[Makiah S]

Quote:

while i've got the little dot I+ opened up, to change to ef95 setting, got the g3 with the sylvania 12au7 gold lettering, pins pulling some head time, cleansing the pallet so to speak
 

Omg Jay, I'm getting a little dot 1+ as well xD that's pretty funny huh lol

 

[jaywillin]

Quote:

Omg Jay, I'm getting a little dot 1+ as well xD that's pretty funny huh lol

i love mine !! its build is a little more substantial than the bravo/indeed, but then it cost a little more, i kinda like having both amps
two different tube flavors, and with the tube rolling, even more

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

i love mine !! its build is a little more substantial than the bravo/indeed, but then it cost a little more, i kinda like having both amps
two different tube flavors, and with the tube rolling, even more

Indeed, my LD 1+ is coming with 4 different sets of tubes, that being said it's worth the price I am paying for it [a little under double what it costs new] still worth it for the extra tubes as that will make it an idenfinate keeper! Plus it has A LOT of current, which means it can do a good job driving something like a Mad Dog. not to mention it's coming with I think its a GE JN something tube, which apprently is like an anti tube xD It thins out heavy mids and brings a wonderful treble quality! 

 

[Helltech]

So I used brand new V3 for like 30 minutes worked like a charm, now its acting funny and the light went out on it. Sound just crackles and nothing comes through. Seems like an overheating/power issue. 

 

[crunchsound]

hi there, 
 
i bought a V3 a couple of months ago and i was quite satisfied. then one day i wanted replace the 3 big caps and after the job was done i had problems with stereo. it just gave me mono signals. so, then i replaced again all caps with the original ones but still the same. anyone please has a clue what could be wrong now ? maybe defect rca connections ? or something else ? 
 
thanks
patrick 

 

[HOWIE13]

I have no trouble driving the HD600, HD650, AKG K701 and DT880 (250Ohm) with an unmodified BRAVO V3. Rarely is the Vol knob beyond the 9'clock point and I like my music loud. Of course, if you use the passive equaliser filters the volume will drop off, but this is readily compensated for by increasing the volume. 

 

[UmustBKidn]

Quote:

hi there, 
 
i bought a V3 a couple of months ago and i was quite satisfied. then one day i wanted replace the 3 big caps and after the job was done i had problems with stereo. it just gave me mono signals. so, then i replaced again all caps with the original ones but still the same. anyone please has a clue what could be wrong now ? maybe defect rca connections ? or something else ? 
 
thanks
patrick 

 
Ideas?
 

1. The heat used to solder/unsolder may have affected something nearby .. e.g. damaged another component.
2. You may have splattered solder over a connection somewhere.
3. You may have a cold solder joint. People who only occasionally use a soldering iron may inadvertently create one of these.

 
First bullet: fix by substituting nearby components until it works.
Second: Use a magnifying glass and make sure that the traces are clean and no extra solder or flux exists.
Third: Resolder the connections.

 

[PanpandaChan]

So my V2 has been sitting in a drawer for a few months now... I stopped using it because I got tired of unplugging/replugging (due to fears of breaking the power button) and being worried about leaving it on overnight by accident.

I also have a Schiit Magni on the way thanks to my girlfriend.

What should I do with the V2? lol
Sell it? Compare it to Magni? Play with other tubes? (its still on the stock tube)

Anyone interested in buying it? Its dusty but otherwise mint lol.

 

[UmustBKidn]

So my V2 has been sitting in a drawer for a few months now... I stopped using it because I got tired of unplugging/replugging (due to fears of breaking the power button) and being worried about leaving it on overnight by accident.

I also have a Schiit Magni on the way thanks to my girlfriend.

What should I do with the V2? lol
Sell it? Compare it to Magni? Play with other tubes? (its still on the stock tube)

Anyone interested in buying it? Its dusty but otherwise mint lol.

 
Well, if I were you, I would compare it to the Magni and see how both pair with your cans. I own both, and quite honestly, I like both, but with different cans.
 
And, please do yourself a favor and get rid of that stock tube. It really is garbage. Buy any kind of old American made tube from eBay, and you will hear a remarkable difference. As I write this, I'm listening to a Modi driving a V2 with a Mullard ECC82 tube in it. Very nice. At work, I use a Hewlett Packard 5963 tube with long black plates, and a V2 driven by the line-out cord from an iPod. I keep rotating through a selection of old American 12AU7's and 5963's on that setup, and I keep coming back to that HP tube. I also have a Tung-Sol 5963 tube that sounds quite good.
 
Some of my notes on tube rolling a V2 can be found here. My comparison of a Bravo V2 against a Magni (with 2 different DAC's) can be found here.
 
I actually own two V2's now. When time permits I am going to mod one of them and do a comparison against the stock V2.

 

[PanpandaChan]

   
Well, if I were you, I would compare it to the Magni and see how both pair with your cans. I own both, and quite honestly, I like both, but with different cans.
 
