[Deleeh]

Have to agree with Matt in places.
My bookshelf speakers from Elac at the beginning of the 90s are sometimes hollow and thumping in the bass.
But that's more down to the design of the speaker itself.
You have to keep that in mind.
Bookshelf speakers will not roll out the bass in the same way as a 3/4 way speaker.

However, you've just given me the idea of testing my Elac Edition one in the living room on Ultimate, which are much more powerful.

Will go back to bookshelf speakers and Ultimate.
As a rule of thumb, use a driver tube that doesn't have much gain.
12Au7/6SN7 some 12AT7 also work very well but not all.
With 12au7/6SN7 you usually get the fuller sound out of the bookshelf speakers with nice bass that doesn't sound hollow or thumpy and flows into the music without being annoying.
And you also get a better grip on distortion, which bookshelf speakers don't particularly like with tubes.

Believe me, even with Ultimate it's great, I've never gone to the maximum with the potentiometer.
And at 12-15 o'clock it was loud enough to fill the whole flat with sound.

 

[UntilThen]

@Deleeh I'm speaking from experience. This is Destiny, a McChanson 300b speaker amp that I had before. This will drive my floorstanders with authority. Ultimate and Supreme are not quite up to the task. They can play loud but without the grunt and authority. For efficient bookshelf speaker, they are ok.

Destiny drives Susvara beautifully. My mistake for selling it. This amp use interstage transformers instead of coupling caps.

If you want to drive speakers get this amp. If headphones, get Ultimate or Supreme.

 

[VanHai]

@VanHai yes that's probably true, Matt is also good at helping you with that, .

Absolutely, no doubt about it. He is very convincing.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Yes, unfortunately, I found this one where Matt recently presented it.
I won the auction with 20€ plus shipping and nib.
I'm curious how they are.
Unfortunately I don't know what manufacturer the Haltron was, I suspect something British.

Found this nice pair here by chance:

@David A Silva once said that 6550s from other manufacturers are also okay.Thank you very much by the way for the tip,
I did some research and he's not entirely wrong, the only thing you need to know is that the glass mould has to be the same as the original one from TS, then it's ok and it's a Ts because only TS made them for other manufacturers.
However you have to be careful GE has 2 versions 6550 disguised as TS and one 6550A, the 6550A is not a TS in this case but a GE design.
By chance I found a nice new pair of 6550 on Ebay from RCA unfortunately without speakers but that's okay for me, the price was once again a steal at 215€.
A new Nos TS actually costs a small fortune if you are looking for one.
The wait has paid off again as you can see and a bit luck,.
This month is absolutely poison for me, not only did I get some really good deals, I also spent more than originally planned,

 

[UntilThen]

Through the 1950s to the 1960s there are at least 4 versions of Tung Sol 6550. Black plates are more desirable than grey plates.

With the black plates there are 4 versions.
Version 1 had a single top square getter only (1950s). Version 2 had 2 top D getters. Version 3 had three getters (single top D getter and 2 side D getters). Mine is version 4 black plates with a single top O getter and 2 side O getters introduced in the 1960 for about 9 months before they transferred the exact same internal construction design across to solid grey plates until the end of 1962. From 1963 onwards you have the 3 hole perforated grey plate version.

Regardless of which version you have they all sound totally awesome. Some are rebranded RCA and GE but Tung Sol are more coveted.

 

[albertmuc]

Mundorf - 6BW4 - EC86 - EL39

...audiophile life could be worse...

 

[UntilThen]

Ever since I talk about the Telefunken EL156 in the Ultrasonic Studio thread, Bryant is the only one to have bought 2 pairs. EL156 was developed specifically for audio and at the time used to amplify tiny signals in cutting lacquers for LP manufacture. I would characterise the sound as extremely linear and accurate. Telefunken gave up production of this great tube in the 70s and somehow all the tooling for the tube's manufacture ended in China. Telefunken EL156 are 10 pin tube whereas the China's version are octal 8 pins.

EL156 should be in any astute collectors stash.

 

[UntilThen]

Mundorf - 6BW4 - EC86 - EL39

...audiophile life could be worse...

Albert, I heard that your Super Gold Ultimate is now humless and harmless and that you're in ecstasy listening with it. So glad to see you posting again.

I can attest that EC86 and EL39 is a lovely combination where bright meets warm and you end up with a cosy blanket.

 

[albertmuc]

Yes Matt, the bitch now does exactly what I want her to do, that's how it should be

The combination of EC86 with EL39 is indeed fine, ideally with 6BW4 to add some fullness.

Soon I'll be listening to the combination Mundorf > EZ 81 > 6S3P > EL39 - I might prefer that...

