[UntilThen]

Since yesterday, I've been using He1000se with Elekit TU-8200. I've not heard this headphone sound so good. This amp is quite incredible.

 

[Effusion]

@UntilThen, congratulations! I'm so glad you are digging the 8200 and took a chance on it! I still use mine daily, after 7 years, and I haven't felt the need to replace it at all since!

Thank you for your impressions! I was originally looking at the WA22 when I went with the 8200 back in 2014 and while I don't regret the decision at all, I've always wondered... if you are ever able to find the time to do an in-depth comparison, I know at least I would be very interested!

I agree, Victor is just great, so helpful/kind as well as passionate about both DIY and Elekit. Without him I would have never have been able to audition the 8200 at RMAF and would be listening to a different, and probably sonically lesser amp, right now.

While there is a ton of really good info in this thread, it is quite extensive. A few initial things to consider is that many here have replaced the volume pot as well as certain caps, etc. with great success. Also, many have enjoyed running speakers in Ultra-Linear mode, so be sure to try out the different modes. Just make sure you unplug the amp for at least 10 minutes before switching the jumpers. Personally I prefer Triode mode with headphones, however UL mode really makes EL34s come to life! Considering the little experience I have with speakers and the 8200, on several occasions UL mode seemed to improve speed/impact, while just slightly decreasing bloom compared to Triode; always a trade-off. Another upgrade that looks to be promising are the new Lundahl transformers for the 8200, which I believe are available now!

The real fun of this amp is the tube-rolling, just so many possibilities! I've found that this little amp at times can even best giants when the right pairing is found, including running Utopias noticeably better with a special combo against the very excellent Eddie Current Studio amp.

Keep letting us all know how your journey progresses and if you have any questions!

 

[UntilThen]

@Effusion good to meet you. After all you started this thread and you're still around. Elekit owes a lot to you and a lot to @vkung . There are also a lot who have contributed here and I've enjoyed reading through this thread. I'm still new to the TU-8200 - mine is the 1st version I believe. You can confirm that from the picture of the insides below.

I've a question for @Dimu but I'm afraid he has left. Or anyone who can answer this. Dimu loves using the Telefunken EL12 spez which is the predecessor tube for EL34. I always love the EL12 spez from when I was playing around with it on the Feliks Audio Elise and Euforia. It's not suited to that amp but it will play and I love the tone of all the EL11, 12 and 12 spez tubes. So much so I've bought so many NOS tubes of the EL* varieties with even the original boxes. Dimu uses the EL12 spez in the TU-8200 but I was wondering 1) what adapter did he use (if you could link me the ebay link that would be great so that I can buy the correct adapter) 2) can the EL12 spez be use with 12AU7 (because I don't know how to change the transformers to handle E80CC tubes) using the stock transformer.

Now yesterday when I pick up the amp from the seller (who happen to be a very nice and helpful person) her told me that the amp is set to triode. So all throughout yesterday when I was using it to drive my speakers and headphones, I thought I was in triode mode but this morning I open up the amp to switch it to ultra linear and to my surprise, the jumper is at ultralinear. So I was using ultrlinear all this while but I have now switch it to triode. So 2 things I observed. The amp was very powerful driving my speakers and headphones because it was in ultralinear mode and bass is very strong and nice. Today after switching over to triode mode, I find it is so much sweeter and nicer on my headphones. Haven't tried triode mode with speakers yet.

I'll be buying NOS GEC KT66 and NOS Philips Miniwatts EL34 xf2 double O rings later this week. It will cost me more than the amp but that's because I love NOS tubes and I will get it while they still exists. These are brand new and NOS. I have my source. He also have the GEC KT88 but that will kill the cat with the price. There's also KT77 and KT90 and 6550. Sigh this amp is so good sounding that I'm really going down the tube rabbit hole but that's ok - I was already starting to buy those tubes with a view of having a custom amp build for it. Fate intervenes and here I have the Elekit TU-8200 that is already ready made for these purpose and also drives speakers so well.

I know about Eddie Current Studio and Aficionado but have not heard them. I had the Glenn OTL amp and ALO Audio Studio Six which uses 6V6 tubes. Those are good but this TU-8200 with KT88 and 6L6GC is much better to my ears that is for sure.