And, please do yourself a favor and get rid of that stock tube. It really is garbage. Buy any kind of old American made tube from eBay, and you will hear a remarkable difference. As I write this, I'm listening to a Modi driving a V2 with a Mullard ECC82 tube in it. Very nice. At work, I use a Hewlett Packard 5963 tube with long black plates, and a V2 driven by the line-out cord from an iPod. I keep rotating through a selection of old American 12AU7's and 5963's on that setup, and I keep coming back to that HP tube. I also have a Tung-Sol 5963 tube that sounds quite good.
 
Some of my notes on tube rolling a V2 can be found here. My comparison of a Bravo V2 against a Magni (with 2 different DAC's) can be found here.
 
I actually own two V2's now. When time permits I am going to mod one of them and do a comparison against the stock V2.

 
Thanks, I may actually just keep them both, although one person so far has expressed interest in buying the amp.
 
I've always thought about trying different tubes, but the uncertainty seems so great, and once I go too far with tubes, then the Bravo's budget price no longer seems worth it :\
I'll look into it some more though. If it turns out no one wants to buy my Bravo, I might just grab another tube for it and give it another try.

 

[UmustBKidn]

  Thanks, I may actually just keep them both, although one person so far has expressed interest in buying the amp.
 
I've always thought about trying different tubes, but the uncertainty seems so great, and once I go too far with tubes, then the Bravo's budget price no longer seems worth it :\
I'll look into it some more though. If it turns out no one wants to buy my Bravo, I might just grab another tube for it and give it another try.

 
You really have nothing to lose at this point. I've become something of a 12AU7 collector (and some of its variants), and I can assure you that you can change the character of the sound quite readily just by swapping tubes. It is kind of amazing if you've never tried it before. I honestly didn't believe it until I tried it for myself, and I'm now a believer.
 
You know, I like to think of myself as a frugal person. And then I went and started buying tubes.

I realized that I needed to slow down when I had accumulated about 20 tubes lol.

I had some rather tragic stuff going on with my family this last summer, and I really needed a distraction from the grief. So this kind of became my distraction for the negative crap going on. Fortunately, it really isn't too expensive, if you research a bit.
 
I have purchased old American NOS tubes for as little as $2.50 on eBay. Heck, the shipping sometimes costs more than the tubes I buy lol. Just search for 12AU7 (or it's variants) and put in a bid on any old American tube. Some fellow was selling 5963 (a 12AU7 variant that is a drop-in substitute) tubes for $2.50 each in bulk a couple months back, so I grabbed a half dozen of them. That purchase was under $20 including shipping. You don't need to buy Mullards or Telefunkens to get better sound.
 
I will say though that there are a lot of sellers on eBay who are driving up the prices of Mullards and Telefunkens to the point where it has become ridiculous. I also think some people react poorly to the whole concept of auctions, and get sucked into the drama of bidding wars. These folks wait until the last 30 seconds of an auction, and bid up the price to 3 times what something is worth. Others put up tubes with fixed prices that are way above what they are worth, and some folks buy them anyway (probably because they see "Mullard" and go nuts). The old adage about a fool and his money comes to mind.
 
Bravo V2's can be had on eBay for about $50-55 bucks including shipping, or on Amazon for $69 bucks. So their resale value isn't going to be real high.
 
I'm also saying this because I do have a Magni (and a Modi), and have spent some time doing direct comparisons of the sound of both amps. Depending on the cans you are using, you might regret getting rid of that Bravo amp prematurely. The Magni is a nice amp, but it's solid state, and the Bravo is a tube hybrid. Even a hybrid tube amp produces some of the warm sound that tube amps are famous for. Some folks prefer tube sound over solid state, and some like it the other way around. I don't know your taste preferences, but I think you'd be better off doing your own little comparison once the Magni arrives, to see which sounds better on your setup.

 

[blazingazn]

My Bravo V2's RED LED does not go on.
 
The amp also sounds really weird now. Muted like.
 
What is wrong and what should I do?

 

[UmustBKidn]

  My Bravo V2's RED LED does not go on.
 
The amp also sounds really weird now. Muted like.
 
What is wrong and what should I do?

 
Hmm. This has not happened to me. Have you tried swapping another tube? Use a cheap one, just to test.
 
How comfortable are you with repairing electronic devices? If you think you can handle it, try posting your question here:
 
http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/thread/5297/bravo-12au7-mods-appreciation-thread

 

[White Lotus]

So I'm tempted to get a V3 to use as an output stage for my Aune T1 (uses the same tube, and can upgrade them later).
 
I've been told that these bravo amps suffer from crackling/noise floor/quality control issues.
 
Can any of you owners clear this up for me? 
 
Thanks!
 
(I know the answer probably lies in this thread, but it's 145 pages long..)

 

[HOWIE13]

I have had two V3's for a few months now. I use them regularly, rolling tubes. I have never had a problem from them. Whenever there is occasional unwanted noise/distortion it's due to me not inserting the tube properly or the pins needing a clean up.