[HOWIE13]

  Hi Howie13,
 
According to my understanding the Elise is wired in such a way that what counts is the total current draw of all four tubes. As an example, if you have the power tubes on external power, you should be able to use a pair of 6AS7 as drivers, drawing 5A together.
 
In the past, in my Little Dot days, I was using an external 12V power supply for the power tubes with a voltage regulator. For reasons that I do not understand, there was a different amount of voltage drop depending on the tubes I used.
 
I measured the actual voltage reaching the tube pins. To get 6.3V at the amp socket, I sometimes had to set the voltage regulator to 6.4V, 6.8V or 7.1V, all depending on the type of tube that I used.
 
All this may be academic, since the tube specifications usually allow for approximately a 10% difference in the tube voltage.
 
As for hum, it seems that most people attribute the hum to grounding problems.
 
I am intrigued by a Faraday cage but never got to try one out.
 

 
It was a makeshift Faraday cage, thought up by an inventive, imaginative person on the Ember thread (not by me).
 
It's an IKEA utensil container, inverted over the single 6A6 - fortunately it just fits nicely, and then an earth wire is hooked into one of the holes in the container and connected to an earth point on an old America Audio equaliser on which Ember is resting. The equaliser isn't in use and doesn't even need to be switched on, but it does need to be plugged into the mains socket by it's earthed 3 pin UK type plug. Works a treat. Most gratifying to go from loud hum to total silence with the touch of a wire.

. 

 

[HOWIE13]

Glad to know that Elise sounds more expansive. I love Ember so much I won't sell it even though Elise is better. I even still have Vali.
Ha ha ha ...

 
They are very different and Elise is well worth it's price, and more. You will immediately hear Elise's quality with its stock tubes. However, I'm sure your experience with Ember will stand you in good stead when rolling with Elise.
 
I've also kept my Ember. I find it a good standard to refer to when comparing with other amps as I'm so used to Ember's sound.
 
I'm glad you didn't ask me to compare the other 'E'- Expressivo to Ember, that's a contest I have not yet engaged in (just in case anyone posts to ask me, LOL)
 
PS I have Vali2 in bed. 

 

 

[connieflyer]

Redbull, that is what I thought too but after having the Elise for a few months,realized I had not turned ember on at all,nor wanted to, I sold it here on Headfi with most of the tubes that used except for some 6sn7s. I also upgraded in that time frame,from the 650,s 700's to the 800. Just before I sold the ember I turned it on with my favorite combo,dual 6L5 and listened for a bit just to make sure everything worked correctly and while it still sounded good, the Elise ticked all the boxes better. I am not sorry I sold it, I heard from the buyer and he is enjoying it. But the Elise is a whole different animal. When I put the 800 back on it just felt complete again. I always judge a possession by how much I regretted parting with it. Do not miss any of the phones or amps I have had. Jriver PSAUDIO dac,Elise, to 800 phones, any changes to this is done with tubes. Since wife's passing moved everything to the main system and use the Elise as a preamp, and that is also excellent.

 

[DavidA]

Redbull, that is what I thought too but after having the Elise for a few months,realized I had not turned ember on at all,nor wanted to, I sold it here on Headfi with most of the tubes that used except for some 6sn7s. I also upgraded in that time frame,from the 650,s 700's to the 800. Just before I sold the ember I turned it on with my favorite combo,dual 6L5 and listened for a bit just to make sure everything worked correctly and while it still sounded good, the Elise ticked all the boxes better. I am not sorry I sold it, I heard from the buyer and he is enjoying it. But the Elise is a whole different animal. When I put the 800 back on it just felt complete again. I always judge a possession by how much I regretted parting with it. Do not miss any of the phones or amps I have had. Jriver PSAUDIO dac,Elise, to 800 phones, any changes to this is done with tubes. Since wife's passing moved everything to the main system and use the Elise as a preamp, and that is also excellent.

Do you still listen with all of your headphones? or is it only the HD-800?  There are enough previous Ember owners that have moved on to the Elise so I'm quite sure that it will be a worthwhile investment/upgrade but I'm not sure that it will be able to drive all the headphones that I currently have, unless someone can state otherwise?

