[LoryWiv]

Heath (Mullard) EZ81, Sylvania VT-107A, Amperex Bugle Boy ECC82 & Tesla EL34 in UltimatE. Bach's late career masterpiece, Art of Fugue, is illuminating the mysteries and timeless, never-ending wonders of the universe to me. The work was unfinished, as is our journey to learn and grow. All I can do is listen, give the music my rapt attention, and be enlightened.

 

[UntilThen]

Heath (Mullard) EZ81, Sylvania VT-107A, Amperex Bugle Boy ECC82 & Tesla EL34 in UltimatE. Bach's late career masterpiece, Art of Fugue, is illuminating the mysteries and timeless, never-ending wonders of the universe to me. The work was unfinished, as is our journey to learn and grow. All I can do is listen, give the music my rapt attention, and be enlightened.

Lory, so glad to see that UltimatE lives up to your expectations.

 

[VanHai]

The first time I ever tried metal tubes and they were neat and nice.

 

[David A Silva]

The first time I ever tried metal tubes and they were neat and nice.

Do I see a pair of RCA 6J5 metal tubes?

 

[VanHai]

Do I see a pair of RCA 6J5 metal tubes?

Hi David, it is RCA 6C5.

 

[David A Silva]

Hi David, it is RCA 6C5.

 

[UntilThen]

The first time I ever tried metal tubes and they were neat and nice.

Put in a 5Z4 metal or 5T4 and a 6N7 metal for a full metal band. Don't forget the 6L6 metal.

 

[UntilThen]

Had a fright and thought I had busted SupremE. I left this CD playing and when I came into the room, there was a screeching sound. I reach for the power button faster than flash.

Then I realised that it was playing track 17 - sinus 2500 hz.



Track 5 - Tennessee Waltz by Allan Taylor/Chris Jones is my fav though.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
I'm actually in auteur fever, no idea why.
Maybe I've just had enough of being musically enveloped by the Atrium and prefer the open.
And Auteur sounds absolutely fantastic and magical at the same time on the Ultimate.
While the last few days I really enjoyed Ez80 Telefunken,6K6 Visseaux,5751Tung sol Nos on the Vcap.
Today I switched to other tubes, Ez80 Telefunken stayed and EL12 RSD (borrowed on trial) and a 6201 Tungsol with Heitz&Kaufmann labelling were added.
On the Vcap it sounded a bit too flat for me, especially with the bass, but with the Mundorf SGO the result is similar to the 6K6 Visseaux and 5751 Tungsol combination.
The Vcap was also a little too analytical for my ear and also too bright.
The Mundorf shines here on all levels, it remains fluid and musical.
It is slightly warmer than the Vcap and just right.
The bass hits much better and is more powerful, the vocals remain intimate and powerful, powerful as well as sweet with a lot of feeling and soul, absolutely brilliant for soul and R&B or slow passages.
Those who have an auteur OG it is absolutely in your face where you rarely experience on Ultimate.
In terms of stage you are also spoilt enough, it is a little less wide but more than okay.
So the EL12 RSD are well worth it for their price with the right driver tube.
And again a kind of combination that is very good to magical and doesn't cost much.
The combination with the TS 6201 is also rather more neutral, the Brimar Yellow T also cut a very good figure when it was briefly in there and was a little warmer, but on the Vcap I guess it will be a little better again on the Mundorf.
But I still have to get the burn in some drivers and output tubes going before anything new comes in in terms of tubes.
My Ultimate is now about 10 months old, in these 10 months I have experienced much more with the good Meisterstück than with the Euforia in the last 4 years.
Definitely more enjoyment and love for this amplifier than anything else I've owned before.

Ps:Ultimate is cleaned now,and the EL12 RSD and 6201 Ts need a little burn in time,but the first time is crazy to hear.

 

[UntilThen]

Your EL12 RSD is really the EL12N which is the more neutral version. The better tube imo is the EL12 spez and EL12. ymmv.

 

[UntilThen]

See the EL12N in the picture - top right? On the left of it are the EL12 - the coke bottle shaped ones. That's the good stuff. The ones on the left with the top cap - that's the holy grail EL12 spez.

 

[Deleeh]

Yes, definitely, but it's not bad for a start.
Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a suitable pair of El12 Nos that would suit me.
Otherwise I would probably already have some.
If there is one, it's quite expensive for what it offers.

