[Dimu]

  Thanks for the feedback Dimu. The jacks are actually not intended as an upgrade, they are just plain jane variety. What I plan on doing is wiring one input with a 270K resistor in series in order to reduce the input so that I can hopefully use a little more of the attenuator range. Trying to do that with board six and the PCB mounted jacks would be a bit of a pain so I am going to remove those entirely.

I would just use an RCA attenuator, no need to change the amp. Besides if you are swapping in a 100k pot it should give you attenuation you are looking for.
Also keep in mind that as you drive signal down into low millivolts and then amplify it your SNR will suffer. It is better to keep signal level higher and reduce gain.
 

  The KT-88 is just for sound quality, not drive. I wish the amp had far far less power actually. Just in my headphone listening I've found that my favorite combination is KT-88 in triode mode. I'm using Mullard new issue tubes right now, so I thought it would be fun to try a "premium" tube.

 
Just give E80CC a try and see how sound changes. Don't need to turn the volume up to hear it. Going back to 12AU7 just does not sound right, even if it is something like Telefunken 12AU7.

 

[430011]

Tube depot has a nice sale on the TU-8200 right now. It would almost be fun to buy a kit and do a fresh build and sell my current amp, but I think I'll just stick with the one I've got and tweak it.

 

[MLGrado]

   
Tried 12BH7 again. This time I noticed better bass and I seem to like the sound more. So 12BH7 are staying in the amp for now.

 
 
Hi.  Don't have one of these Elekit, but have seriously considered multiple times.  Probably would have already if not for the fact my current amp is overall extremely similar...
 
Icon Audio Stereo20 PP.  Its a quad EL84 in push pull, with 12AX7 Driver and 12AU7 phase splitter, solid state rectifier.  As for the headphone jack, it has its own custom winding.  Its a very good headphone amp, with very good speaker transformers as a bonus.. hahaa... well that is the backwards way a radical head-fier would see it, right???
 
 
Anyway, i am a HUGE fan of the 12BH7 / 12BH7A as a drop in for 12AU7.  Every 12BH7 I have tried competes with or exceeds the performance of the very, very best 12AU7 types.  
 
The biggest audible difference seems to be distortion.  The 12BH7 tubes are lower distortion, very clear and 'bell like'.  
 
My current workhorse and favorite is a Rogers of Canada 12BH7.  I believe it is a Sylvania Gray Oval Plate, for for whatever reason this Rogers version sounds particularly better than my other quite fine Sylvania 12BH7 gray plates.  Sylvania had a Canadian plant, I think, and often Canadian made tubes sounded different than their American versions.  Maybe this is the case here, maybe not.  
 
 
Whatever the case, I love 12BH7.  My favorites in addition to the Rogers are as follows
 
Raytheon 12BH7A Black Plate with Square Getter
CBS-Hytron Black Plate with tall Square Getter
Tung Sol Black Plate
Westinghouse 'half-wing' Black Plate
RCA Black Plate... various versions/getters
 
 
I used to own a few pairs of the Brimar 12BH7 Black Plates.  Sadly, I don't have them anymore, and don't really recall their sound.  
 
 
Oh, and another good alternative to the 12AU7 that is quite similar to the 12BH7 and usually can be a drop-in is the E80CC.   I have owned the Philips version, but Tungsram made a version that is highly thought of, as well.  

 

[Dimu]

   
 
Hi.  Don't have one of these Elekit, but have seriously considered multiple times.  Probably would have already if not for the fact my current amp is overall extremely similar...
 
Icon Audio Stereo20 PP.  Its a quad EL84 in push pull, with 12AX7 Driver and 12AU7 phase splitter, solid state rectifier.  As for the headphone jack, it has its own custom winding.  Its a very good headphone amp, with very good speaker transformers as a bonus.. hahaa... well that is the backwards way a radical head-fier would see it, right???

 
This Elekit is Class A single ended. Very different than a push pull. Give it a try, it is on sale right now at tubedepot. I am actually thinking of buying a second unit just to have a spare, that's how much I like it

 

[430011]

I'm so tempted at that sale price. But I don't think I would be able to sell my current one to fund it.

 

[Dimu]

This amp is very very enjoyable and very well built (assuming you do a good job building it very well). You can enjoy it for many years. Do the math on how much that would cost you per month if you use it for 5 years for example...

 

[MisterPC]

Is it possible to buy it built? Or is there someone recommended to do so? I apologize if this was already answered in the 40 pages of this thread.

 

[Dimu]

  Is it possible to buy it built? Or is there someone recommended to do so? I apologize if this was already answered in the 40 pages of this thread.

