[333jeffery]

I don't have any pics of the ZD, but the coke-bottle shape of the Sophia tube fits the looks of the amp quite nicely. The NOS tubes aren't bad, they just don't have the extended treble and bass that the Sophia's have. Also, the Tung Sol reissue tube that comes standard with the amp is pretty harsh, even shrill in the treble. I wouldn't recommend it at all.

 

[Blackmore]

Cant say much about SE 6SL7, but I tried their 6SN7 and to me, they are not the best. At the end, its all very personal and only your own ears can tell you what you like or not like, imo.
 
 
 
Quote:

 
Really? I had considered the Sophia Electric 6SL7 but I thought Mullard ECC35 NOS tubes would best everything else. Could you share a picture of your ZDSE with the Sophia 6SL7?

 

[ValentinHogea]

Quote:

 
Well I asked the seller, and he told me that both low noise and platinum low noise tube should have no audible noise; platinum tubes simply have better triode matching (the two numbers are closer).
 
ZDSE uses a single 6SL7 tube as driver tube. Does the ZDSE uses both triode sections of the 6SL7, or just one?
If there is a difference between the triode measurements (4.25mA/5.00mA), does that mean that there could be an imbalance in volume between the left and right channels?

 
Since it's a stereo amplifier and only uses one tube, it would be impossible only to use one section of the triode.
An example of a stereo amp using one dual-triode (one driver and one output): Bottlehead Crack
 
However, amps can be built using two dual-triodes (two drivers and two outputs), and then usually each channels uses both sections of the same triode.
An example of a similar amp to make the analogy complete: La Figaro 339.
 
Then it depends how the biasing is set in the amplifier, if matched sections are important or not. The EC Super 7, has auto-bias for each tube, thus it's not necessary to use matched sets (unless a tube is almost dead).
 
Hope that clarifies some!
 
/V

 

[ValentinHogea]

Sweet...
 
Mullard ECC35 
 

KenRad VT229 40's
RCA VT229 40's
 
incoming...
 
Gonna replace a Raytheon 6SL7GT, so things are looking mighty fine!

 

[preproman]

Trying to find out some information on the 45 tubes.  EC is coming out with a new amp I hear.  The EC 445.  It uses 4 45 tubes.  How does these tubes sound with the HD800?  Are there many variations of this tube?  How does this tube compare to the 2A3 and the tubes used in ZD

 

[Blackmore]

Talking about detail and delicacy, must be perfect for HD800, however not sure about the lower end, but with 4x 45s, it must be o.k., I guess. The main differences are output power, but maybe its not that important with headphone amps as with speaker one, cos 45s put around 1,8-2w p.ch only, while 2A3 give you something like 3,5-5w p.ch.
I believe they also call 45s as the king of SET.
 
 
 
 
 
Quote:

Trying to find out some information on the 45 tubes.  EC is coming out with a new amp I hear.  The EC 445.  It uses 4 45 tubes.  How does these tubes sound with the HD800?  Are there many variations of this tube?  How does this tube compare to the 2A3 and the tubes used in ZD

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

EC is coming out with a new amp I hear.  The EC 445.

 
What is your source for this bit of news, out of curiosity? Did Craig mention it?

 

[preproman]

Yes Craig did.  I was asking about the updated 2A3 and he said he hoped to have a proto of the 445 for an upcoming meet.  Heck let me just coopy the e-mail..
 
 
I have upgraded the 2A3 amplifier. The amplifier now uses an all film capacitor external power supply that will support the 274B rectifier tube. The DC heater supply has been replaced with the BA high frequency AC supply. The amplifier can be setup to support the 2A3, 300B, PX4 or 45 tubes, but only one tube at a time so if you pick PX4 tubes you can’t run 2A3, or 300B tubes. We will also offer the EC-445 amplifier which is basically the same amp with four 45 tubes, and Lundahl output transformers for $3200.00. 
I am running the amplifiers now orders taken will ship in 6-8 weeks. The price for the 2A3 amp is $2800.00 without tubes.
 
Then I asked if he had any photos.  He said..
 
Not yet, I am hoping to get a proto running for the February meet in the Bay Area Sunday the 17th. It will look like the 2A3 amp, but with 4 power tubes instead of two..

 

[MuppetFace]

Ah, okay. Did you get Craig's permission to post info on the new 445 amp? You may want to avoid quoting a private conversation in public unless he was clear about being cool with it. It's probably no big deal, but you never know. Plus it's just a courtesy to him.
 
