[jamato8]

My friend installed some Duelund caps in my mk1. It was a little while ago and they took forever to burn in so it's hard for me to give reliable comparisons to stock at this point, but I feel convinced I got more detail, nuance, and lushness for the trouble.

Interesting, I have used Duelund cast copper PIO and liked them a lot. More of everything but they don't color the sound. This is in another tube amp but like you say, it takes a while for them to burn in and I don't feel like swapping caps to do comparisons.

 

[Wes S]

Interesting, I have used Duelund cast copper PIO and liked them a lot. More of everything but they don't color the sound. This is in another tube amp but like you say, it takes a while for them to burn in and I don't feel like swapping caps to do comparisons.

I myself would love to hear this amp with some Jupiter Copper Foil Caps, as I had those put in my last 2 amps and they were fantastic. Maybe someday. . .

 

[Wes S]

Folks, I have a rectifier to keep an eye out for, as it is clearly (pun intended ) a step up from all the rest. The transparency and linearity in the mids is insane, and there is serious extension on both ends. I am hearing more detail and nuances than I have with all my other rectifiers (I have every version/brand aside from one super rare made in Japan top getter version). The staging with this rectifier is the most expansive and holographic I have heard so far. I can hear so clearly and deep into the recording it's breathtaking. I have seen this rectifier labeled as Raytheon and Westinghouse and have both, and they all have the made in Japan stamped on the base. As @jamato8 has pointed out these were made by a Japanese company (not sure which one) for Raytheon and Westinghouse, and were made with the usual insane attention to detail and care that the Japanese are known for. The said tube has copper/grey plates and are about an inch taller than all my other rectifiers aside from my Sicte, and look like this below. If you have ever heard or read someone's description of the famous Melz 1578 driver tube being super linear, detailed, open and airy with zero fatigue, that's exactly how I would describe this rectifier. It really is so cool being able to dial in the sound from 3 different angles (driver, power and rectifier), and a major reason why I prefer tube rectification vs. SS.

Happy Hunting, Rolling and Listening.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Folks, I have a rectifier to keep an eye out for, as it is clearly (pun intended ) a step up from all the rest. The transparency and linearity in the mids is insane, and there is serious extension on both ends. I am hearing more detail and nuances than I have with all my other rectifiers (I have every version/brand aside from one super rare made in Japan top getter version). The staging with this rectifier is the most expansive and holographic I have heard so far. I can hear so clearly and deep into the recording it's breathtaking. I have seen this rectifier labeled as Raytheon and Westinghouse and have both, and they all have the made in Japan stamped on the base. As @jamato8 has pointed out these were made by a Japanese company (not sure which one) for Raytheon and Westinghouse, and were made with the usual insane attention to detail and care that the Japanese are known for. The said tube has copper/grey plates and are about an inch taller than all my other rectifiers aside from my Sicte, and look like this below. If you have ever heard or read someone's description of the famous Melz 1578 driver tube being super linear, detailed, and airy with zero fatigue, that's exactly how I would describe this rectifier.





Happy Hunting, Rolling and Listening.

I need to get my hands on some Raytheon or Westinghouse rectifier tubes ! Thanks for sharing

 

[Wes S]

I need to get my hands on some Raytheon or Westinghouse rectifier tubes ! Thanks for sharing

No problem, and hopefully some more will pop up for sale soon. There were 3 pairs sold within the last week on eBay, and I am hoping that seller finds some more. This was the listing https://www.ebay.com/itm/165805901028 and I was lucky to score one of the pairs. Perhaps it might be worth reaching out to that seller to see if they have anymore, or have any more coming?

 

[llamaluv]

This topic hasn't come up in a while, so lemme ask: Anyone else messing around with speakers with their HA-300?

Right now I'm using the HA-300 to power the Buchardt S400 mk2's that I just recently got, and it's pretty fun, even though these speakers (88dB, 4 ohms) are by no means the best fit for what a mere pair of 300B's can output.

The sound is fuller and more euphonic, and the lower-mids are more filled-in. Slower, more 'romantic', all the usual stuff. I like it, if only as an alternative, and particularly for jazz (which makes up most of my audio diet). My "reference" (solid state) amp is an AHB2. Also, I'm a 2-channel n00b.

 

[JeffMann]

No problem, and hopefully some more will pop up for sale soon. There were 3 pairs sold within the last week on eBay, and I am hoping that seller finds some more. This was the listing https://www.ebay.com/itm/165805901028 and I was lucky to score one of the pairs. Perhaps it might be worth reaching out to that seller to see if they have anymore, or have any more coming?

That was the vaccumtubesinc. listing I mentioned in my original post on 22de4 tubes - he sold me Westinghouse 22de4 tubes at $3 per tube.

Jeff.

 

[ARCXENOS]

No problem, and hopefully some more will pop up for sale soon. There were 3 pairs sold within the last week on eBay, and I am hoping that seller finds some more. This was the listing https://www.ebay.com/itm/165805901028 and I was lucky to score one of the pairs. Perhaps it might be worth reaching out to that seller to see if they have anymore, or have any more coming?

Same seller that I bought my raytheons from, when I enquired about more 22DE4s this is what he had to say

I will list them as we find them. However, I must say that after examining all of the 22DE4 tubes we started out with, I saw maybe 5 or 6 different constructions, no matter what the branding. RCA, GE, and Sylvania definitely made them in the US. Hitachi definitely made them in Japan. Amperex, Raytheon, and Westinghouse bought them and did not make them. Of course, those branded for the TV makers like Zenith and Admiral were made by one of the makers mentioned above.​

I have a feeling the lindals I bought were also one of the hitachi rebrands

Very nice Raytheons. How does this sound compared to the stock RCA 22de4s? I see seemingly dark burned patches on the inside of the tubes. Is this considered normal and safe to use ?

