[m0gwai]

Quote:

I guess finding a single of this tube is possible.
What are they going for these days?  $500 per tube? 

 

 
500$... exactly what I wanted to spend

 
 

 

[mwilson]

Yeah, I asked Rob, and he said that was the tube, and he's dealt with that seller before. Actually, I purhcased one, and he shipped it the same day.

 
Quote:

While we're on the topic of RWA, I placed an order for a fully upgraded Isabellina today. Looking to get some recommendations on tube upgrades as Skylab mentioned in his AE review that it responded well to rolling. This will be my first tube experience so some guidance would be great.
 
Skylab mentioned the Mullard 2492 sounded good. Is this the one?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/E88CC-CV2492-MULLARD-MILITARY-NOS-BOXED-/260577827114?pt=UK_Consumer_VintageAudio_RL&hash=item3caba6192a#ht_500wt_1156
 
Any others I should be looking at? a brief description of their sound signature would help a lot.
 
Thanks.

 

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

I guess finding a single of this tube is possible.
What are they going for these days?  $500 per tube? 

 

For just one tube, I've paid $200.
 
Matched pairs (which are not needed) go for around $500...

 

[m0gwai]

I just bought a E88CC/CV2492 MULLARD MILITARY NOS BOXED, will see when it gets there and will let the system burn-in for a week but if after that it's still the same --> for sale forum

 

[zyth3x]

Be sure to post some impressions, I'll most likely grab one soon too.

 

[TheWuss]

Quote:

I just bought a E88CC/CV2492 MULLARD MILITARY NOS BOXED, will see when it gets there and will let the system burn-in for a week but if after that it's still the same --> for sale forum

That sounds fair enough, m0gwai.
Just to give you some encouragement:  If i had made the decision on my Cavalli Liquid Fire before it reached the 200 hour mark, I would've probably punted it out the door.
Not to say the changes were night and day, but it certainly has improved to my ears. 
 
 

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

I just bought a E88CC/CV2492 MULLARD MILITARY NOS BOXED, will see when it gets there and will let the system burn-in for a week but if after that it's still the same --> for sale forum

I will be interested to read what you think.  I think it makes a VERY significant difference.  I feel for amp manufacturers on this, to an extent - NOS supplies of tubes are impossible to predict, and so it's very tempting to supply something like the JJ, which is easy to get.
 
That said, as I mentioned in my review, my opinion is the JJ is a relatively bad sounding tube.  And since you can get NOS Sylvania and Philips 6922's from tubedepot in basically unlimited quantity, if I were Vinnie, which of course I am not, I would have provided the AE with at least one of those, as they sound much better than the JJ.  But that is just my personal opinion.
 
I do think that, before selling the AE off, you owe it to yourself to try it with something other than the Mullard.  I liked the AE enough, with the Mullard, that I sold off my Woo WA22 and bought the AE review sample.  So I put my money where my mouth is.
 

 

[grokit]

Has anyone tried the new NFB-10SE with the LCD-2? For the promo price it looks like a real contender.

 

[m0gwai]

Quote:

I will be interested to read what you think.  I think it makes a VERY significant difference.  I feel for amp manufacturers on this, to an extent - NOS supplies of tubes are impossible to predict, and so it's very tempting to supply something like the JJ, which is easy to get.
 
That said, as I mentioned in my review, my opinion is the JJ is a relatively bad sounding tube.  And since you can get NOS Sylvania and Philips 6922's from tubedepot in basically unlimited quantity, if I were Vinnie, which of course I am not, I would have provided the AE with at least one of those, as they sound much better than the JJ.  But that is just my personal opinion.
 
I do think that, before selling the AE off, you owe it to yourself to try it with something other than the Mullard.  I liked the AE enough, with the Mullard, that I sold off my Woo WA22 and bought the AE review sample.  So I put my money where my mouth is.
 

