[hypnos1]

Yep, I like these Fotons a lot because they are very clear and neutral. Everything sounds to me "natural", or at least this is what I think I hear. I managed to obtain 6 pieces, 4x '55 and 2 x '53 and tried them with 5998, 6H13C, EL3N, EL12N and in the end I stopped at Mullard 6080. Now I was thinking that it could be nice to have a 2nd pair of 6080 for these.
But I will decide in a few days what to order since very soon I will be able to test EL32 and who knows, maybe I will like them and switch my preferences.

Hi OH.

Hopefully you won't need to bother with any other power tubes either...the CV1052/EL32 excels in both roles!...especially one driving the other.

But a couple of advisories (besides gluing down those metal top caps!) :

1. I personally have found that the amp itself can take a quite a while adjusting to triode-strapped pentodes - I was once rather (unpleasantly!) surprised at the initial change from 'stock' tubes, but later pleasantly so lol...

2. These EL tubes - as with all NOS especially - need long burn-in to really shine. Mine were still improving well after 50 hours...

So please take these factors into account...and ENJOY!...

 

[OctavianH]

Ok, so my experience with the EL32 started. I received today the adapters.

If anyone said that these glow nicely he has, for sure, tried other brand of this tube type. These ones seem powered off.

I will not post any impressions because I am listening the first track and I will wait for at least 50hrs. From what I hear now they seem somehow warm and pleasant but definitely not neutral.
While the drivers are quite cold the power tubes are much hotter. But it is normal, I guess, so no stress for that.

 

[Scutey]

Ok, so my experience with the EL32 started. I received today the adapters.

If anyone said that these glow nicely he has, for sure, tried other brand of this tube type. These ones seem powered off.

I will not post any impressions because I am listening the first track and I will wait for at least 50hrs. From what I hear now they seem somehow warm and pleasant but definitely not neutral.
While the drivers are quite cold the power tubes are much hotter. But it is normal, I guess, so no stress for that.

Good to hear you finally have the adapters, hope you enjoy them!.

 

[Scutey]

On another note, I also find them to be good as powers, tried them with the Psvanes and they sound very good, in fact the best I have heard them!

 

[OctavianH]

If they remain the same like this they are too warm for me. But I wonder if a good combo might be as power tubes for my Fotons. That can be an interesting combo. At the moment I will keep these for a time just to see how they improve.

 

[Scutey]

I've have tried the EL32/Fotons and it did sound quite good, although to my ears the Psvanes sounded better,more dynamic, but I will give them another try.

 

[OctavianH]

The Psvanes are incredible detailed and neutral, but I prefer more "mids" for rock music. They are incredible drivers for classical or other genres, but for Rock music I will always prefer a more mid forward tube. For me Fotons warmed by Mullard 6080 were the best combo. Anyway, I see that some claim "on the other side" that the Mullard ones are more neutral than these Marconi. Maybe if I will like these more after 50hrs I will order 4 more from those ones. At the moment I marked the power tubes to differentiate them from the drivers. Since all look the same and I expect that they burn in differently, I would like to know in time which were the powers and which the drivers.

 

[mordy]

The Psvanes are incredible detailed and neutral, but I prefer more "mids" for rock music. They are incredible drivers for classical or other genres, but for Rock music I will always prefer a more mid forward tube. For me Fotons warmed by Mullard 6080 were the best combo. Anyway, I see that some claim "on the other side" that the Mullard ones are more neutral than these Marconi. Maybe if I will like these more after 50hrs I will order 4 more from those ones. At the moment I marked the power tubes to differentiate them from the drivers. Since all look the same and I expect that they burn in differently, I would like to know in time which were the powers and which the drivers.

Hi OH,
Interesting thought that you think that the same tube used as a driver or power tube will burn in differently.
To my logic it should be the same, although the tube may sound different depending which socket it is in. In some languages tube is called lampe; think of the tube as a lamp. In one fixture the light is different because it is mounted differently than in another setting.
Some people who have the luxury of two amps will just insert the tubes in one for burning in, measuring the time in hours, until the job is done.
30-50 hours is the norm, but some tubes continue to improve over several hundred hours.

 

[OctavianH]

@mordy There are people here who know much more than me about this hobby, but since the temperature of a driver is much lower than of a power, and the circuitry behind might be different, I prefer to know which one of them was used as a power and as a driver. I would say it might have sense.

 

[Scutey]

The Psvanes are incredible detailed and neutral, but I prefer more "mids" for rock music. They are incredible drivers for classical or other genres, but for Rock music I will always prefer a more mid forward tube. For me Fotons warmed by Mullard 6080 were the best combo. Anyway, I see that some claim "on the other side" that the Mullard ones are more neutral than these Marconi. Maybe if I will like these more after 50hrs I will order 4 more from those ones. At the moment I marked the power tubes to differentiate them from the drivers. Since all look the same and I expect that they burn in differently, I would like to know in time which were the powers and which the drivers.

I have been using a quad of the Marconi for several days now and they are fairly warm, I did try the Mullard CV1052 first for a couple hours, and they did sound perhaps a little more towards neutral, however i'm usually reluctant to draw a conclusion until I've heard them for a t least 20 hours, so I will give the Mullards some time this evening along with some ST VT52 that arrived today. Regarding power tubes, I usually switch around, powers and drivers when burning in, so that tubes spend equal time in the driver and power sockets.

 

[hypnos1]

Hi @OctavianH

I hope you eventually find a combination that works for you, with EL32 somewhere in the mix! Still, there are plenty of tubes to choose from - there are almost too many!!

But if still 'too warm' after further burn-in, whatever you do don't go for the EL3N!!

 

[OctavianH]

I tried 12-15hrs the 4xEL32 combo and realized it was not for me. It is somehow warm, pleasant but it does not sound natural. So I switched back the Fotons as drivers and kept only the powers in place. Now things start to come back to "normal". I will keep this combo for a while.
Question: how big is the difference between Mullards and Marconi? I read that Mullards are preferred over these ones, and some say they are more neutral, but I expect that the difference is subtle.

 

[Scutey]

Hi OH,

I have both the Marconi and the Mullard. The Marconi is the warmest, followed by the Mullard which is slightly more neutral, then the ST shape, which is slightly more neutral again, however as you have pointed out the differences between all of them are small at best, I must admit I did find a quad of the Marconi just a tiny bit too warm, I found best of all a combination of Mullard straight bottle and ST shape, as both power and driver, but I found all of the different types to be very good as powers.

 

[OctavianH]

Guys, I am interested in buying a pair of Tung Sol 7236 at a decent price. If someone is selling, drop me a PM. Thanks.

 

[Oskari]

Leslie Dowdall: Torn Inside