[dawktah2]

Thanks!

I'm up and running and had a chance to listen a little bit last night. Stock tubes have way more low end than I am used to from my Woo WA-8. With nothing connected full volume silent (to my ears). Connected DAC, soon to be replaced, placed track on pause, same test, silent. Now that I have it running will be upgrading the tubes! I'm probably going to change LED to blue.

 

[vkung]

I'm up and running and had a chance to listen a little bit last night. Stock tubes have way more low end than I am used to from my Woo WA-8.

Here is the magic..
If you change the stock 12AU7 to something better , you will hear more detail from TU-8200.

 

[dawktah2]

I'm up and running and had a chance to listen a little bit last night. Stock tubes have way more low end than I am used to from my Woo WA-8.

Here is the magic..
If you change the stock 12AU7 to something better , you will hear more detail from TU-8200.

Thanks for the tip!

Ordered some NOS RCA matched pair about two hours ago.

 

[vkung]

Thanks for the tip!

Ordered some NOS RCA matched pair about two hours ago.

Thanks for the tip!

Ordered some NOS RCA matched pair about two hours ago.

There are a lot of good 12AU7 available. You can try PSAVNE 12AU7 MK2.
The next step.. you can upgrade the coupling cap to Mundorf EVO Supreme Silver GOLD...

 

[Effusion]

Congrats on the build!

Yes, while the stock tubes will get you up and running, at least those 12au7s aren't very good. However, I actually never used them, only for the picture of the final build in the review, just never really wanted to as I had already bought replacements. There are a ton of avenues you can explore as far as tubes go though. While I and others tend to prefer NOS to new stock, but many others have had great success with the new stock Psvane tubes. I would not recommend some of the cheap new stock Chinese and Russian brands, but there are a few out there that are okay and many enjoy. Really about what you want in the end as prices can be quite high for certain types, especially NOS. I also second Victor's recommendation on the Mundorf EVO Supreme Sliver Gold caps, they made a very nice improvement to my unit and others have reported great results as well.

Best thing to do is to probably try out those RCAs you got with the stock power tubes and then let us know where you'd like the sound to go. In general, some types will give you more impact, more mid-range, more bottom-end, more highs, etc. Then there is also the option of doing some mods that Dimu has done in order to run some other amazing sounding tubes as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it took at least 30 hours before the amp started to settle in, at least for me, so it may change over time in the beginning. I too run the blue LED, but remember that you can also switch between output modes and certain combinations of this paired with certain power tubes can give really good results as well. Just let the amp sit unplugged for at least 10 minutes before opening it up and switching to be safe.

Cheers on the build!

 

[dawktah2]

Thanks Everyone,

Are there any clearance issues with the Mundorf caps? Buy same specs the same as the DX caps?

 

[dawktah2]

Congrats on the build!

Yes, while the stock tubes will get you up and running, at least those 12au7s aren't very good. However, I actually never used them, only for the picture of the final build in the review, just never really wanted to as I had already bought replacements. There are a ton of avenues you can explore as far as tubes go though. While I and others tend to prefer NOS to new stock, but many others have had great success with the new stock Psvane tubes. I would not recommend some of the cheap new stock Chinese and Russian brands, but there are a few out there that are okay and many enjoy. Really about what you want in the end as prices can be quite high for certain types, especially NOS. I also second Victor's recommendation on the Mundorf EVO Supreme Sliver Gold caps, they made a very nice improvement to my unit and others have reported great results as well.

Best thing to do is to probably try out those RCAs you got with the stock power tubes and then let us know where you'd like the sound to go. In general, some types will give you more impact, more mid-range, more bottom-end, more highs, etc. Then there is also the option of doing some mods that Dimu has done in order to run some other amazing sounding tubes as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it took at least 30 hours before the amp started to settle in, at least for me, so it may change over time in the beginning. I too run the blue LED, but remember that you can also switch between output modes and certain combinations of this paired with certain power tubes can give really good results as well. Just let the amp sit unplugged for at least 10 minutes before opening it up and switching to be safe.

Cheers on the build!

What are the specs on the Mundorf capacitors? Can't make out in post #797

 

[Effusion]

Probably best to get the details from Victor, as that's who I got my caps from. You can source them yourself, but for me being in North America, it was easier through Victor and I believe he still sells the upgrade, which includes all parts. I don't believe there are any real issues with the caps and mine have enough clearance. To me they were a little quieter, with more air/breath as well as soundstage, a bit more sparkle up top, and a much more natural presentation overall. However, this was going off of long-term memory, as my amp was out of service for a bit right before the caps were installed. However, several members on this thread also did this upgrade and not only were the results positive, they also seemed to be similar. Although it isn't a cheap upgrade, you have to take into account that it will affect everything else downstream and that includes really expensive tubes, etc., so it made sense to me at least in that regard. Really up to you, as you might just want to get a feel for the amp and try some different tubes for now, then get the upgrade at a later date, or maybe it makes more sense to do it now, etc. If I had to judge, I would say it was around 10% or so.

