[JazzVinyl]

Thank you, Bill, for:

 

[JazzVinyl]

This album....whoa! I have the CD, and it's good, but I also have the original issue LP and it is soooooooo much better sounding than the CD....you are transported to a rich world of sonic goodness, via Miss Elise:

 

[JazzVinyl]

C3g drivers and El3N as powers...
Changed to the older Muse 4x TDA1543 chips DAC...

Deeper, louder bass and clarified top end, especially cymbals...moved forward in the hall...maybe to some narrowing of the sound stage...

Still loving the cool cool, 'does not run hot' performance of this tube combo, too...if you dig this sound, your Elise will last forever

 

[JazzVinyl]

Listening to:

 

[JazzVinyl]

Vangelis' soundtrack for the movie "Blade Runner" sounding might fine via an old set of 60's Raytheon 6SN7 and Chatham 6AS7G's.

Keeping a computer fan trained on her to keep her cool...that is what this amp should have had, from the start.

 

[JazzVinyl]

@OctavianH - this thread probably has the best Elise tube rolling information....

 

[davveswe]

How well does it drive 600 ohm phones?
It has only 200mA power output.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Thought it would be fun to try this between the DAC and Elise to get close to "H1 land"...and his tube DAC:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1set-ECC88-...-MUSICAL-FIDELITY-X10d-PCB-kits-/191627380550

Cheers....
.

A year and a half later - I did buy Mrs Xu's ECC88 tube buffer.

Using it currently between an iPod (in line out mode) and an SS amp.

Tubes and 12v AC (not DC) transformer are extra, and that ups the price to just above $100.00 USD.

Impressed at its sonic lushness. I had a "Grant Fidelity" tube buffer years ago, this one is scads better. I like it.

 

[Eylrik]

Is there any recommended mod for the Elise ie capacitor, resistance or fuse upgrade?
I'm thinking mods like we find on the Darkvoice or the Bottlehead Crack amps...

 

[DecentLevi]

@Eylrik, looks like you've already found the Euforia thread, which is like an upgraded Elise. Here someone knows about fuses but not sure if it's the same for Elise.
I just came back from a hi-fi Earphone shop in Seoul and for me the Sennheiser HD-579 blew everything away barely short of the Utopia and HD-800. It's authoritative, seductive, vivid, clear and some of the best bass Senny's ever made IMO! It creamed the 660S and the whole Beyer lineup no comparison to me.

 

[hypnos1]

How well does it drive 600 ohm phones?
It has only 200mA power output.

Hi davveswe.

OTL amps like ours are in fact best at driving high-impedance cans...my 600 ohm T1s really do sing - first in Elise, now in Euforia. So the answer is a definite extremely well lol!

 

[hypnos1]

Is there any recommended mod for the Elise ie capacitor, resistance or fuse upgrade?
I'm thinking mods like we find on the Darkvoice or the Bottlehead Crack amps...

Hi again E....any such internal mod would, of course, negate any warranty lol! And I don't think we've heard of anyone tinkering with caps or resistors...as yet! .

F-A used upgraded Mundorf and Nichicon caps in the Euforia, plus a totally new resistor circuit, with Dale and Caddocks. So if anyone was inclined, perhaps such caps might well bring an improvement...but could be risky...so am not advising it!!

As for fuses, I personally have found a slight improvement using an upgraded one in the mains cable feeding my mains conditioning units, but this does seem to be hit and miss for folks. I will soon be trying one in my Euforia (slow-blow 1.6T, as in Elise) and will post my impressions on both threads when I've given it a thorough testing...

 

[Oskari]

As for fuses, I personally have found a slight improvement using an upgraded one in the mains cable feeding my mains conditioning units, but this does seem to be hit and miss for folks.

Most people don't have fuses in their cables; you UK people are weird.

 

[hypnos1]

Most people don't have fuses in their cables; you UK people are weird.

Well, O, given we're an unfathomable mix of races since good ol' King Harold, is it any wonder lol?!!

But I must admit I myself find comfort in knowing there's good protection from our 240V mains, via our 13A mains plug fuse! However, having said that - as with my pathological hatred of connectors! - I have removed them from all my mains cables (power cords) to separates equipment, relying (hopefully!) on the surge protection within my mains regenerator and Balanced Mains + Advanced Filter System unit. I don't have the courage to bypass Euforia's internal fuse however...much to my dismay lol, given the (expensive) care taken on the electricity supply up to this tiny piece of 'rubbish' fuse wire!!! And hence my attempt at 'damage limitation' by upgrading said internal fuse as well as that in the main, mains cable lol! ...

 

[Oskari]

But I must admit I myself find comfort in knowing there's good protection from our 240V mains, via our 13A mains plug fuse!

I know you do things differently. I'm just being a pain in the you-know-what. Sorry.

You can see my "mains cable fuses" (10A & 16A) and RCDs (GFCIs) in this photo: