[LingLing1337]

I didnt notice any difference running with a 3 prong plug. Perhaps in Japan the plug standard is different?

 

[lucidreamer]

Right. There should be no perceivable sound quality difference, only possible humming or electric noise picked up by the ground loop but that is not the grounding issue but something else usually.
 
I do not really understand why people shell out big $$$ to buy expensive power cables trying to improve the sound, but that is just my opinion....
 
To check for that possible noise issue with grounded/non-grounded cables - I tried plugging in my sensitive IEM monitor headphones and did not notice any difference between the sound quality or noise level at all. Actually the NSR level of this amp is superb!!!! With IEM phones there is some background noise present which is normal because those phones are super sensitive and are loud at 7:30 o'clock where 7 is zero volume plus I hear noise through them with every single source anyways. When using my HE-560 it is black silence throughout the whole volume range which is fantastic for tube amps.
 
I think the biggest concern with absence of grounding is safety since grounding the chassis reduces the risk of electrocution when a live wire (usually white wire) comes into contact with the metal chassis. If the chassis is grounded it should trigger the amp fuse or the breaker in the garage to go out, 100% about it, I need to check with the schematic again. But if not grounded, there is a potential that the chassis can become a current live conductor that can send a person's heart into a state of ventricular fibrillation pretty quick. Then the sound quality quickly becomes not that important In my home country there was 220v current and no ground pin in the plugs and there were lots of fatal electric accidents.

 

[LingLing1337]

Grado Rs1e are in the house so I am doing a lot more headphone listening. The Senns just didnt suit me. I will have a Little Dot I+, a highly regarded budget tube hybrid esp. for Grados, in for review and comparison tomorrow.

 

[JK-47]

Grado Rs1e are in the house so I am doing a lot more headphone listening. The Senns just didnt suit me. I will have a Little Dot I+, a highly regarded budget tube hybrid esp. for Grados, in for review and comparison tomorrow.

I would have sold you my Little Dot I+ Hybrid if I knew you were looking for one... It has the Muse02 OpAmp, GE JAN tubes, and Voshkod Russian Rockets...

 

[JK-47]

I use the stock power cable, and left the green ground unplugged as per Victors instructions. Now I plug into a power conditioner, including the green ground (the conditioner has a ground post). I did not experience any hum or noise with or without the green ground hooked up.

 

[Effusion]

lucidreamer,
 
I'm glad you're enjoying the Elekit!  Given a wee bit of time to burn-in and some additional tubes to roll, this amp can be astonishingly good.
 
I 100% agree with you regarding Victor and it sounds like the build went well; now it's time to sit back and enjoy!  I think you'll find that with different types of tubes you can really tweak and fine tune the sound signature.  Thanks for sharing the photos/details on how to install the LED light on the volume control; I think I may have to do that mod in the near future, very cool!
 
As far as heat goes, many tube amps can get really hot, especially around the sockets, but I have yet to have had any issues because of heat and I do tend to run them for long periods.  Compared to my other amps though, the Elekit does seem to get a bit hotter sometimes, especially with a KT88 or a 6550 and around/near the sockets.  After around 2 hours of use, right between the two 12au7 sockets is probably the hottest place on the case, including around the power tube sockets, which would second, but the rest of the case seems to be just warm.  I wonder if you could cut some slits into the case on both sides to allow some air flow in/out, without getting all the dust in, would help; many tube amps have them.  You could probably even install some kind of heatsink in different areas, but you would probably need to be extra careful in doing so.  Otherwise, as long as you don't confine it to a small space with something right above it, allow some air around it, and also keep it out of hot situations, like direct sunlight, it should be okay.  It would be interesting to temp the surface or even inside to really know for sure though.
 
Interesting about the power cord, as I've actually been using an Iron Lung Jellyfish hospital grade cord for most of my time with this amp.  I'll have to spend some more time with the stock cord soon and report back.  Thanks!
 
I hope you enjoy the Psvane combo, I've heard many great things.  Keep us up to date on your progress/findings, let us know if you have any questions, and welcome to the club! 

 

[Currawong]

Japanese households usually don't have grounded sockets available, except for white goods, such as fridges, washing machine and aircon. Since those devices have parts that get wet, the grounding is most important. 

 

[LingLing1337]

Lucid, if you love the tube sound, id suggest grabbing some NOS tubes as well... to me, the PSVane KT88 setup sounds like a good SS amp with an extra drop of honey. That is to say they colored the sound less than other tubes I tried.

 

[lucidreamer]

Lucid, if you love the tube sound, id suggest grabbing some NOS tubes as well... to me, the PSVane KT88 setup sounds like a good SS amp with an extra drop of honey. That is to say they colored the sound less than other tubes I tried.

I may be well mistaken but with NOS and tubes in general - when you buy something and do not like the sound, does that mean you keep them or have to sell them privately?
It just sounds like lots of money spent the wrong way if I need to keep tons of spare tubes in stock and only plug in those few that I like the most. Places like music123, wwbw, etc. should have no problem returning tubes, I think, but eBay and hi-fi end shops are not that happy to accept returns unless there is something wrong with them, of course. I would rather buy something that I am 99% sure that it will sound great and would not have a buyer's remorse later on.

 

[lucidreamer]

Sorry for asking so many questions as being fairly new to the tubes audio again after a long break (35+ years using solid state audio gear). What is the best preferred power tube mode for Elekit amp: Triode, UL or Pentode? 
To me the Triode sounds more detailed and polite where the UL is more dynamic and has punchier bass. Since I mostly use the amp with my headphones - should I stick to Triode mode which has less power and less distortion or to UL mode. Thanks.