Yesterday Steve the owner of https://tubesoundaudio.com.au spoke to me on the phone. They are from Australia selling those kits and also provide assembly service. Additionally they also sell very nice wooden enclosures for the TU-8200. It's magnetic so it will just hooked onto the chassis. Very clever and very nice looking. I'm interested in it. Furthermore he told me that there are differences between the new TU-8200R model from the TU-8200. One of which is the ability to change the impedance for headphones to low, medium or high. I think that is very useful.

So after a few months of usage I might sell off this TU-8200 cheap and get them to make me a TU-8200R with upgraded transformers (Lundahl ? ), more beefy OPTs to handle E80CC and Tung Sol TT21 like what Dimu did.

Elekit has fascinated me so much I might even be interested in the TU-8600 (300b) - that all depends on how I will reshuffle my gear which as you can see in my signature is cramped with amps and headphones. Those are very good amps IMO but this Elekit TU-8200 completely surprise and delight me. I am just so surprise that this thread has gone quiet but not anymore.

 

[UntilThen]

Today I set it up with my iMac. Yesterday it was hooked to my PC in my study. Beautiful tone !!! Pairs beautiful with Bifrost 2 and He1000se. Simple and very effective. One of the best sonic signature I've heard and amp is very quiet with no noise or hum from tubes. I'm very impressed. I'm using Psvane Art Series 12AU7 and Genalex Gold Lion KT88 with socket savers underneath the KT88.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Today I set it up with my iMac. Yesterday it was hooked to my PC in my study. Beautiful tone !!! Pairs beautiful with Bifrost 2 and He1000se. Simple and very effective. One of the best sonic signature I've heard and amp is very quiet with no noise or hum from tubes. I'm very impressed. I'm using Psvane Art Series 12AU7 and Genalex Gold Lion KT88 with socket savers underneath the KT88.

Bought already assembled?

 

[UntilThen]

With no NOS tubes to compare, I find the current production Gold Lion KT88 and EH 6L6GC to be very good. Do I really need to splash on NOS tubes? Oh well just one pair of GEC KT66 and one pair of Philip Miniwatts EL34 xf2.

My supplier also have 2 x Brimar 6L6GA black glass and 2 x Brimar 6L6G black glass. Can these be use in the TU-8200? They are not the GC version.

 

[UntilThen]

On opening up the chassis, I find the fit and finish very good. Panels slide in and out precisely. They are very well machined. Screws goes in, in perfect alignment. This is quality kit. It might not look much on photo but in real life, the amp is very impressive. The chassis is solid and heavy enough not to move when you pull your headphones in and out. The LED light can be change from blue to green.

I was given a dac board for this TU-8200 but I'm not using it because my Yggdrasil and Bifrost 2 are much better. Much is an understatement.

 

[UntilThen]

Yesterday I compared the Elekit TU-8200 with La Figaro 339i, an amp I have regards very highly. I prefer the LF339i over the Wa22. However in an a/b with TU-8200 vs LF339i, I much prefer the TU-8200. I have no time now to have a detailed impressions now but will do so later.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Ah yes, I see you purchased already assembled. As soon as I saw you with a kit amp...I thought NO WAY he assembled it.

And so it is

Enjoy!

 

[JazzVinyl]

Have fun hyper-hyping your latest expenditure.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm usually on Tidal HiFi for playback but this rendition of 'I'll play the blues for you' on Youtube premium is so good with He1000se and Elekit TU-8200. Those KT88s can kick some serious bass and the guitars are extremely clear. There's no better way to enjoy the blues even though it's not my main genre.

 

[Effusion]

@UntilThen, very cool! Thanks for the link to Tube Sound Audio and the info about their build service and wooden panels! I do really like those panels and I might have to pick some up one day soon. I did mod my case years ago, both paint as well as with custom cooling air flow 80mm holes and dust filters, so maybe if I pick up a "R" version... I also agree, the 8200 has the look and feel (plus design) that you would expect from high quality Japanese kits.

