I've had my 1502 for almost 3 weeks now. It took me awhile to pick tubes because I had never even looked at, or considered a tube amp until about a week before I got my appj... Braaam and E8armydiver helped me alot to learn the basics...my thanks to both of them!
I picked my preamp first, I relied a lot on
Joe's Tube Lore to help with my final decision and was lucky enough to find a Sylvania JHS 5751WA (1958, black plates). Very pleased with this guy. The 5751 is a lower gain 12AX7, Braaam likes lower gain tubes and I agree. The 5751 made the soundstage more focused, better bass, and more delicate detail.
I just received my power tubes on Friday. I found some vintage Tung Sol 6V6GTA's (1950's, black plates). At this point, I think I've ruined my rolling plans.....I AM VERY HAPPY with my setup. As much as I loved my 5751, things still felt a little loose. The images were there, but the stock tubes struggled to reproduce them....now....that is not an issue! It is hard to explain the sound I am getting, for one, I am not as versed in the terminology to produce the flowing reviews I've read, with descriptions that float in the air like the music they describe.
My Headphones are modded HE400s's with Focus Pads A and new grills. I love the 400s and these too are new for me (12/15). I've had HP's and IEM's for years, but this planar is something else. I also bought the 400I, but I really preferred the bigger soundstage on my 400s and the open airy sound it has, so I sent the 400I back and kept my S.
My DAC/AMP is the Creative Soundblaster E5. I've written about it in other threads, so check back through my other post for more detail. I like to go portable which is why I went that direction. But I am very pleased with it and the sound. If you like your appj stock, the sound on my E5 is much better IMO. The appj felt subdued and veiled. Not near as open and airy, but I could see the promise of the tube sound (plus I'm a tweak and I like to mess with things!
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When I got the 5751, the sound immediately became on par with the E5...different, but on par. With the Tung Sol tubes, the appj has now surpassed the E5. I always felt the E5 sound was pretty solid, the sound stage was very wide on the 400s, but to me, it felt the images lost something being spread out so much...sorta like you painted 10 foot of wall ...then took the same amount of paint and painted 14 feet of wall...The 5751 and Tung sols fixed all that and actually did something weird to the sound stage. It still feels open and airy, but the images now blend better as a complete image...still separate, but instead of a separate image here, the drums over there, the singer here, lead guitar over there...now they are all the same image, no air between them, but still wide, layered, and detailed. The 400I had this kinda of imaging....unfortunately I had to send them back before I got all my tubes in.
My preference to my 400S is the wide, open, airy, live feel to them. The DAC on the E5 has DSP, so I can adjust the bass, EQ things, and really tailor the sound to my liking. I get a rich, creamy bass that has detail and no bloat.... especially at low volumes. I am very happy with where I am at now and cant think of how I would want to improve it. I have some Sylvania 6Y6G's coming in because I like the look of the coke bottles...I'll try them, but not expecting much. I really like the look of my new tubes, but the Tung Sol label went to the back towards the transformers, so you cant see the labels!
