ampsandsound (aka Amps & Sound)
Mar 29, 2018 at 5:45 PM Post #152 of 1,234
Leeloo is indeed the follow up to SE84, Anyone need tubes for leeloo :triportsad:

I've got a Leeloo. I've got tons of tubes, but maybe you have something I don't...
 
Mar 29, 2018 at 8:03 PM Post #156 of 1,234
anyone want to go in half on a dozen NOS tung sol 1960's vintage 12sl7's guy wants 195.00 for 12
potentially. Are they known to be pretty good? I ordered a few black glass Tung Sol 12SL7s earlier. I assume the ones you’re talking about are a different version. I don’t mind going in on a few potentially, but I don’t know about half.
 
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Mar 29, 2018 at 9:15 PM Post #157 of 1,234
no idea if they are known good or ? seller describes as like tung sol 12ax7, short ribbed plates tall bottles with halo getter
 
Mar 29, 2018 at 9:18 PM Post #158 of 1,234
potentially. Are they known to be pretty good? I ordered a few black glass Tung Sol 12SL7s earlier. I assume the ones you’re talking about are a different version. I don’t mind going in on a few potentially, but I don’t know about half.

Those Tung Sol 12SL7GT from the large lot are variously marked 322NZ3 or 322MK3 on the base and look different than the matched pair I purchased earlier:

tungsol1.jpg


May not be a concern but thought worth pointing out.
 
Mar 29, 2018 at 9:39 PM Post #159 of 1,234
Those Tung Sol 12SL7GT from the large lot are variously marked 322NZ3 or 322MK3 on the base and look different than the matched pair I purchased earlier:

tungsol1.jpg


May not be a concern but thought worth pointing out.
Yea. I'm getting that black glass variation as well. The Tung Sols Joe mentioned do look pretty interesting though. They're quite a bit taller than the other 12SL7s I've seen. I'm definitely interested in splitting 3 or 4 ways, but I don't know about going in for half. Alternatively if someone else goes in half I don't mind buying half of what they got.

Edit: Should also note that I think I was wrong about having a bad Hytron 1626, but I'll be doing a bit more testing. Seems like it might actually be the National 12SL7 that was causing the issues. I should have just replaced the input and output tubes separately instead of both at the same time. That said. One of them is still a bit more microphonic than I'd prefer, but it's not causing hum.
 
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Mar 30, 2018 at 7:19 PM Post #160 of 1,234
Got in my Raytheon 2C52 in today, and I'm noticing what someone mentioned last year. Less microphonic than any of my three 12SL7s.

The 2C52 also doesn't produce this quiet sputtering noise in my HD650 like all my 12SL7s do on occasion. I wish I had other cables/full sized headphones to test as I feel like that issue might not be 100% on the 12SL7. The stock HD650 cable is quite thin and perhaps a better cable wouldn't have this issue?

I haven't decided how I feel about the sound yet as it's only been 45 minutes or so and most of it not actually listening to anything. What I did listen to was pleasing enough. Perhaps a little bit more in your face than the 12SL7. Maybe slightly more bass? I'll have to listen to more things before I really conclude anything, but I'm definitely happy to have an input tube that's less microphonic and solving a minor issue I've been experiencing. Depending on whether or not the Auteur makes that same sputtering noise with a 12SL7 I may need to pick up a few extra 2C52s in the future.

The upside and downside about the 2C52 is that I’ve only seen this one Raytheon 2C52 being sold. Does nothing else exist?
 
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Mar 30, 2018 at 10:13 PM Post #161 of 1,234
2C52s are getting rare and in my trials not that much better than stock. Bottom of the barrel perhaps. Might have gotten some from mediocre batches. Rather than collecting 12SL7GTs get a 1960's Telefunken ECC801S and adaptor and be done with rolling input tubes.
 
Mar 31, 2018 at 6:20 AM Post #162 of 1,234
2C52s are getting rare and in my trials not that much better than stock. Bottom of the barrel perhaps. Might have gotten some from mediocre batches. Rather than collecting 12SL7GTs get a 1960's Telefunken ECC801S and adaptor and be done with rolling input tubes.
The point wasn't to declare the 2C52 to be the greatest input tube for the Encore. I was mostly noting that the 2C52 seems to resolve an issue I've been having when listening with my HD650. Compared to the 12SL7 I don't think I'd call the 2C52 an upgrade now that I've done a bit more listening. It's just a different flavor option that may or may not resolve an issue for some people in addition.
 
Mar 31, 2018 at 11:01 PM Post #163 of 1,234
I was reading on another forum about Kenzie, They were debating which tap to use for Sennheiser HD800. I thought the 600 was what Justin had recommended. I decided to try 32ohm tap, I can tell you I have no intentions of going back to 600 ohm tap. The sound difference was HUGE Much more Musical and involving with no apparent loss in detail or extension. I had started to think my new DAC was a mistake I have been in the NOS camp for years I had the chance to get the ECD-1 for a good price. I jumped on it (reminiscing of the EMC-1 I had years ago) Now I am SOOOOOOOOOOO Happy I got it
 
Mar 31, 2018 at 11:14 PM Post #164 of 1,234
I was reading on another forum about Kenzie, They were debating which tap to use for Sennheiser HD800. I thought the 600 was what Justin had recommended. I decided to try 32ohm tap, I can tell you I have no intentions of going back to 600 ohm tap. The sound difference was HUGE Much more Musical and involving with no apparent loss in detail or extension. I had started to think my new DAC was a mistake I have been in the NOS camp for years I had the chance to get the ECD-1 for a good price. I jumped on it (reminiscing of the EMC-1 I had years ago) Now I am SOOOOOOOOOOO Happy I got it
I have no idea about the 600ohm tap as I don't have one, but I can say that I prefer my HD650 from the 300ohm tap over the 32ohm tap. It's a very good match. Unfortunately don't have a HD800S anymore to offer an opinion on that.

I've never heard the ECD-1, but it looks pretty. Using a NOS DAC myself currently. I love the warmer sound and find it less fatiguing, but with the Encore I'm curious about how a D/S or Schiit multibit would sound. The Encore might be warm enough on its own that a NOS DAC is less 'necessary' to me.

Also got in a matched pair of RCA 1626. Can't say I really notice a difference from my Tung Sols, but I'm still glad to have another good pair since my Hytrons aren't really usable by my standards.
 
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Mar 31, 2018 at 11:30 PM Post #165 of 1,234
I would skip the multibit, I had 1 here and ended up with a headache in under 1 hour, very fatiguing. The Electrocompanient is the only D/S upsampling DAC i have ever liked, Several years ago I had the EMC 1 Cd Player and was astounded how vinyl like it sounded. I have kept a weather eye out for one ever since selling. 2 weeks ago this dac (which is the same dac as in the players) popped up on A-gon under a grand I could not pass up the opportunity to try one. It ousted My long time reference MHDT Havana upgraded, and a Red Wine Bellina Reference. They both sounded great but my setup is at a whole new level. I am sure there are better DACs out there I am also positive one would cost MUCH MUCH MORE and for how much improvement ?
 

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