[Magol79]

I have received the amp and it works(?), loving the sound of my HD600s on it and the focal clears are even more fun on it. However, there is an occasional popping/crackling in the right channel. As for the left one there is nothing except for a very slight hum when there is nothing playing which I assume is to be expected. As for the right channel issue it could be due to my topping dx7 pro(which I've put in dac mode)/phone being near it though? I'm not sure how the thing is wired but the right side of the amp is very close to. Or it could be the tubes? If anyone has some feedback that would be great. It's not too noticeable when actually listening to music but it's there. I'm relatively hopeful that it's not anything to do with the amp itself since it is built like a tank... hah....

As for replacing/tube rolling I'll save that for another day hah. Just got my steam deck recently as well :3.

Switch sides on the tubes, then you'll know if it is the tubes.

 

[mordy]

I have received the amp and it works(?), loving the sound of my HD600s on it and the focal clears are even more fun on it. However, there is an occasional popping/crackling in the right channel. As for the left one there is nothing except for a very slight hum when there is nothing playing which I assume is to be expected. As for the right channel issue it could be due to my topping dx7 pro(which I've put in dac mode)/phone being near it though? I'm not sure how the thing is wired but the right side of the amp is very close to. Or it could be the tubes? If anyone has some feedback that would be great. It's not too noticeable when actually listening to music but it's there. I'm relatively hopeful that it's not anything to do with the amp itself since it is built like a tank... hah....

As for replacing/tube rolling I'll save that for another day hah. Just got my steam deck recently as well :3.

The popping/crackling.sound is usually attributable to a tube.
There is a concern that if it is very loud you could damage a driver in your headphones. Until it is fixed you may want to listen with a cheap pair of headphones or even earbuds.
But the first part of troubleshooting is to shut off the amp, wait a couple of minutes for the capacitors to discharge, and then gently pull the tubes out and clean the pins.
Personally I have found the best way is to gently scrape the pins with a very small pen knife blade. Look all around at the pins that they are nice and shiny and no dirt or oxidation on them.
Then reset the tubes into the sockets. If the noise still persists you can switch the positions of the tubes right to left and vice versa.
In many instances this takes care of the problems.

 

[HungryPengu]

The popping/crackling.sound is usually attributable to a tube.
There is a concern that if it is very loud you could damage a driver in your headphones. Until it is fixed you may want to listen with a cheap pair of headphones or even earbuds.
But the first part of troubleshooting is to shut off the amp, wait a couple of minutes for the capacitors to discharge, and then gently pull the tubes out and clean the pins.
Personally I have found the best way is to gently scrape the pins with a very small pen knife blade. Look all around at the pins that they are nice and shiny and no dirt or oxidation on them.
Then reset the tubes into the sockets. If the noise still persists you can switch the positions of the tubes right to left and vice versa.
In many instances this takes care of the problems.

Oh boy swapped both tubes and the popping and crackling swapped but it also got louder and much worse/frequent. At least it's not the amp(?) itself thankfully.

 

[mordy]

Oh boy swapped both tubes and the popping and crackling swapped but it also got louder and much worse/frequent. At least it's not the amp(?) itself thankfully.

Cleaning the pins takes minutes...If you don't have a little pen knife, anything will do - scissors, utility knife etc and it does not have to be sharp either.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
do you have only one set of tubes or several?

If you have more than one, first try replacing the tubes on the 6SN7 sockets with other 6SN7s.
If it is still there, leave them in and do the same on the 6AS7G socket.

This way you can determine if it is coming from the 6SN7 socket or the 6AS7G.

Then you could see what else could be done.

What you should also try when you mention the Dac is to take another one to test it if you have one.

And maybe one more tip.
Turn the amplifier on or off when no headphones are plugged in and turn down the volume pot.

The slight hum on the left side seems to be normal.

Apropo, are the tubes the same that you have plugged in?
Are they from the same manufacturer?
And another thing, the rear part is a 6AS7G socket, so only these tubes go in, not the front.
The 6SN7s go in the front.
I don't want to say you're stupid or anything, but maybe you didn't know.
And the tubes have been swapped, which could also be the case.

Otherwise, if it bangs like you describe, the tubes could be at the end of their life.
Photos might help if you can take some to see if there is anything wrong with them.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[HungryPengu]

Hello,
do you have only one set of tubes or several?

