[betula]

Gggggas

Less about the tube type, and more about the manufacture and sound you’re looking for to choose between the 6V6 model tubes.

The “G” is the shoulder tube large coke bottle shape.
The GT, GTA, and GTY are all the smaller straight sided tubes.

Some think there is sound difference between the straight sided and shouldered tubes. This might be more personal opinion.

I tend to look for and use the older G tubes just because I like the way they look.
But I do own several of the straight sided tubes from the same
Manufacturer. For the Mazdas I own they are very similar in sound G shape to GTY shape.

The military tubes are either marked as JAN (joint army navy for US military) or CV509 ( European military) or similar labeling as it is country specific, and can be any of the G, GT, GTA or GTY shapes.

Or perhaps you may be thinking about the Bendix 5992 or Bendix Eclipse-Pioneer 6V6 which are both a GTY shape tubes.

Hope this info helps.

My pair is coke bottle shape, but it says GT.

 

[Honeypot]

Got some mazdas in and they definitely tighten the low end. Really good pairing with warm leaning tubes

They really are, I also have some Mazda 6v6gt st and they are not just super great tighting the low end but also enhancing soundstage.

What Mazdas did you get and what other tubes do you pair them with?
I also have some Mazda 6V6GTs coming in soon. Some members here really love them, and I couldn't resist after I bumped into a nice NOS pair. As always, I will report back after some burn in.

You can also try the mullards gt version t shape. They are cheaper than Mazdas and the presentation is very close to the Mazdas.

 

[Keko123]

I have found different 6v6 Mazdas, which ones are the good ones?

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I just bought the OG Utopia which will be arriving tomorrow. I had the new 2022 Utopia for a few days and really enjoyed the sound with this amplifier albeit the background dynamic hissing. Has anyone had any experience with the OG Utopia with this amplifier? As people say the OG model is more amp picky.

 

[djentbat]

What Mazdas did you get and what other tubes do you pair them with?
I also have some Mazda 6V6GTs coming in soon. Some members here really love them, and I couldn't resist after I bumped into a nice NOS pair. As always, I will report back after some burn in.

I got some 6v6Gs in my rig. With the E80CC mullards. It’s nice for dialing in on the calderas low end. I tried my utopias with them recently and they made have so much more bass, but not where it influenced the headphone to be warm. It’s just nice tasteful bass.

 

[Honeypot]

I have found different 6v6 Mazdas, which ones are the good ones?

I've got a set of the last two the 6v6 and 6v6gt. The first three seem newer as that shape was used in later iterations of the gt.
The 6v6 are a bit softer and mellow and 6v6gt are a bit cleaner and punchier. Not huge difference though.
I would get the 6v6gt, but ultimately depends on you. The last two comes from the same seller I bought them from. Legit Nos.

 

[Andykong]

I just bought the OG Utopia which will be arriving tomorrow. I had the new 2022 Utopia for a few days and really enjoyed the sound with this amplifier albeit the background dynamic hissing. Has anyone had any experience with the OG Utopia with this amplifier? As people say the OG model is more amp picky.

I have heard both original Utopia and 2022 Utopia with HA-3A and HA-6A at a retail shop, my friend is a shopkeeper so I went to his shop to sample different headphones when I needed to work with a new amplifier. He simultaneously uses iDAP-6 as the source, I2S or S/PDIF to 2-3 DAC, and connects to multiple headphone amplifiers. both Utopia and the Stellar are hiss-free in this setup.

My little trick is when I need to audition outside my own headphone rig, I always start with a S/PFID connection whenever possible. USB Audio needs more attention (and control) before I can listen critically.

 

[betula]

I have managed to compare my pair of Mullard E80CCs to another brand-new pair of the same make, which were not burned in yet.
The new pair sounded thinner, brighter, lacking some low end. (Just like when mine arrived a few weeks ago.) The burned in pair sounds fuller, warmer, smoother, more natural with excellent (full but tight and controlled) low end. For those of you new to E80CCs, hang in there. These tubes said to need a longer burn in time than 12AU7s.