I own a Darkvoice, pre-La Figaro, 336se, so I'm pretty familiar with their amps and have always wanted to hear/try the 399. Crazy, nice to hear it stacks up well and is even a bit better to your ears. The one thing I've found throughout the years is that the 8200 always impresses me when compared to other, and much more expensive, amps!

Yes, from the pictures your amp looks like the original, non-R, version. While I'm not sure how the headphone impedance switches compare to the original in terms of sound, many have run IEMs to very high ohm over the ears with great results on the original. It should be somewhere in this thread, but the rated ohm of the original version was something like 8-1000 ohms with no switch needed. So, I'm not sure why the switch is in the R version, but Victor would know or he could contact Mr. Fujita for more specifics; probably just more stable that way, etc. The big reason I know of to go with the newer "R" version instead is that I believe there are better protection circuits for when tubes fail. I have blown a FET in mine, due to a bad tube, and I know many others have as well, so having this protection can really be a time-saver!

I did hear the 8600 at RMAF a few years ago at Victor's table and it sounded very nice! It was a bit hard to get great impressions at that time, since it was a noisy environment and I also believe the unit was so new, it wasn't fully broken in yet. I'm more partial to the 8200 at the moment though personally, due to the small form factor and the tubes used; 300Bs are so darn expensive! I like to roll quite a few different types of tubes, so having more options, especially in the NOS arena, is a positive. However, I would suspect that the 8600 would run speakers very well and probably at least a bit better than the 8200. Like everything though, it really depends on your speakers and system synergy.

I agree, @Dimu, has done some truly amazing things with the 8200, really bringing it when it comes to DIY! I wish I could help with your questions more and yes, I haven't seen @Dimu post in quite awhile, but if you don't hear back, maybe Victor or someone who replicated his mods would know more. Dimu did post a lot of specifics in this thread, but most of it was very advanced modifications and should only be done at your own risk.

I have a few different pairs of GEC KT66s and they are very nice smooth sounding tubes. They don't have quite the slam/impact the KT88s do, but depending on genre of music, the KT66s can be quite amazing. Think more smooth jazz and classical, whereas electronic/rock for KT88s. As far as the 6L6s goes, I'm not entirely sure which can and can't be used. I've always just used the GCs, but jeez, I tend to like a lot of Brimar tubes, so those might sound really nice. Victor knows which tubes generally can and can't be used, so I'd check with him. Definitely look into trying other variants and brands of the 12au7s too, they can really make a difference and fine-tune the sound signature. Many really like the mids that EL34s give in the 8200, but I think they sound a bit dull in Triode mode and need UL mode to give them their spark.

That's funny about the output modes, and yes, I agree in regards to Triode for headphones on the 8200. Let us know what you think about Triode mode with your speakers though too! You may find the initial power/impact lacking, but it would depend on the speaker.

 

[UntilThen]

Thanks again @Effusion for replying and your contributions continue unabated. LF339i is so much better than DV336se and I had the DV336se before. Had a very nice picture of it too. Side by side with Elekit TU-8200, it was a close contest especially with RCA Red Hots 5693 and Tung Sol 5998 that I use on the LF339i but ultimately I find the Elekit TU-8200 as having much better impact and dynamics. It's a big sound with those KT88s. This reminds me of the Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP amp running 8 x KT88 that I had at one time. The arrival of my Redgum Rgi120enr black series made me sell off the Primaluna.

I just had confirmation from my favourite ebay seller that this adapter is for EL12 spez to EL34 / KT88 / 6L6GC. So I've ordered 2 and when it comes I'll try 2 x EL12 spez with 12AU7 drivers. I can't see it being terribly out of whack as the EL12 spez should have EL34 genes and being Telefunken they will have that famous Telefunken tone of clarity and details. That or I blow up my amp and get a new TU-8200R.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2017843167...=em&s=ci&mail=sys&appVersion=1.28.0&xt=104038

 

[UntilThen]

This was my Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP when I had it, running 8 x KT88. HD800 from this amp was gorgeous. Now Elekit TU-8200 brings back that memory.

 

[UntilThen]

@vkung can I use these beautiful Brimars 6L6GA and 6L6G on the TU-8200 stock version?