Nice collection all EL12?

 

[Deleeh]

A brief summary of the Ultimate.
As I'm on holiday, I need to tidy up the drawer of tubes a bit.
When I think back to 20 July 2023, I picked up Ultimate from the customs office - that's almost 9 months ago.
I started with Eric tubes 12AV7,6y6 and 6bw4.
When Ultimate was under construction I already bought Brimar Footscray and Yellow T,Sylvania JHS,Siemens Ecc81 and Valvo 6201 as driver tubes.6bw4 Dumont and 2 Sylvanias,Ez80 Bel aka Mullard and Valvo.
As output tubes 6y6 Raytheon and Gec Kt66 which came at an outrageous price where you couldn't say no (gec is my most expensive pair in the stable I realise).

I already had 6SN7 and 6v6 from the Euforia time, and only counted 6v6. Also only what I had/have accumulated over the months.
Some of it was outrageously cheap as a note EL 84 Tungram,B309,5751 Raytheon and Tungsol, and other driver tubes. Various EL 81,Sophia Electric EL 34.EL84 Toshiba actually also because I found them in Germany.
6K6 is outrageously cheap as well as very good on Ultimate.
I counted 23 driver tubes, 14 rectifier tubes and 24 output tubes without 6SN7 tubes.

As it's my birthday tomorrow, another present went on tubes .
But I have to wait for the delivery.
All in all, all the tubes are fantastic, depending on how they are paired.
None has disappointed.
With 6sn7 which are then paired but counted individually as drivers I end up with 28 drivers.

There will be another 3 driver tubes and 7 output tubes by the end of April if I add Albert's EL12.
I don't really want to reveal what it is, but if I do some soul-searching I have to say I'm crazy.
It's certainly too much of a good thing, but it will give me a lot of pleasure and enjoyment for a very long time to come.
With a few exceptions I have a good part covered, that will change when one day super Ultimate enters my media room, 6J5 and more will be added.
Seriously, I'm still missing one or two KT88, EL34, EL12 pairs, the adapter for EL38.
I actually still have EL38 here from Euforia back then, which I haven't counted yet.

All in all, I don't know what I've spent, but I'm sure there would be a Super Ultimate for it, or at least close to it.
If I was asked if it was worth it? Hell yes and anytime again.

As a small note it's not about showing what you have, it's more to show how quickly the rabbithole is fleeting and strikes.
As for envy, I was just lucky in many deals that I found it at that price.
And because I was patient enough here and there until the right luck shone on me. That's all it is.
And I'm not rich, on the contrary, I work very hard to make a living.
Some of it goes on doing idiotic things month after month, and I could actually have a better life if I didn't always do things like that.
The last few months it's mostly been for tubes,

 

[crakers7]

A brief summary of the Ultimate.
As I'm on holiday, I need to tidy up the drawer of tubes a bit.
When I think back to 20 July 2023, I picked up Ultimate from the customs office - that's almost 9 months ago.
I started with Eric tubes 12AV7,6y6 and 6bw4.
When Ultimate was under construction I already bought Brimar Footscray and Yellow T,Sylvania JHS,Siemens Ecc81 and Valvo 6201 as driver tubes.6bw4 Dumont and 2 Sylvanias,Ez80 Bel aka Mullard and Valvo.
As output tubes 6y6 Raytheon and Gec Kt66 which came at an outrageous price where you couldn't say no (gec is my most expensive pair in the stable I realise).

I already had 6SN7 and 6v6 from the Euforia time, and only counted 6v6. Also only what I had/have accumulated over the months.
Some of it was outrageously cheap as a note EL 84 Tungram,B309,5751 Raytheon and Tungsol, and other driver tubes. Various EL 81,Sophia Electric EL 34.EL84 Toshiba actually also because I found them in Germany.
6K6 is outrageously cheap as well as very good on Ultimate.
I counted 23 driver tubes, 14 rectifier tubes and 24 output tubes without 6SN7 tubes.








As it's my birthday tomorrow, another present went on tubes .
But I have to wait for the delivery.
All in all, all the tubes are fantastic, depending on how they are paired.
None has disappointed.
With 6sn7 which are then paired but counted individually as drivers I end up with 28 drivers.

