[Matt]

Hi EMP owners, former owners, lovers and anyone else with an interest.

I just received my unit last night and I am wondering a few things that may sound stupid, but I am new to tube gear as well...

1. I accidentally had the power switch on the AC adapter set to "on" and I plugged it into the wall. It shot the tubes right on. Is that bad?

2. I have turned this thing on with no interconnects attached and no headphones attached. Is that bad?

3. Is it OK to leave this thing on? How about without interconnects or headphones?

4. How bright *are* those tubes supposed to glow? They seem rather faint in relation to what I was expecting.


Best regards (and thanks for any help),
Sire Mister Matt

 

[Tomcat]

1. I don't know. If switched on properly, the middle tube ought to come on first, and the two output tubes ought to start glowing a little later. Did it happen like this?

2. I have seen recommendations that it's better if you have a load attached to the output of tube gear when you switch it on. Don't ask for the technical reasons. Sorry.

3. We have had this thread about warming up tubes, including some unforgettable posts by Tomcat. Although costly because of shortened tube life, it is generally thought to be beneficial. Could be tube dependent, though. Just try it.

4. It's a good idea to use proper light bulbs.

In the daytime, it's difficult to perceive the glow at all. It's very faint.

5. Okay there was no "5". But could you review your amp? How does it sound to you?

 

[Matt]

Though I've only done about an hour of listening on PAINFULLY, PAINFULLY lousy, Sony OEM earbuds-with-a-thin-headband things (am waiting with bated breath for my HD600s to arrive), I did compare those crap headphones from a JMT and those same headphones from the EarMax.

I must say that I am very pleased with the overall tube presentation. I feel "at home" with it, more than I do with SS amps. I've had the RA-1 and have the JMT and this amp is in a whole different league. It retains the pleasant energy of the SS's while freeing so much air from the mix with none of the grain or glare. The instrumental separation is really much better and the sense of effortlessness is striking. Instruments take on individual lives of their own and it is a really stunning thing to hear.

One of the really kewl things I've been hearing already has been previously-unnoticed, slight pitch or dynamic oscillations on synthesizer notes. For instance, where once I heard a note as a "waaaaaaaaaaah," I now hear that same note with it's true, slight "waawaawaawaawaah," which would represent, say, a frequency oscillation. It's really great to hear!

I have many thin recordings and this amp makes them more listenable. I am wont to say that it is because it represents it more "as intended" (by the artist or engineer), rather than having it's flaws microscopically blown up. However, to me, that statement doesn't do justice to the amp, because one could infer from it that it was less detailed.

"Not so," said the Matt.

The simple fact of the matter is that I am hearing things I never did with my RA-1/RS-1 combo. For instance, slight background bongos come to life, albeit a distant one, whereas before they were not noticeable.

I'm also able to turn the volume up much more, which leads (for me) to more overall involvement in the music. The reason I could not do this previously was because GGGGGRRRRRAAAAADDDDDDOOOOO has those awful spiked in the upper ranges which render painful presentations of sounds in that sensitive range. PAINFUL!

Highs are miraculous with the EMP and in a whole new league. They're there, but they're not "in yo' face" as is the case with most SS amps I've heard. They are airy. Cymbals come to life. Life. Alive. I think that is probably the most amazing thing so far about this amp: it allows the life-force of the instruments and music to pass where they must have previously been considerably stemmed.

I can reasonably turn the EMP up without serious fear of tinnitus development, because strident treble is a non-issue.

Voices are noticeably a cut above the SS amps, but they still suck overall right now. I think this has everything to do with the headphones (if you can even call them that) that I'm using. Vocals sound like they're veiled with a curtain or something and it's driving me ape****. Yes, I know, using these...things...is a travesty, but it's all I've got right now and I could not wait.

Regardless, in just the day I've had it, I've been pleasantly enveloped by the music more times, I've tapped my feet more times and stronger emotional responses have been elicited from me than with SS amps in general.

I'm home!

- Matt

 

[markl]

Get a Sylvania Gold Brand 12AT7 for your input tube, and prepare to be amazed. That tube LOVES the Earmx Pro!

markl

 

[Matt]

...you're recommending the one that goes in the middle?

Also, what, may I ask, is the difference between the middle tube and the two that flank it?


Best,
Matt

 

[markl]

The middle tube, yes. Most of heavy lifting is done by the input tube in the middle. The 6dj8's are output tubes. Switching them also helps, but not as much as middle tube.

You ARE going to get a HD600, are you not? That's really the only phone that really *seems* to work well with it, and work together they DO!!!!!

markl

 

[Kubernetes]

Quote:

You ARE going to get a HD600, are you not? That's really the only phone that really *seems* to work well with it, and work together they DO!!!!!