Maybe I need to start thinning my heard of headphones and amps, maybe that will make deciding on a amp or two easier to replace my Ember/Lyr2/Asgard2/BH Crack
 
Hope everyone is have a great 4th of July weekend

 

[connieflyer]

I sold two pair of 650s, the 700s, and tried the Beyer T1 version 1 600 ohms but the left driver went muddy on me, had to return for full credit and bought the Senn 800, original version, not the newer S version, as I had read a few reviews that did not like the way the treble peal was handled and the bass increase sounded not as clear as the original.  Very glad I did as these are the best I have had.  The 700's were pretty close, but the sound-stage was not as large or as clearly defined.  If the amps you have will drive your headphones I see no reason that the Elise would not. The power curve on the ember did not drive the 800s as well as the Elise.  Never have had to go past 12 o'clock position on Elise to be very loud and completely satisfying. Using the Elise as a pre-amp out to my Harman-Kardon 7200 now and it drives this combo great, just ask the neighbors, was thinking instead of turning it down, I would just take requests in the future!

 

[pctazhp]

More rain today in Scottsdale!!!
 
 
 
Edit:  If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, your soul needs an external power source:
 
 

 

[RedBull]

   
They are very different and Elise is well worth it's price, and more. You will immediately hear Elise's quality with its stock tubes. However, I'm sure your experience with Ember will stand you in good stead when rolling with Elise.
 
I've also kept my Ember. I find it a good standard to refer to when comparing with other amps as I'm so used to Ember's sound.
 
I'm glad you didn't ask me to compare the other 'E'- Expressivo to Ember, that's a contest I have not yet engaged in (just in case anyone posts to ask me, LOL)
 
PS I have Vali2 in bed. 

 

 

 
Don't worry, I won't Frankenstein-ish Elise, I am a standard setup kind a guy.  I 'mod' Ember as much as 6SN7, MAX!
I like the clean look of Ms. Elise, so pretty.
 

Redbull, that is what I thought too but after having the Elise for a few months,realized I had not turned ember on at all,nor wanted to, I sold it here on Headfi with most of the tubes that used except for some 6sn7s. I also upgraded in that time frame,from the 650,s 700's to the 800. Just before I sold the ember I turned it on with my favorite combo,dual 6L5 and listened for a bit just to make sure everything worked correctly and while it still sounded good, the Elise ticked all the boxes better. I am not sorry I sold it, I heard from the buyer and he is enjoying it. But the Elise is a whole different animal. When I put the 800 back on it just felt complete again. I always judge a possession by how much I regretted parting with it. Do not miss any of the phones or amps I have had. Jriver PSAUDIO dac,Elise, to 800 phones, any changes to this is done with tubes. Since wife's passing moved everything to the main system and use the Elise as a preamp, and that is also excellent.

 
I guess you are the one-amp-for-all-kind-of-guy.   I ..... always regret selling any audio gear.  Selling Graham Slee Solo, regret, selling Darkvoice, regret, so ... I will never sell any audio gear, again.  Although I know it is not as good as my favourite, unless the sound is terribly wrong.   One piece of IEM I strongly considered selling now, IE8, even then, I still hesitant.
 

 
For now, the best amp for movie watching is Ember, I am curious how Elise can topple that.
 
 
.ps: connieflyer, my sincere condolences for the loss of your wife.  Hope friends here in head-fi can help to cheer you up.

 

[DavidA]

  I sold two pair of 650s, the 700s, and tried the Beyer T1 version 1 600 ohms but the left driver went muddy on me, had to return for full credit and bought the Senn 800, original version, not the newer S version, as I had read a few reviews that did not like the way the treble peal was handled and the bass increase sounded not as clear as the original.  Very glad I did as these are the best I have had.  The 700's were pretty close, but the sound-stage was not as large or as clearly defined.  If the amps you have will drive your headphones I see no reason that the Elise would not. The power curve on the ember did not drive the 800s as well as the Elise.  Never have had to go past 12 o'clock position on Elise to be very loud and completely satisfying. Using the Elise as a pre-amp out to my Harman-Kardon 7200 now and it drives this combo great, just ask the neighbors, was thinking instead of turning it down, I would just take requests in the future!

So you currently only use the HD-800?  If I only had the HD-800 and the other high z headphones then the Elise would be a no brainer.
 