There will be another 3 driver tubes and 7 output tubes by the end of April if I add Albert's EL12.
I don't really want to reveal what it is, but if I do some soul-searching I have to say I'm crazy.
It's certainly too much of a good thing, but it will give me a lot of pleasure and enjoyment for a very long time to come.
With a few exceptions I have a good part covered, that will change when one day super Ultimate enters my media room, 6J5 and more will be added.
Seriously, I'm still missing one or two KT88, EL34, EL12 pairs, the adapter for EL38.
I actually still have EL38 here from Euforia back then, which I haven't counted yet.

All in all, I don't know what I've spent, but I'm sure there would be a Super Ultimate for it, or at least close to it.
If I was asked if it was worth it? Hell yes and anytime again.

As a small note it's not about showing what you have, it's more to show how quickly the rabbithole is fleeting and strikes.
As for envy, I was just lucky in many deals that I found it at that price.
And because I was patient enough here and there until the right luck shone on me. That's all it is.
And I'm not rich, on the contrary, I work very hard to make a living.
Some of it goes on doing idiotic things month after month, and I could actually have a better life if I didn't always do things like that.
The last few months it's mostly been for tubes,

Great write up and I agree with all you say , especially in regards to how quickly we fall down the rabbit hole , I am too scarred to add up how much I have spent on tubes in the last 12 months . Tubes to me are fascinating , their history , the way they look and their construction , they way they glow but most of all the way they sound , I really do love them and thankfully my wife is beginning to appreciate them a bit, she has stopped yelling at me every time a package arrives ' Craig can you stop ordering these bloody light globe things !!"
Happy Birthday for Tomorrow Deleeh

 

[David A Silva]

A brief summary of the Ultimate.
As I'm on holiday, I need to tidy up the drawer of tubes a bit.
When I think back to 20 July 2023, I picked up Ultimate from the customs office - that's almost 9 months ago.
I started with Eric tubes 12AV7,6y6 and 6bw4.
When Ultimate was under construction I already bought Brimar Footscray and Yellow T,Sylvania JHS,Siemens Ecc81 and Valvo 6201 as driver tubes.6bw4 Dumont and 2 Sylvanias,Ez80 Bel aka Mullard and Valvo.
As output tubes 6y6 Raytheon and Gec Kt66 which came at an outrageous price where you couldn't say no (gec is my most expensive pair in the stable I realise).

I already had 6SN7 and 6v6 from the Euforia time, and only counted 6v6. Also only what I had/have accumulated over the months.
Some of it was outrageously cheap as a note EL 84 Tungram,B309,5751 Raytheon and Tungsol, and other driver tubes. Various EL 81,Sophia Electric EL 34.EL84 Toshiba actually also because I found them in Germany.
6K6 is outrageously cheap as well as very good on Ultimate.
I counted 23 driver tubes, 14 rectifier tubes and 24 output tubes without 6SN7 tubes.








As it's my birthday tomorrow, another present went on tubes .
But I have to wait for the delivery.
All in all, all the tubes are fantastic, depending on how they are paired.
None has disappointed.
With 6sn7 which are then paired but counted individually as drivers I end up with 28 drivers.

There will be another 3 driver tubes and 7 output tubes by the end of April if I add Albert's EL12.
I don't really want to reveal what it is, but if I do some soul-searching I have to say I'm crazy.
It's certainly too much of a good thing, but it will give me a lot of pleasure and enjoyment for a very long time to come.
With a few exceptions I have a good part covered, that will change when one day super Ultimate enters my media room, 6J5 and more will be added.
Seriously, I'm still missing one or two KT88, EL34, EL12 pairs, the adapter for EL38.
I actually still have EL38 here from Euforia back then, which I haven't counted yet.

All in all, I don't know what I've spent, but I'm sure there would be a Super Ultimate for it, or at least close to it.
If I was asked if it was worth it? Hell yes and anytime again.

As a small note it's not about showing what you have, it's more to show how quickly the rabbithole is fleeting and strikes.
As for envy, I was just lucky in many deals that I found it at that price.
And because I was patient enough here and there until the right luck shone on me. That's all it is.
And I'm not rich, on the contrary, I work very hard to make a living.
Some of it goes on doing idiotic things month after month, and I could actually have a better life if I didn't always do things like that.
The last few months it's mostly been for tubes,

Happy Birthday El Tubus Maximus!!!! Lots more fun to come!