 

[AnyDave]

Through the 1950s to the 1960s there are at least 4 versions of Tung Sol 6550. Black plates are more desirable than grey plates.

With the black plates there are 4 versions.
Version 1 had a single top square getter only (1950s). Version 2 had 2 top D getters. Version 3 had three getters (single top D getter and 2 side D getters). Mine is version 4 black plates with a single top O getter and 2 side O getters introduced in the 1960 for about 9 months before they transferred the exact same internal construction design across to solid grey plates until the end of 1962. From 1963 onwards you have the 3 hole perforated grey plate version.

Regardless of which version you have they all sound totally awesome. Some are rebranded RCA and GE but Tung Sol are more coveted.

I was lucky enough to snag a set of version 3 (top D getter and two D getters on the same side). Wonderful tubes. I have some of the three hole grey plate variants as well, which are very nice and much easier to find.

 

[VanHai]

Yes Matt, the bitch now does exactly what I want her to do, that's how it should be

Hey Albert, be careful. Are you talking about the amp or your ?.

 

[UntilThen]

I was lucky enough to snag a set of version 3 (top D getter and two D getters on the same side). Wonderful tubes. I have some of the three hole grey plate variants as well, which are very nice and much easier to find.

In talking to someone who is very into tubes, he prefers his version 1 Tung Sol 6550 over GEC KT88.

I beg to differ. To me, a fresh set of GEC KT88 is the holy grail to my ears but the 6550 is also amazing. All this is my subjective opinion of course.

 

[Deleeh]

Through the 1950s to the 1960s there are at least 4 versions of Tung Sol 6550. Black plates are more desirable than grey plates.

With the black plates there are 4 versions.
Version 1 had a single top square getter only (1950s). Version 2 had 2 top D getters. Version 3 had three getters (single top D getter and 2 side D getters). Mine is version 4 black plates with a single top O getter and 2 side O getters introduced in the 1960 for about 9 months before they transferred the exact same internal construction design across to solid grey plates until the end of 1962. From 1963 onwards you have the 3 hole perforated grey plate version.

Regardless of which version you have they all sound totally awesome. Some are rebranded RCA and GE but Tung Sol are more coveted.

I didn't even pay attention to it.
I only saw that they were RCA and the rest was history.
I didn't even bother with the Ts construction this time, now that you mention it I remember.
Thanks for the reminder and the history, can't say what I bought now.
Must be one of the last version though.

Been watching the TS6550 for a while now and they are harder to find due to the new production.
There have been some where I thought oh wow great price and then realised it's the Russian tube.
Also the price for TS is extreme, Tube Depot for example sells one for $400 and then you need 2 of them plus customs, not worth it for me.

As always I was lucky, the RCA are in Denmark and the price was very good for being TS.
I'm curious to see how they compare to the Russian El34 and Kt88 wingend C version.

So far I'm very happy with them, especially with EL34, compared with Ecc35 and TS 6Su7 Gty and I hear very little difference.
Ecc M35 Mullard is a bit more resolving and a tick brighter, while TS 6SU7 GTY is more dynamic and a bit fuller.
Really hard to hear differences, both perform very well.
The Russian 6SL7 GT also makes a good impression, has a bit more drive, is a bit more musical and detailed compared to the other two, but everything is still very fresh and the El34 will certainly need some time.

The overall sound of the Ultimate is a bit different from what I've heard so far, but I'm really satisfied in all respects.
I have the KT88 in parallel in the Euforia and they are also very good, better than anything else I've heard so far, apart from the EL38.

I'm also very happy for Albert that he has found his way with Ultimate.
Now he needs a few more good tubes to complete his journey.


@AnyDave, you must be spying on our tubes for your Aegis, right?
Because some are compatible with the Ultimate as I've seen.
I think everyone can say that the Secret sauce is Ultimate.
Or are you thinking about buying the Ultimate?

 

[UntilThen]

I'm curious to see how they compare to the Russian El34 and Kt88 wingend C version.

NOS 6550, EL34 and KT88 are very different sounding. There's no need to prefer one over the other. They are all great tubes.

with EL34, compared with Ecc35 and TS 6Su7 Gty and I hear very little difference.

Mullard ECC35 and Tung Sol 6SU7gty is as different as the east is from the west. There's no doubt which I prefer.

 

[triod750]

I'm listening to a pair of Brimar (Haltron branded) type 42 with a pair of Lorenz C3g. The type 42 has seen no use at all but is very promising from start and remind me much of 6K6. I'm very curious about their development. As rectifier I have one Eindhoven EZ40 from 1950 in adapter.
Before this setup I tried a pair of EL42 (Sittard) as input with a pair of EL41 (also Sittard) as output. The sound was very promising from that combo too. Same rectifier. All five tubes were Holland made innovals, just for the fun of it.