The upgraded 2A3 with the BA heater has been in the works for a while from what I understand, and it's shown up at a few meets. Supposedly it sounds incredibly good. That's the first I heard about the details and nomenclature for the 445, though. Sounds promising.
 
I think I may hold off for the Leviathan, however. Between that, the Electra, and getting the Moth 2A3 upgraded... I think I've reached my quota for this year.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Did you get Craig's permission to post info on the new amp? You may want to avoid quoting a private conversation in public unless he was clear about being cool with it.
 
The upgraded 2A3 with the BA heater has been in the works for a while from what I understand, and it's shown up at a few meets. Supposedly it sounds incredibly good. That's the first I heard about the details and nomenclature for the 445, though. Sounds promising.
 
I think I may hold off for the Leviathan, however. Between that, the Leviathan, and getting the Moth 2A3 upgraded... I think I've reached my quota for this year.

 
I've been a professional government employee for over 15 years and going.  I know all there is to know about confidentiality.  Just trying to get some information on the 45 tubes.  

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I think I may hold off for the Leviathan, however. Between that, the Electra, and getting the Moth 2A3 upgraded... I think I've reached my quota for this year.

 
What's the specs on the Levi?  Is it in production already?  Is the EC 2A3 a newer Moth 2A3?
 
Thanks

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 
I've been a professional government employee for over 15 years and going.  I know all there is to know about confidentiality.  Just trying to get some information on the 45 tubes.  

 
 
 
Then you should know posting private conversations in public is going to raise eyebrows unless you specifically clarify you have permission to do so. A simple "posted with Craig's permission" addendum would clear up any misunderstandings.
 
Also I'm not trying to be snippy. There's nothing wrong with wanting info on 45 tubes. I bring up the permission thing however because posting about the EC 445 in several different threads by name and giving details about it is breaking news about a product few people other than Craig know of yet.
 
 

Quote:

 
What's the specs on the Levi?  Is it in production already?  Is the EC 2A3 a newer Moth 2A3?
 
Thanks

 

The Leviathan was a one-off made for a customer using some really expensive transformers (several thousands of dollars worth!). No details on a production run yet, but Craig seems to be exploring some options.
 
The Moth 2A3 is probably similar to the EC 2A3 in some ways, however it's going to be in another league in others. Moth Audio was more about making no-holds-barred one-offs and so they went all out in parts. The newer EC stuff is good no doubt, but Craig wants to keep costs down, so the parts are going to not be nearly as fancy. That's not to knock the newer stuff, just to say the priorities are different.
 
The Moth 2A3 has some design flaws, so getting it modded will be the best of both worlds: the older quality and design married with newer, better ideas. The performance is expected to be on par with if not better in some ways than the ECBA. The new EC 2A3 will be a major improvement over the older EC 2A3 too.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
 
Then you should know posting private conversations in public is going to raise eyebrows unless you specifically clarify you have permission to do so. A simple "posted with Craig's permission" addendum would clear up any misunderstandings.
 
Also I'm not trying to be snippy. There's nothing wrong with wanting info on 45 tubes. I bring up the permission thing however because posting about the EC 445 in several different threads by name and giving details about it is breaking news about a product few people other than Craig know of yet.

 
What I know is:
 
I can post what I want, where and when I want as long as I have an understanding with the source.  Thank you very much.  I don't have to specifically clarify anything to you or anyone else.  I don't care who's eyebrows it raise.  
 
I know what conversations I had with the source, and it's been much more than what I posted.  Like I said.  I know all there is to know about confidentiality.  That's all you need to know.
 
Gee Wiz

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 
What I know is:
 
I can post what I want, where and when I want as long as I have an understanding with the source.  Thank you very much.  I don't have to specifically clarify anything to you or anyone else.  I don't care who's eyebrows it raise.  
 
I know what conversations I had with the source, and it's been much more than what I posted.  Like I said.  I know all there is to know about confidentiality.  That's all you need to know.
 
Gee Wiz

 
 
No one said you had to do anything. It was a suggestion.
 
No need to make this personal. Some folks around here respect Craig tremendously, so we want to look out for his best interest. That's why clarifying you had permission is helpful: because it prevents exchanges like this. It lets others know that you and Craig are on the level and that you aren't doing things that would potentially cause him problems. Is it legally required? No. But then it's also not legally required to be polite despite our doing it as a courtesy.
 
This is a community, so transparency about things like this is in the best interest of everyone.

 

[preproman]

Gotcha,
 
No worries..  It's all good.  And I do apologize..