 

[LingLing1337]

I doubt youll find an NOS tube with a return policy, youd probably have to sell privately. Theyre definitely worth the risk though IME.
PSVane Premium MKII are a good bet for high-end new production tubes. There is also a company out of Ukraine I believe, cant remember the name, making ultra high end new production tubes.
Power tube mode is totally up to you. My speakers are low sensitivity so kt88s in pentode/4ohm mode sound perfect. If I were running bookshelves I'd experiment with UL and triode. For highly sensitive speakers like horns I bet triode would sound great.
Headphone wise I will be able to compare pentode and triode output tonight on my Grado RS1e. The LD I+ gave the 8200 in triode an incredible run for the money, I was actually shocked at the results. Ill post more details later.

 

[JK-47]

I doubt youll find an NOS tube with a return policy, youd probably have to sell privately. Theyre definitely worth the risk though IME.
PSVane Premium MKII are a good bet for high-end new production tubes. There is also a company out of Ukraine I believe, cant remember the name, making ultra high end new production tubes.
Power tube mode is totally up to you. My speakers are low sensitivity so kt88s in pentode/4ohm mode sound perfect. If I were running bookshelves I'd experiment with UL and triode. For highly sensitive speakers like horns I bet triode would sound great.
Headphone wise I will be able to compare pentode and triode output tonight on my Grado RS1e. The LD I+ gave the 8200 in triode an incredible run for the money, I was actually shocked at the results. Ill post more details later.

I guess the LD I+ has a good synergy with your Grado's. With  Alpha Dogs and modded T50RP's, my LD I+ is not even in the same ballpark. My TU-8200DX has a huge advantage in detail, soundstage, and head room ( I have to almost max the volume on the LD I+ to equal 12 o' clock on my TU-8200DX in UL mode). I upgraded the LD I+ opamp to a Muse02 (big improvement over stock) and tried a few well regarded NOS tubes (again a large improvement over stock).
 
My LD I+ will be up for sale when I get home next week if anyone is interested...

 

[Effusion]

lucidreamer and LingLing1337,
 
I agree about taking the risk and have found that it's usually in ones best interest to try out a few different types, especially with this amplifier as the possible combinations are crazy and you might be surprised.  You are also correct about the resale, this is generally what one must do, so if you don't like the sound in your system, you might have to sell them yourself if the vendor is not willing to give a grace period or return.  This in turn generally requires the use of a good tester prior to sale, etc.  The only companies I've heard about that do offer returns have been making semi-expensive new production and in smaller batches, so I know that at least some do.  Does anyone know if Psvane allows returns, that is if you buy direct?  If so, there is a good chance that others would too, but probably for a price built-in and upfront as well as for an additional restock fee.
 
I've found that especially with this amplifier because of all the choices, often just one combination doesn't always work and I enjoy swapping them out from time to time.  If you're able to roll quite a few different types, the combinations can seem endless in the Elekit.  In addition, if you own quite a few different types of headphones than one combination might not suffice for all; same with speakers, but sometimes you may find to a slightly lesser degree.
 
lucidreamer, if you're worried about resale value if you don't care for them, if you bargain shop and set limits than you can oftentimes get pretty good deals.  If they are well regarded, even hanging on to them is in your best interest in the long and sometimes even short run.  Many of my 6sn7s I use for my other amps jumped way up in price recently and are worth quite a bit more than I paid five years ago.  All NOS varieties are a true limited resource to varying degrees and won't last forever, so if they work really well with audio, than they usually only go up in price over time.  However, you'll need to test them, sell them, and deliver them safely to a buyer, which can be a hassle, that is unless they've doubled in price. 

 
Also, If you're interested in trying a few pairs of NOS or even some other types of new production (Psvane is probably the best new production right now though), let us all know.  Many of the posters here have tried quite a few different types in the Elekit, including myself.  I believe Psvane still makes other types that will work in the Elekit as well, such as the EL34 and 5881.  However I'm not too sure about Psvane's prices on these, but the good EL34 NOS can go for quite high, so it might be worth it to check them out, that is if you can return them to Psvane.  Selling the newer production, such as Psvane, may not reap the same scarcity rewards or at least break-even points as NOS often does; Psvane has come out with newer models/productions, so the older ones may drop in price over time, even if the manufacturing, but not design change and even for just in slightly used condition.

 

[LingLing1337]

The PSVane EL34 does look very interesting. I've been meaning to try it out. I do have some paypal credit...

Maybe we could get a tube swap going also? So once I get the el34 someone can try the kt88 without shelling out $150

 

[Greg70]

 
I guess the LD I+ has a good synergy with your Grado's. With  Alpha Dogs and modded T50RP's, my LD I+ is not even in the same ballpark. My TU-8200DX has a huge advantage in detail, soundstage, and head room ( I have to almost max the volume on the LD I+ to equal 12 o' clock on my TU-8200DX in UL mode). I upgraded the LD I+ opamp to a Muse02 (big improvement over stock) and tried a few well regarded NOS tubes (again a large improvement over stock).
 
My LD I+ will be up for sale when I get home next week if anyone is interested...

The LD1+ is a good little budget amp, but for me.. and with Grado GS1000i's, I also felt it was not even in the same ballpark as the Elekit in terms of detail and soundstage.
 
In regards to the heat issues mentioned, any time you have tubes run at proper operating voltages and temps, there's no avoiding the amount of heat that will transfer into the amp via reflection and especially through the sockets.
I do worry about the long term effect of heat on some of the components and on my amp I drilled some holes at the back and fitted a little vent on the bottom to allow for some circulation to carry a bit of the heat away, and also I put a piece of thermal barrier material on the underside of the top part of the case where the tubes sit.