If you have more than one, first try replacing the tubes on the 6SN7 sockets with other 6SN7s.
If it is still there, leave them in and do the same on the 6AS7G socket.

This way you can determine if it is coming from the 6SN7 socket or the 6AS7G.

Then you could see what else could be done.

What you should also try when you mention the Dac is to take another one to test it if you have one.

And maybe one more tip.
Turn the amplifier on or off when no headphones are plugged in and turn down the volume pot.

The slight hum on the left side seems to be normal.

Apropo, are the tubes the same that you have plugged in?
Are they from the same manufacturer?
And another thing, the rear part is a 6AS7G socket, so only these tubes go in, not the front.
The 6SN7s go in the front.
I don't want to say you're stupid or anything, but maybe you didn't know.
And the tubes have been swapped, which could also be the case.

Otherwise, if it bangs like you describe, the tubes could be at the end of their life.
Photos might help if you can take some to see if there is anything wrong with them.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

the manual for the elise isn't exactly detailed, the tubes come packaged with a number assigned to the slot and you put the tubes in based on the number according to the manual. As I did not receive the amp with the original packaging I had to just take a guess. I figured out which tube goes where because they looked like the stock tubes the amp came with, so I went to look at website for pictures and managed to put the right tubes in the right place... also the manual showed the relative size of the tubes so I also used that as a guide.

The most alarming thing is... checking the pictures from the previous owner listing is the 2 smaller tubes which are labeled UK-6SN7 on them were in the two rear sockets... I do not know if they just put them in wrong for the picture or if they actually ran it like this... for how many ever years they had it.

As far as I can tell the amp is working properly I just probably need to change out the tubes... I'm currently working on swapping them around and seeing which one is causing the crackling. 1 factor noticed is some of the crackling may be due to me typing while using it? i bumped my table and heard the crackling get worse momentarily. but it's still only in one side.

I'm also working on cleaning the pins to see if that helps... I have a tiny snap blade knife i use for cutting paper crafts and stuff.

 

[mordy]

The smaller 6SN7 tubes go in the front and the bigger 6H13C tubes go in the back

 

[darktooth8]

Hi! I just received a feliks Elise from a fellow head-fier. I am having some trouble with it. I have it hooked up but the sound is very quiet and very distorted/staticky. I have the volume cranked up all the way but it's still very quiet.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155091619061

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304583890236?hash=item46ea9d553c:g:FhsAAOSw1EFi6ei5
These are the tubes I got. This is my first tube amp, and any help would be appreciated. I will say that one of the power tube sockets feels slightly more wiggly than the other, but all tubes are glowing.

 

[darktooth8]

Hi! I just received a feliks Elise from a fellow head-fier. I am having some trouble with it. I have it hooked up but the sound is very quiet and very distorted/staticky. I have the volume cranked up all the way but it's still very quiet.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155091619061

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304583890236?hash=item46ea9d553c:g:FhsAAOSw1EFi6ei5
These are the tubes I got. This is my first tube amp, and any help would be appreciated. I will say that one of the power tube sockets feels slightly more wiggly than the other, but all tubes are glowing.

Ok, The issue is actually quite weird if anyone can help me out. I've figured out how to get it working, but the solution is strange.
There is virtually no volume when I first turn the amp on. But, if I unplug BOTH power tubes while the amp is on and then replace them, it sounds great.
If i turn it off, and turn it back on, there is no volume again until the power tubes are removed and replaced.

 

[mordy]

Ok, The issue is actually quite weird if anyone can help me out. I've figured out how to get it working, but the solution is strange.
There is virtually no volume when I first turn the amp on. But, if I unplug BOTH power tubes while the amp is on and then replace them, it sounds great.
If i turn it off, and turn it back on, there is no volume again until the power tubes are removed and replaced.

Perhaps the power tubes do not make good contact. Clean the pins by gently scraping with a small blade and look that there is no dirt and oxidation.
It is not advisable to switch tubes when the amp is on - could damage headphones or speakers.
I this doesn’t help you could email Feliks audio for help and advice.

 

[LoryWiv]

Will PM you as in general it's best not to power on amp. w/o tubes in place, nor remove while powered on.

