[UntilThen]

Well, if it sounds really good that answers it....it's a Foton.

Ok it's a Foton then. Anymore discussion about Fonons is banned because they are all MINE.

 

[UntilThen]

My Solar Flare is silent. Definitely doable, my Eric is old skool and Solar Flare is new skool, so different design ideas and styles.

Yeah but how much is your Solar Flare???

 

[UntilThen]

I'm getting MrsXuLing to make EL81 to 6v6 adapters. Going to try my EL81 tubes in Ultimate.

 

[UntilThen]

Tube whorE.

That applies to all of us, particularly you !

 

[UntilThen]

Wow came out so nice.

 

[Mr Trev]

I'm getting MrsXuLing to make EL81 to 6v6 adapters. Going to try my EL81 tubes in Ultimate.

Why not an EL84 to 6v6 adapter too, while you're at it?

 

[UntilThen]

When

Why not an EL84 to 6v6 adapter too, while your at it?

There's also EL36 to 6v6.... tooooo maaannny !

Anyhoo MrsXuling got it done already. Just waiting to load up to ebay.

 

[Mr Trev]

When




There's also EL36 to 6v6.... tooooo maaannny !

Anyhoo MrsXuling got it done already. Just waiting to load up to ebay.

some folks (mainly @bcowen) claim there is no such thing as too many adapters

 

[jonathan c]

Tube whorE.

ApprenticE who learned from thE master …

 

[UntilThen]

I'm getting confirmation from Eric that it is ok to use EL84. I don't see why not. EL84 are very good power tubes.

Then I will get MrsXuLing to make EL84 to 6v6 adapters.

 

[Mr Trev]

I'm getting confirmation from Eric that it is ok to use EL84. I don't see why not. EL84 are very good power tubes.

Then I will get MrsXuLing to make EL84 to 6v6 adapters.

I've seen it go the other way around (6v6 to EL84), so I figured there'd be a decent shot that EL84s would work in the ultimatE

 

[UntilThen]

I've seen it go the other way around (6v6 to EL84), so I figured there'd be a decent shot that EL84s would work in the ultimatE

Not forgetting 6P14P russian equivalent of EL84 is super cheap.

 

[Leicachamp]

Got the GEC kt66 here.

They sound great as Matt described. Really nice tone.

Too much warmth when used with GEC2900( Still think this tube is overrated).
With Tele 12ax7 magic.

This pair of KT66 is from a friend of mine who used it as a driver/signal tube . So not as a power tube. Measures 100%

 

[gzbaga]

Great experience report and experience where you wrote.
If you have followed the topic a bit.
I can tell you when I decided to choose this amp in terms of tubes.
Spent about 300-350€ which is about 500 Au $ for a couple of 6y6,12At7,6bw4,Ez 80.
Especially with 12At7 I got 2-3 tubes cheap where Matt himself has.
6sn7 and 6v6 I already have in stock.

It's true that the rabbit hole can be big, but it doesn't have to be worth it.
And for the most part not overly expensive either.

I can't say much about the sound because mine has to be built and delivered first.
Your impressions seem to me that it could sound a bit German with the Mundorf capacitors.
And what you mostly read about the Mundorf Silver gold is true.
You still have the possibility to try out other capacitors later.
The Duel and Coppper paper in oil are close to the Vcaps from what you read.
And at a much lower price.
Or you can jump straight to the Vcap CuTF, which will probably give you peace of mind.

I did a Vcap mod on the Feliks Euforia although it was expensive it was worth it and I don't want to go back.
It has also brought a 6as7g Svetlana to life, which I thought was bad.
It's not like that, it's 50:50, part of it is the choice of components which also makes the tubes sound wonderful.
The standard industrial Mundorf caps that Feliks used were not my personal preference.
Nevertheless, in terms of neutrality they fulfilled the expectation.
But there was simply something missing, and it was predominantly afflicted with many disadvantages.

Here is a link to it:
https://www.mundorf.com/audio/en/shop/Capacitors/Audio_Caps_Classic/MCap_400V/

The gentleman who installed the Vcap Odam for me at the time also said that it was one of the less good capacitors and that there are better ones.

These here are a lot better where Eric built in at extra cost. I hope it is the right capacitor.

https://www.mundorf.com/audio/en/shop/Capacitors/Audio_Caps_Classic/MCap_Supreme_SGO/

I have read that this one is not quite the same as the Vcap or Duelund.
But it is not bad either, it will certainly meet the expectations and the step to the Duelund will probably be a little better in certain areas here and there.
But it won't make a 30% difference.
With the Vcap mod I had to completely re-evaluate all my tubes because it was something completely different.
What used to be warm was more neutral, what was really thick was actually warmer.
Some tubes came across more organic where I thought they were missing something.
But we are still talking about capacitors that differ in price and also in production.
That's why the Silver/Gold will show you where it should go.
Is it enough to change the tube or the capacitor?
I think the former will probably always be enough with the nice selection and availability on the market.
I think that with Eric's amp it probably won't be necessary to change capacitors.
His amps are very component based with a lot more experience than what you find in the industrial amp market.
Apart from that, his component selection, circuitry and also technical knowledge is the advantage.
This is where the industry again makes compromises and trade-offs at the expense of the amplifier.
Eric is probably also one of the last generation who grew up with the basics and principles and knows what tubes mean and how to drive them best to make them sing.
The modern tech industries don't know that, probably not even Cayin, who once didn't do bad things.
But end up messing it up again because of the low cost principle.
That's what a lot of companies do, unfortunately.

Back to the amplifier:
Matt and I have almost the same amp the only difference will be that he has the Silk and I have the TimE transformer.
Otherwise, we have the same configuration and visually mine will be slightly different.

I'm also glad to hear that the UltimatE can drive hard driving headphones, especially planar headphones.
That's certainly another advantage of Eric and his great background knowledge.
I still have a Lcd 2C that no one wants to buy, I will test it and if I like it, maybe keep it, who knows.

Whoa, that's quite a bit of technical details that I don't entirely get yet, but thanks heaps for sharing your journey with the Ultimate. If I ever decide to snag an amp from Eric, I'll definitely be referencing your post here, haha.

Somehow my friends didn't talk about the differences between the silver and wooden Ultimates. Even after one day, the wooden Ultimate is pulling ahead according to my ears. There was a comment which Simon made and I agree with it. He said he felt that the wooden Ultimate sounded more effortless and smoother but still dynamic and with slam. That about sum up the differences I heard so far.

Ah that's right. I wasn't really clued in on all the differences between the two Ultimates but that was my hunch when I was comparing them.

 

[UntilThen]

I ask Eric to get his wood supplier for wooden chassis with pre drilled front and back holes and to face the long width in front. I.e like the golden Ultimate. He is looking into it.