Oh, I disagree. I use my EMP primarily with Grado RS-1s, and the combo is heavenly!

My Senn HD580s have never sounded better than out of the EMP, but I'm biased to a more euphonic presentation.

 

[RickG]

I like either the HD600s or the SR325s with the EMP depending on my mood at the time.

 

[Matt]

OK, I be confused.

I've been to the sites recommended from the above link (the one with the "good deals on NOS tubes") and saw that the price was like $40 for a good Sylvania Gold tube, $45 for a better one. Then, I checked eBay and saw auctions with super low (<$10) prices and I'm wondering if it's really worth it to go with the $45 ones.

I am not dumb and I do realize that the guy puts the NOS tubes through a battery of tests, but one of the eBay dudes said he did the same thing and, though his were used and not technically N-OS (what is it then, U[sed]OS?), they were used in an audiophile context. I would pay for the NOS gladly, but only if the eBay ones really suck ass in a meaningful way compared to them.

Any painful experiences anyone want to share with me? Furthermore, does anyone have any Sylvania Gold 12AT7 spares they have lying around that I could take off their hands? I saw a post in the for sale forum asking $20 for one.

Also, exactly *what* benefit will I derive from switching to the Sylvania Gold 12AT7? What "percentage" of increase in these things, if you had to give one?

How long do the Syl's last (in comparison with some current-run ones)? How does one go about switching tubes on the EMP?

Ooooh, another question: how do I clean fingerprint marks off of the volume knob and the metal bar protector thingie (over the tubes)?

Thanks so much for the information...this is so exciting!

- Matt

 

[markl]

This is an area in which you have to assess how much risk your willing to take. Vendor A has a reputation, a web-site, and special grading procedures to insure you get the best quality tubes. But, he charges you for peace of mind.

Some guy on e-bay selling you his tube that's 6 years old and burned out from his pre-amp. He knows you have no testing device. It's too risky for me, I pay extra.

markl

 

[Matt]

Markl,

What sort of risk do you think one would assume when going with the eBay listed ones? Do you think there is a 90% chance they will be sub-standard?

In other words, how big is my shot that I'd get good, up-to-snuff tubes regardless of if they have been used or not?

Furthermore, does a NOS purchase represent a substantially larger lifespan over a used Old Stock purchase (generally)?

- Matt

 

[markl]

NOS tubes will not last any longer in general, with some exceptions of course.

I have no way to assess the risk on e-bay which is why I personally avoided it. Given the amount of tubes that are sold there, somone somewhere finds the risk acceptable.

markl

 

[steinie]

I only buy tubes from reputable dealers. With the (sort of) resurgence in tubes and tube amps in the past few years, there are actually several factories in the world making brand new tubes again, which is a good thing.

Some of these tubes from Tesla, Slovtek, and others are actually pretty good. Almost all of them are copies, and/or made from designs of older, well-respected tube designs. A few are actually better in some ways than the old ones they were designed from due to better, more modern manufacturing methods.

However, there are now also people that are selling re-marked tubes as NOS, people who wash the markings off and re-print whatever brand they want on the tubes, etc. There have been a few of these cheats on E-bay, and granted, most people on Ebay are probably on the up and up, but it only takes a few bad apples to make me leery of them......

 

[Matt]

...thanks for the dope.

I am actually quite curious to know *why* exactly, since these tubes are old and were made using relatively non-high-tech materials and manufacturing techniques, these would be better.

Now, I'm no fool and I know that if something sounds better, it just does. I simply don't understand why a modern manufacturing company could not duplicate the materials and methods of the vintage tubes to an audiophile standard. I mean, these things are not Pentium microprocessors. They're simple electrical parts.

*Perhaps* companies could even advance the art even further and make tubes the likes of which the world has never heard, ones which trump the vintage tubes in every way. This is certianly possible, don't you think?

Is it just because the demand is relatively low that this has not been done?

- Matt

 

[steinie]

In a nutshell, the answer is "yes'. Back in the good old days, tubes were the way to go, so there was lots of competition, newer and better plants being built, sort of a "who is better" race just like there is now between Intel and AMD for instance.

That kind of competition always makes for better products for the consumer. Tube demand is really very low these days, all things considered. We are lucky that at least it's high enuff that it became economically feasible to build new tube plants in China, Russia, Czechloslovakia, etc. A few years ago, there were no more brand new tubes being made anywhere in the world.

Hell, Western Electric has actually started producing the WE 300B tubes once again after all these years!!!!! Guitar amp people are jumping for joy right now.

And yes, definately, tubes could be made better than they could back then with the methods and techniques we have now, but it has to be economically feasible, or it ain't gonna happen. If they can build them just "good enuff" to sell, and make a profit, many times that's what actually gets built in the real world. Bummer, but true nonetheless.