 

[Imaginamatt]

6 months ago, I met Élise; and even if since Caroline left me; I'm still so happy with these 4 little lights

 

[Gizm0Guru]

Jumped into the world of tubes, and am in the middle of burning in my new Elise Mk II that arrived today. I haven't done any kind of learning yet about tube rolling, but I would like to pick up an extra set of the tubes that are included stock with the Mk II (at least in mine, which are the PsVane 6SN7 and 6N13S). I haven't been able to find a straight forward way to find/buy matched pairs for each. I know that at least the 6N13S is no longer made, so I'd have to find used or NIS, or I would even be OK with a different model that closely mirrors the stock sound. Knowing that the tubes have a shelf life, trying to learn now how to find tubes. Thanks for the help!

 

[mordy]

Jumped into the world of tubes, and am in the middle of burning in my new Elise Mk II that arrived today. I haven't done any kind of learning yet about tube rolling, but I would like to pick up an extra set of the tubes that are included stock with the Mk II (at least in mine, which are the PsVane 6SN7 and 6N13S). I haven't been able to find a straight forward way to find/buy matched pairs for each. I know that at least the 6N13S is no longer made, so I'd have to find used or NIS, or I would even be OK with a different model that closely mirrors the stock sound. Knowing that the tubes have a shelf life, trying to learn now how to find tubes. Thanks for the help!

Tubes do not have a shelf life - right now I am using a pair of tubes from 1941 and 1942 together with a set of tubes from the 1960s.
It is true that vacuum tubes get used up in the long run, but the way they are used in our headphone amps they last for many many years.
Some dealers would like you to think that you need new tubes every 1000 hours or so but this is not true - you are more likely to need a new tube because you dropped it and it broke than by wearing it out.
The amp you use does not need matched tubes; this is just a way to make more money for tube sellers. (There are a few instances when you need matched tubes but not for the type of amp you have.)
The main reason for tube rolling is to achieve a different sound. This is ALWAYS a result of the synergy between the driver and power tubes in the amp. If you you are happy with the sound you have, just stay with it and enjoy it.
Tubes were made in the millions, and there are still plenty of them out there, but the prices have unfortunately gone up. A manufacturer needs a reliable large supply of tubes and has to go go to current production tubes or older tubes available in larger quantities, You, as an individual, only need a couple of tubes. By reading the previous posts you can get a very good idea of which tube combinations sound great in your amp and can look for them. There is nothing wrong in buying used tubes. Don't worry about measurements either - you will not be able to hear a difference between a tube that measures just passing and one that measures 100%.
There are many sources for tubes - don't think that the price has any relation to the quality or sound. The housewife selling off her grandfather's collection has the same tube as a professional seller charging 10 times more for the same thing.

 

[Gizm0Guru]

Tubes do not have a shelf life - right now I am using a pair of tubes from 1941 and 1942 together with a set of tubes from the 1960s.
It is true that vacuum tubes get used up in the long run, but the way they are used in our headphone amps they last for many many years.
Some dealers would like you to think that you need new tubes every 1000 hours or so but this is not true - you are more likely to need a new tube because you dropped it and it broke than by wearing it out.
The amp you use does not need matched tubes; this is just a way to make more money for tube sellers. (There are a few instances when you need matched tubes but not for the type of amp you have.)
The main reason for tube rolling is to achieve a different sound. This is ALWAYS a result of the synergy between the driver and power tubes in the amp. If you you are happy with the sound you have, just stay with it and enjoy it.
Tubes were made in the millions, and there are still plenty of them out there, but the prices have unfortunately gone up. A manufacturer needs a reliable large supply of tubes and has to go go to current production tubes or older tubes available in larger quantities, You, as an individual, only need a couple of tubes. By reading the previous posts you can get a very good idea of which tube combinations sound great in your amp and can look for them. There is nothing wrong in buying used tubes. Don't worry about measurements either - you will not be able to hear a difference between a tube that measures just passing and one that measures 100%.
There are many sources for tubes - don't think that the price has any relation to the quality or sound. The housewife selling off her grandfather's collection has the same tube as a professional seller charging 10 times more for the same thing.

Thank you sincerely for your reply. Literally answered at least three questions I’ve been researching all day. Appreciate it!