 

[Effusion]

Thanks!

I'm up and running and had a chance to listen a little bit last night. Stock tubes have way more low end than I am used to from my Woo WA-8. With nothing connected full volume silent (to my ears). Connected DAC, soon to be replaced, placed track on pause, same test, silent. Now that I have it running will be upgrading the tubes! I'm probably going to change LED to blue.

Was just thinking... the power tubes you have are the Electro-Harmonix 6L6GC's right? Hard to tell from the picture, but I believe the kit still comes with them. Well, if they are, although I haven't really heard them in quite some time, I remember them being a bit boomy in places with quite some resonance down below. Although the mid-range had some great detail, they seemed a bit weird at times and with a bunch of bloom at others, but detail was kind of foggy. Anyway, I think changing the power tubes out as well as trying the RCAs, will help with clarity and tightness. By the way, I really liked the 12au7 RCA clear-tops that can sometimes be had for cheap, otherwise I pretty much have always preferred their mil-spec, which is a different code than 12au7. Otherwise, I seem to prefer other brands of signal tubes in general for this amp, same with some GE as well, although GE has one of the best 6L6GC and also 6550.

However, there are quite a few variants to choose from, but from the 6L6GC line you may be able to find an inexpensive GE pair, or even a nice set of 807s with adapters is fairly cheap and nice sounding overall, if with less soundstage and air and that sound quality can vary at times among the brands, they can be really tight, like a KT-88 (the early round/ribbed Cossor ATS25 are awesome, but hard to find). The only problem is some variants for this amp can go for a ton of money, with NOS KT-88 impossible to really find, to basic EL34s going for well over or close to $100. In addition, even the Psvane options are not cheap, and the fact that they all sound different, can make it hard not to spend a ton on them. While there are some really great options to choose from, with some prices so high at times, your best bet may be to try to hone in on which might work best for your system and style of music, etc.

Hope that helps, but let us know.

 

[dawktah2]

They say there's no such thing as a dumb question; who is Victor?

I've left unit on since original post and sound is more even however stock tubes make piano sound like a digital keyboard.

Will give report after I burn in NOS RCA 12AU7

Also, I'm only using headphones, so let me know which mods help for this purpose.

 

[Effusion]

No worries, Victor is Victor Kung of VKMusic up in Canada. He sells the TU-8200DX kit as well as numerous other Elekit amps, etc. He's the guy, @vkung, who posted about changing the 12au7 out and trying the Supreme Upgrade, which are those caps.

Yeah, with some burn-in and a change to the RCAs you should get a different and better sound. The 12au7s that came with my kit were very basic and just said "China" on the glass in red... I never trusted them, so I never used them. No worries though, better to burn-in the amp on those tubes than anything else that is expensive.

 

[dawktah2]

Thanks, I'll order, and I'll just need the four or do I need to replace the others that came with DX upgrade?

Also, I'm only using headphones, so let me know which mods help for this purpose. Like bridge rectifier...?

 

[dawktah2]

There are a lot of good 12AU7 available. You can try PSAVNE 12AU7 MK2.
The next step.. you can upgrade the coupling cap to Mundorf EVO Supreme Silver GOLD...

Victor and others,

I swapped out the 12AU7 with the NOS RCA and the image is clearly brighter and therefore more detailed. One of my favorite tracks the "sparkle" has returned. I am looking forward to the Mundorf cap change. What can I expect this this mod? I am waiting on the Chord Qutest DAC (GIGO if you're wondering) which for some reason has been delayed in the USA. Later I will be swapping out the 6L6GC tubes. With this eventual pairing I am beginning to wonder based on how this unit sounds right now how does it compare to units costing 5-10x its cost??? Being a newbie how much of the overall sound is determined by the tube itself and how much is the unit components and wiring? I feel at this point I need to read return policy on any amp I buy very carefully, subtle nuances are they really worth thousands of dollars?

Thanks everyone!

Chris

 

[vkung]

Victor and others,

With this eventual pairing I am beginning to wonder based on how this unit sounds right now how does it compare to units costing 5-10x its cost??? Being a newbie how much of the overall sound is determined by the tube itself and how much is the unit components and wiring? I feel at this point I need to read return policy on any amp I buy very carefully, subtle nuances are they really worth thousands of dollars?

The profit margin for DIY kit is very (very) low. We do not have the normal markup ie. 45-50%.

Also y.You built the amp. You should know the quality of TU-8200. Just the Japanese R-core is worth more than $145.
Tu-8200 is made in Japan including the OPT and R-core....

No doubt that TU-8200's sound is better than a lot of expensive amps.
Also you can upgrade the amp according to your budget.

 

[dawktah2]

Thanks Victor,

I'll probably pick up an 8600 and build it and research each component during the build. I really like the tube cover, since I have a 5 year old daughter. The WA-22 and WA-33 look good, but I wonder if "I can hear" the difference between the Elekit and the Woo.