 
I think you're right and it wouldn't be fair to make a final judgment before giving it a chance to perform to it's full potential. For my own mental sanity I decided to stay away from tube rolling since the never ending upgrade is driving me crazy enough but I think very highly of your reviews and judgment so I will give it a try and post my opinion here. Also I decided that Vinnie did enough and lost enough money sending me replacement so I won't use his 30 days money back guarantee which means that if I sell it I will be loosing several hundreds of $ which of course I would rather avoid.
 
I was also thinking that you made your review using the LCD-2 rev1, it might be far fetched but they might be a better match, I owned both revision and from memory I remember that their sound signature was ''quite'' different, I don't want to make claims I can't back up but I'm pretty sure I could tell them apart in a blind test, this being said I prefered the Rev2 with my other gear.

 

[Argo Duck]

Currawong has his, and has posted a tantalisingly brief but seemingly positive impression of the amp. Not so pleased with the dynamics of the SPDIF converter. olor1n is expecting his soon - an A/B with Lyr may be possible here.
 
Go to the audio-gd-nfb-10 thread - sorry I haven't got a link handy
 
Quote:

Has anyone tried the new NFB-10SE with the LCD-2? For the promo price it looks like a real contender.

 

 

[Argo Duck]

Looking forward to your final impressions m0gwai, good or bad. 

 

[geetarman49]

I don't own an RWA product, nor have i ever listened to one...nor any of the other $$$$ hpa's.  however, Skylab is right on the money about the jj's.  i've had friends and acquaintances laud the small signal tube jj, but every type i've tried (including most recently e88cc goldpin) consistently imparts an abundant tonal coloration and effect that can accurately be labelled as rubbery... every impact... drum or otherwise, sounds just like a rubber mallet, a rubber sheet, ... that's just for starters...
 
for your own mental sanity, get rid of the jj's and try any of the other tubes that skylab has suggested.... as opposed to spending $200+ on a tube, try nos ge, rca, sylvania, etc.  i also think that nos russian 6n23p from the 60's and 70's are great tubes that can be had for $ vice $$$.
 
Quote:

I think you're right and it wouldn't be fair to make a final judgment before giving it a chance to perform to it's full potential. For my own mental sanity I decided to stay away from tube rolling since the never ending upgrade is driving me crazy enough ....

 

[Argo Duck]

I look forward to WillHughes' review. It seems achievable, given careful organisation and work, and sufficient time. If it fails, it will be educational about the difficulties of this kind of review. I don't think we should discourage the attempt.
 
I recall some years ago Skylab compared several of Jan Meier's amps. Rob's comments on the complexity of the comparison and the care needed would be helpful for anyone undertaking a similar project imho.
 
FWIW, I have been considering a careful review of my own current stable of 5 amps and two DACs - not because I want to present it on headfi (in fact, I don't!) - but to record what I hear before I start selling those I don't consider keepers. I don't want to rely on increasingly vague memories as time passes.
 
So far, a busy life has prevented me starting. As one or two others have already suggested, it needs to be treated as a complete commitment so it can be given the concentration needed.
 
Nevertheless, there's a big potential payback IMHO. Performing such a large survey at one time may reveal similarities and differences one might not otherwise notice.
 
On a related note, a switch-box such as milosz built for his A/B (amp) comparisons here might be useful; certainly something I intend to do in my case!
 
 

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

Has anyone tried the new NFB-10SE with the LCD-2? For the promo price it looks like a real contender.

Currawong probably has as mentioned. Hope to get my tomorrow... Has issues tracking down a balanced cable since Audeze for whatever reason put me on ignore. Will be busy with my HD 800 in the mean time.

 

[LiqTenExp]

I can suggest the NFB-10SE so far.  Check out some preliminary comparisons I did and some pictures.  Sound stage is broad and really places you within the music.  Way better than my NFB-12.  It is a good rival for the Lyr in my opinion.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/573478/audio-gd-nfb-10se-thread