 

[LXMc]

I have managed to compare my pair of Mullard E80CCs to another brand-new pair of the same make, which were not burned in yet.
The new pair sounded thinner, brighter, lacking some low end. (Just like when mine arrived a few weeks ago.) The burned in pair sounds fuller, warmer, smoother, more natural with excellent (full but tight and controlled) low end. For those of you new to E80CCs, hang in there. These tubes said to need a longer burn in time than 12AU7s.

I'm curious to try a pair of the mullard e80cc to see how they compare to the valvo and tungsrams I have but have not had much luck finding more than odd singles here and there on ebay. Did you find your pairs there or through a tube retailer?

 

[betula]

I'm curious to try a pair of the mullard e80cc to see how they compare to the valvo and tungsrams I have but have not had much luck finding more than odd singles here and there on ebay. Did you find your pairs there or through a tube retailer?

Ebay. They do pop up every now and then, just keep looking.

 

[npatrix]

I'm curious to try a pair of the mullard e80cc to see how they compare to the valvo and tungsrams I have but have not had much luck finding more than odd singles here and there on ebay. Did you find your pairs there or through a tube retailer?

I got mines (phillips E80cc) through ebay, they were being sold separetly but the measurements were quite similar. I was told by a head-fier that the HA-3A has auto bias, so it would correct any differences between tubes.
Gladly I don't percieve any difference in sound between channels.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I have heard both original Utopia and 2022 Utopia with HA-3A and HA-6A at a retail shop, my friend is a shopkeeper so I went to his shop to sample different headphones when I needed to work with a new amplifier. He simultaneously uses iDAP-6 as the source, I2S or S/PDIF to 2-3 DAC, and connects to multiple headphone amplifiers. both Utopia and the Stellar are hiss-free in this setup.

My little trick is when I need to audition outside my own headphone rig, I always start with a S/PFID connection whenever possible. USB Audio needs more attention (and control) before I can listen critically.

I just received the OG Utopia so I will try it on the HA-3A tonight. I was using the 2022 Utopia with the XLR cable and XLR to my Topping D90 and then USB to PC. I use USB as I use upsampling so S/PFID cannot go above 192kHz if I'm correct and I upsample to 768kHz.

The OG Utopia only comes with 6.35mm cable so I will see if I get any background hissing but it wasn't really an issue with the 2022 Utopia once I started playing music.

I also use the iFi GND defender with the HA-3A and the iFi Supanova cable with the DAC.

 

[DrDen]

I just received the OG Utopia so I will try it on the HA-3A tonight. I was using the 2022 Utopia with the XLR cable and XLR to my Topping D90 and then USB to PC. I use USB as I use upsampling so S/PFID cannot go above 192kHz if I'm correct and I upsample to 768kHz.

The OG Utopia only comes with 6.35mm cable so I will see if I get any background hissing but it wasn't really an issue with the 2022 Utopia once I started playing music.

I also use the iFi GND defender with the HA-3A and the iFi Supanova cable with the DAC.

You could try some DDC between your PC and DAC. I2S is the best.

 

[mudguardiain]

Has anyone had any experience of using upgraded fuses in the Cayin & are they safe? I have limited experience of Hifi fuses, which to my surprise was quite positive despite my skepticism when used in a couple of mains cables.

 

[DrDen]

Has anyone had any experience of using upgraded fuses in the Cayin & are they safe? I have limited experience of Hifi fuses, which to my surprise was quite positive despite my skepticism when used in a couple of mains cables.

Just got the inexpensive Gustard 1,6A fuse (ceramic, sand filled), but haven’t inserted it yet (rarely listen to headphones). Stock fuse is 1,0A, but the difference isn’t that big. I’m using these fuses in the rest of my gear (3,15 and 0,63A) and feeling no need for upgrade so far.