I have been comparing them the past few days, I would say the bass response is snappier with the raytheons, the difference between my GE and RCA is not as much as Raytheon vs RCA

I would say for more smoother setups, RCA is the way to go, but if you are aiming for impact, the raytheons (and I guess the other hitachi rebrands!) is the way to go.

Excited to hear difference when the sylvanias arrive

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Same seller that I bought my raytheons from, when I enquired about more 22DE4s this is what he had to say

I will list them as we find them. However, I must say that after examining all of the 22DE4 tubes we started out with, I saw maybe 5 or 6 different constructions, no matter what the branding. RCA, GE, and Sylvania definitely made them in the US. Hitachi definitely made them in Japan. Amperex, Raytheon, and Westinghouse bought them and did not make them. Of course, those branded for the TV makers like Zenith and Admiral were made by one of the makers mentioned above.​

I have a feeling the lindals I bought were also one of the hitachi rebrands


I have been comparing them the past few days, I would say the bass response is snappier with the raytheons, the difference between my GE and RCA is not as much as Raytheon vs RCA

I would say for more smoother setups, RCA is the way to go, but if you are aiming for impact, the raytheons (and I guess the other hitachi rebrands!) is the way to go.

Excited to hear difference when the sylvanias arrive

Definitely getting myself some Hitachi rebranded 22de4s to try in near future. Thanks for sharing the sonic comparison between RCA and Raytheon.

 

[jamato8]

There were a few Japanese manufactures of tubes, Matsushita, Toshiba (Tokyo Shibaura), NEC and Hitachi to name a few. NEC did a lot of manufacturing, well they all did. Even Mullards tooling from the UK was bought and brought to Japan for the manufacturing of tubes and they made some very fine EL34 tubes.

The prices for the 22DE4 sadly have gone up and IMO, gone up to much. Sure, supply and demand but they were made by the millions and up till recently, if you bought any quantity, they were around 50 cents each at the most. Most sellers bought them for much less and man tossed them, as no one was using them any longer. It is much more fun to get tubes you can enjoy at a decent price but that is going away now on the 22DE4.

 

[Antintheuniverse]

During comparing of the performance of HD800S and HEKSE, I found there are hiss in HD800S while not in HEKSE, first i thought the hiss is coming from outside the headphone, in the end i found it is through the headphone. I did not recall it always has this hiss through HD800S though.

 

[ARCXENOS]

During comparing of the performance of HD800S and HEKSE, I found there are hiss in HD800S while not in HEKSE, first i thought the hiss is coming from outside the headphone, in the end i found it is through the headphone. I did not recall it always has this hiss through HD800S though.

Seems about right to me, my planars have absolute pitch-black background no matter what

As for the rest, based on my experience, will depend on the tubes (including its warmup), its seating and rest of your system / environment. I think you can try to reseat the 6SN7 and 300B first and see whats up. Hopefully you can diagnose the issue

And just in case you didn't know, the 4.4mm output is better for noise control over the XLR and 6.35mm

 

[Antintheuniverse]

Seems about right to me, my planars have absolute pitch-black background no matter what

As for the rest, based on my experience, will depend on the tubes (including its warmup), its seating and rest of your system / environment. I think you can try to reseat the 6SN7 and 300B first and see whats up. Hopefully you can diagnose the issue

And just case you didn't know, the 4.4mm output is better for noise control over the XLR and 6.35mm

Thanks, but 800s doesnot have the other cables except XLR, as for HEKSE, have not tried that yet since the XLR is good enough.

 

[Wes S]

Seems about right to me, my planars have absolute pitch-black background no matter what

As for the rest, based on my experience, will depend on the tubes (including its warmup), its seating and rest of your system / environment. I think you can try to reseat the 6SN7 and 300B first and see whats up. Hopefully you can diagnose the issue

And just case you didn't know, the 4.4mm output is better for noise control over the XLR and 6.35mm

The 4.4mm definitely cuts down on noise, but also sounds a bit lifeless/gimped compared to the 1/4" and XLR to my ears. If I could only use the 4.4mm, I would have sold this amp already. The 1/4" and XLR both have the magic for me, and I actually prefer the 1/4" the most with my VC's. Using my VC's with the XLR is super impactful and exciting but is too much power and the bass often over powers some of the lower mids. Using the 1/4" with my VC's is the sweet spot, and is a more linear/natural sound top to bottom and I can hear everything in the mids, of which is truly a magical experience.

 

[Erwinatm]

This topic hasn't come up in a while, so lemme ask: Anyone else messing around with speakers with their HA-300?

Right now I'm using the HA-300 to power the Buchardt S400 mk2's that I just recently got, and it's pretty fun, even though these speakers (88dB, 4 ohms) are by no means the best fit for what a mere pair of 300B's can output.

The sound is fuller and more euphonic, and the lower-mids are more filled-in. Slower, more 'romantic', all the usual stuff. I like it, if only as an alternative, and particularly for jazz (which makes up most of my audio diet). My "reference" (solid state) amp is an AHB2. Also, I'm a 2-channel n00b.

88 db @ 4 ohm is too heavy for a 300B SET amp to drive. I guess Buchardt min power requirement about 50w @8 ohm.

You will hear only midrange and midbass dominant in the reproduction. Loss the dynamics, shrinking staging and miss the extended high and low bass. CMIIW.

You need at least speakers with 95db sens @ 8 ohm for HA300 to sing.