm ?

 

[koolas]

Thanks koolas, I have a couple of tubes from Joedoe coming to give a listen, but if non of them take, and after I get done paying for my car repairs, I am going to jump on a pair of these. Have you heard this years production? I wonder if it is brighter like yours and I am okay with brighter amps with the Vibros, because it gives it that detail up top and that is always nice. 

Also has anyone paired this sucker with the He560 ? Has anyone used the HE-560 with the PanAm ?

I'm glad you're saying that. Though depending on headphone, bright chain will render bright headphone very unpleasant without EQ. I have RHA-30 which is has extremely strong 9-10kHz range and while I can listen to them straight from Pan Am on Sylvania tubes, with EQ they become much more refined and pleasant to listen.

For ones with faint heart Telefunken is great deal of detail and pleasant listening, and for ones which less detailed headphones (guessing <$200) Voskhods are going to be great.

 

[exsomnis]

  How do  you feel about the clamping force and weight of the LCD 2 ? I am interested in demoing one with my PanAm, tried contacting a coouple place to pay for the shipping to demo and or sample one. 

 
My head is big, so in the beginning I did leave them extended over a few books for a few days to soften the headband up a bit.  They are relatively heavy compared to other cans but I've long gotten used to that.  It's comfortable enough for me that I have no qualms about upgrading to LCD3s at some point.   

 

[mikemercer]

This is off-topic guys:
 
So PLEASE pardon the quick diversion.
As I said in a previous post here: I recently lent my Pan Am (w/ French NOS tube upgrade + Passport) to my buddy Vince who's just dipping his feet into this hobby.
He bought my original Mad Dogs from me - so I thought the Pan Am (with its 3 inputs) would be great for him.
 
So his usual sources are his iPod, iPad (for which I lent him an ALO LOD cable) and PC laptop - PLUS - I came to find:
His PlayStation4!
 
Apparently (I'm not a gamer) the audio output on the PS4 comes thru his wireless controller - via 3.5mm output.
 
So, I stopped by today to kick it for a bit - and he's been using the Pan Am to game, watch movie, and listen to music,
ALL thru his PS4s' controller! 
 
I never saw this before:
  
 
And he LOVES it! He played some tunes for me this way, and a scene from Transformers (Blu-Ray) and I couldn't believe the dynamics considering the source was the wireless controller!! But - HEY - he's having a BLAST!!
 
I'm not sure what wireless technology the PS4 uses.
Anybody????
 
Because it really sounded surprisingly fluid, no break-up - there was some dynamic compression of course - but DAMN!!

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

So I tried both the Cifte's the past couple days alongside with the Siemens and they both are great but for the ZMFx Vibro I have been using the Ciftes. I had preferred the GO1000's tonality with the Vibros but with the GO 1000 -- PanAm Amp(Cifte tubes)---ZMF X Vibro, it sounds very very good. I cannot wait to try it with the He-560s to see if there is some chemistry. Thank JoeDoe btw. would of wrote sooner but it has been a mad house.

 

[TonyNewman]

I have just plugged in my new Panam + Passport and started listening through a pair of SE535s. Wow - the Panam packs a lot of musicality into a very small package. Perhaps not the same level of detail that The International+ digs out, but so much more enjoyable to listen to. I was getting frustrated with the dry, clinical presentation of The International+. It really isn't what I enjoy listening to. After about an hour it was fatiguing and mildly unpleasant for me (YMMV).
 
Thankfully the Panam fixes all that - currently running Mullards, but will try some others soon (RTC, Russian).
 
What a pity ALO is discontinuing this little gem. Best 'transportable' amp I have heard yet (I wouldn't call it portable). Perfect to take to and from the office each day. Small footprint on my desk and great tube sound. I love this thing.

 
Anyone else using the Panam as an office rig?

 

[Audio Reiner]

Sometimes I use the ALO PanAm in office but in most cases at home with the Audeze LCD-2. When the amp would be able to drive my AKG K3003 correctly I would take it more often. But unfortunately it doesn't do it.

 

[koolas]

Just to recap... I got Telefunken recently (few posts ago) and I was evaluating them in comparison to my beloved Sylvanias.

At the beginning I prefered Sylvanias, as I saw them provide better level of detail and better control over sub-bass range. I still think that is true, but...

I'm using these Telefunken tubes for about two weeks now and must say I'm afraid of changing them back to Sylvania.

Why am I afraid?
Because I know that Sylvania sound technically better, but I sort of enjoy Telefunkens a bit more, and I'm afraid of changing them, because I don't want to stop liking them!!!

 

[TontonJoK]

Interesting
They have more musicality ?

 

[koolas]

Interesting
They have more musicality ?

Quincy Jones sounds purely amazing on them! They teleport me to 1960's

 

[Audio Reiner]

I guess, the rich mids of the sylvanias are not beatable.

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

I just wanted to say the PanAm and the He560 does pair very nicely and if the PanAm had a bi more power I would say that it could be one of the more ideal paiings with this headphone. The Ciftes make the mids on the He560 more personal and the detail level of the HE560 is already top notch, and so is the speed. So bringing out the mids a bit more for my own taste just sounds great.

 

[koolas]

I guess, the rich mids of the sylvanias are not beatable.

I think both Mullards and Sylvania got very goods mids, but Mullards have a peak at 3kHz, while Sylvania are transparent and have great treble above 8kHz up to 18kHz (highest my ear could hear).
Also bass on both is pretty neat, though Mullards bass sounds like there is more of it, however Sylvania bass is deeper, goes nicely below 30Hz.
Bottom line, Sylvania more neutral, and thus more technically perfect.

I prefer Telefunkens for now, as they are very enjoyable.

 

[TontonJoK]

Do you have troubles for contacting Alo ??
They don't answer to mail :angry_face:
Sent a mail 3 months ago and 2 last week and still waiting..