This is how I've been pairing up my amps and headphones:
 
Lyr2: HE-560, SRH-1840, TH-600
 
Asgard2: LCD-2, HE-400, M50x, MDR-7506
 
UD-301: EL8, RS2e, MDR-1A, L1, Woody SR-225i
 
BH Crack: SennGrado #1, K7XX, 650, 700, 800, T1
 
Xonar DG sound card: SennGrado #2
 
Ember: HE-400i, DT-990, SR-225e (modded), HD-600 (changing output resistance to match different headphones)
 
AH-01: K553, woody SR-60i, X1
 
Any recommendations/comments
 
@RedBull, glad to see you back on the threads

 

[RedBull]

@DavidA, yup sir, glad to be back, plus folks in this thread are super friendly.
Seems we have common taste in audio. Great minds think alike

 

[HOWIE13]

   

 
Don't worry, I won't Frankenstein-ish Elise, I am a standard setup kind a guy.  I 'mod' Ember as much as 6SN7, MAX!
I like the clean look of Ms. Elise, so pretty.
 
 
I guess you are the one-amp-for-all-kind-of-guy.   I ..... always regret selling any audio gear.  Selling Graham Slee Solo, regret, selling Darkvoice, regret, so ... I will never sell any audio gear, again.  Although I know it is not as good as my favourite, unless the sound is terribly wrong.   One piece of IEM I strongly considered selling now, IE8, even then, I still hesitant.
 

 
For now, the best amp for movie watching is Ember, I am curious how Elise can topple that.
 
 
.ps: connieflyer, my sincere condolences for the loss of your wife.  Hope friends here in head-fi can help to cheer you up.

Yes although I do roll a lot the fact is Elise's stock tubes are really good.
 
A number of people refer to the fact that after rollng Elise, listening again to the stock tubes has demonstrated how good they actually are.

 

[mordy]

Hi audict123,
 
Looked up your regulated power supply on eBay. It is only 5A so it would not be suitable for me. I am using a 12V PC 430W PS that is rated at 15A together with a 15A voltage regulator.
 
It is quite possible that the wires I were using in the past were too thin, but I now have the 6x adapter with much thicker wires and there is no noticeable voltage drop with the 0.6A and 1.5A tubes.
 
 

 

[geetarman49]

 
Welcome Tony to this expanding Elise family. I look forward to your getting it. You might beat @geetarman49 to it. Customs is still testing his. 

 
what customs is testing is my patience ... haven't had this issue in a long, long time.  i got stax amps from russia and germany w/o this hassle.  on top of that, canada post is ready to go on strike any time now ... just hoping customs releases my amp & the post delivers before that happens ... nothing worse than having a tube amp delivered by a cranky post man who is legislated back to work.
 

  @geetarman49, love the music selections

 
thnx, DavidA  ...  i need to add more european jazz to my collection.
 
**********
 
p.s.  if i've failed to respond to a post addressed to me, my apologies ... fallen far behind & rushing to catch up.

 

[connieflyer]

Well, I accept your apology, however the offer of fivew million dollars was for a limited time only so since you did not respond within 30 minutes the offer was withdrawn.  I would have Feliks start a trace on the package, the shipper usually can find out more than and individual with just a tracking number.  If he finds it to be in customs, they should be able to tell him why the long wait.  Maybe some guy in the shipping cage at customs is burning in your tubes for you!

 

[DecentLevi]

So my Elise issue was determined to likely be at no fault of my own, and my old Elise will be exchanged for a new one, in time to display it at the meet. 
 
I am very thankful for an outstanding service from Feliks Audio and would not like to cast any shadows on them because this seems to be a very rare exception to an otherwise perfect product; perhaps a faultuy potentiometer or solder joint. In my case it was a combination of skill and luck that my so-called "adventurous" tube rolling was within acceptable parameters after all - nonetheless I encourage due diligence and cautiousness for all who embark on any 'next frontier' of future tube rolling experiments with the Elise.

 

[DecentLevi]

@HOWIE13 I see you've updated your icon to the quad 6J5 + 6BL7 power tube combo so I take you're enjoying that one. One note I have however is to replace one of the Coke bottle shaped 6J5's on each side for a straight-form one (such as Sylvania instead of Zenith). My careful comparisons have shown me that this 'intermixed' combination (one straight + one Coke shaped on each side) results in a tone that is more organic and sweet than euphonic, and a lot less microphonic.
 
Speaking of Faraday cages - I've tried this on the Elise but to no effect at all to eliminate hum. It was back when I first tried my FDD20's. I tried both methods: completely covering them in tin foil, grounded to the RCA jacks via the foil top, also numerous positions of my metal trash can around the Elise (clean, not touching). It seems this solution does not work for the Elise, and the problem was later attributed to my lousy power supply rather than the Elise.