I believe you can ask Victor to assemble the amp. I would recommend doing it yourself though- that's what it is designed for. Even if you don't have much experience you'll figure it out easily with this kit and will enjoy building it. All you need is a good soldering iron (I used Hakko FX-600 which is cheap and very good), good solder (63/37 would be my suggestion even though I personally used WBT lead silver alloy), cutters, small pliers, some screw drivers and Allen keys. Rubbing alcohol and multimeter would be useful too. I might be forgetting something but it really is a pretty basic tool set that is required and a few evenings of fun time. If you follow all instructions and carefully watch polarity it will just start working the first time you turn it on. No tuning or adjustments required.
 
As a word of caution, don't plug it in without cover being fully installed unless you trust yourself to know how to work with high voltages. There are lethal voltages present on the boards and in the tubes. You just have to close the case before plugging it in and be careful not to get anywhere close to the powered tube sockets and tubes.

 

[JK-47]

I just finished installing a set of Mundorf Supreme Evo silver/gold caps into the TU8200.

Wow, immediate difference in clarity and imaging, maybe slightly harsh for the first few hours. They have been playing music for almost 72hours now straight trying to burn them in, and have smoothed out and sound fantastic. Highly recommended upgrade.

Thanks Victor !!!

 

[Effusion]

Hey JK!
 
I'm glad to see you did the supreme upgrade and are liking the results!  I too did this upgrade recently and my experiences are very similar to yours; the biggest takeaway for me was also the added clarity and imaging.  In addition, in my opinion the amp now sounds even more natural than when stock, which I wasn't expecting.
 
Thanks for sharing and I agree, this is a recommended upgrade for those who wish to squeeze a little more out of the stock amp.  For those wondering, all parts can be obtained from Victor and are also included in the Supreme Upgrade option of the DX version when purchased through him.
 

 

 

[MisterPC]

Anyone pair a Elekit TU-8200 with KEF LS50 speakers? Thoughts?

 

[Hifi Boy]

Hi everyone!
 
Got my TU-8200 recently and I'm really impressed by it.
 
I can confirm that this amp works beautifully with Hifiman HE-1000.
 
Also, many thanks to JK, for recommending the GENALEX Gold Lion KT66 previously, they changed the sound dramatically!
The soundstage is much wider and the overall sound is much smoother.
Bass, not as punchy as before, which is fine, because with the stock tubes I felt it was a bit to much for my (current) taste.
 
Any other input from JK on what to buy for TU-8200 would be much appreciated.
 
Since I can't post pictures for now this will have to do.

 

[JK-47]

@ Hifi Boy Congrats on the TU8200
 
I think yu have me confused with someone else regarding the KT66 Gold Lions. I have never tried them, I have tried the NOS smoked glass GEC KT66 at Effusions recomendation, and they are magnificent, but very pricey.
 
The Mundorf Supreme Evo silver/gold caps were a very nice upgrade, and bring exceptional clarity and detail.

 

[Hifi Boy]

Power Tubes


NOS Genelex KT66: Buy them now, or I will. Start hoarding these treasures if you can afford to. A real treat to listen too, simply amazing. Spectacular detail, new layers of sound will smoothly and effortlessly be unleashed upon you if you choose to let these reside in the TU-8200's sockets. A perfect blend of GE 6L6GC (warm low and mid, and Philips 7581A (tight, punchy, and controlled). The only possible downside is if you really start to crank up the tunes and put power down, they start to get a little loose. The Philips 7581A's excel at being driven hard, really hard, but at the cost of lost warmth.

RCA 7581A: A relabeled GE 7581A (GE's etched dot code and font is clearly visible), basically a late 60's/ early 70's GE 6L6GC tall bottle from what I can tell. I prefer the earlier short bottle GE's, I find them slightly less bloated and more defined. Overall a super value if you can find them on the cheap...

Hi JK.

I believe this is where I got the idea that you tried the Gold Lion, my bad.

In any case based on your post I went out and bought the KT66 and I couldn't be more satisfied. Unfortunately I'm not the DIY type, so I won't be installing the Mundorfs. I even bought the amp already built!

I also got the Psvane 12AU7-T2 recently after that, but can't say I felt much of a difference. Although the packaging is nice.



The Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 are on their way here soon, so I will report back with how I feel about them after I spent some time with them.

 

[JK-47]

I do have a set of modern KT88 Gold Lions, that I use very infrequently. Not really the sound I'm looking for, almost solid state sounding. Some people may like them though.

A local electronics shop could install the Mundorfs in 30-60 minutes. It really takes the amp to another level.