[DecentLevi]

Well, today's my Elise's homecoming party (surprise one)
 
Initial impressions unboxing:
Very sturdy and well done packaging. Looking underneath the Elise, the components look very robust and somewhat similar to the Bottlehead Crack (vaguely by memory).
On the top, looks like Feliks Audio has improved the ease of rolling with the sockets at level height.
 

 
Before listening I spent just 3-4 minutes warming it up with these tubes, while I re-famaliarize myself with the sound of my existing amps for comparison - all using the HD 650; mostly with the Liquid Carbon in balanced mode and then the old Ember from Garage1217 for a moment.
 
Even before trying the Elise I got a feeling going from the LC to the Ember that this is a bit of a toy sound... Enter Elise experience:
First few seconds were just OK, but after every second that passed I got a feeling the sound kept improving with time.
 

Initially using 'stock-like' GE 6SN7 & GE 6AS7 GA  (it's a crappy camera but my only one for now)
 
My biggest shock came when comparing the Elise to the Ember and the LC another round. This time, I set a section of a well mastered track on continuous loop and volume matched the amps by-ear. 
 
COMPLETELY SURREAL! Totally enveloping with spine tingling realism! This may be the biggest stage I've ever heard out of my HD 650's!... it's got me so excited.. what? oh I'm still doing a comparison LOL. Well here's my take:
 
Vs. Liquid Carbon in Balanced mode: The Elise kills the LC, hands down. It makes the LC sound muddy, congested and sub-par instrument separation... a glorious opposite for the Elise.
 
Vs. Ember: Everything about the Ember yells out "imitation" to my ears - like a wanna be amp, period in comparison. 
 
The Elise has a divine realism, great PRaT / dynamics, full bodied, lifelike / realistic, and compared to the above two 'amps', dynamics seem at least 30% better, stage possibly up to 50% better, and overall resolution much more refined.
 
And this is only using tubes akin to stock ones. I'm a little afraid at how good the sound must be out of my higher FDD20 / EL3N, and another total surprise I've been keeping from you guys for the last few months... but should I be afraid? I've already been a little sleep-lost lately as it is 

 
Thinking back to the twice I've heard the Eddie Current Zana Deux amp, I feel very confident the Elise is within 95% as good as it's sound - and of course this is only with mid-level tubes and almost no burn-in. It also seems very likely better than the Crack+Speedball, by memory also. Furthermore, the Elise has been doing something which is weird for me - I'm actually able to type while listening, as before I always had the urge to kill the music while I focus.
 
DISCLAIMER: The comparisons between LC and Ember were only brief within 10-minutes and without the Elise burned in. And the comparisons with the Crack and Zana Deux were only from 2+month memory.
 
Here's the song I tested this gem of an amp with. It really seems Elise + Fleetwood Mack = absolute tranquility, and like it was made for her voice! And like the Elise really shines with retro music!
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(couldn't find a good quality version of the original so here's a remix)
 
I also tested the Elise with some poorly encoded MP3's and much to my surprise it even made these sound very good!
 
Now I see why some of you are tempted to drink with the sound of this otherworldly amp! 

 
Well that will be all for me for a few hours at least
 
PS- Yes the Elise really did show up on my doorstep one random day unannounced 

 

[DecentLevi]

Oh also folks - what was that that was being said earlier about letting tubes cool down before swapping them? Mine are getting super hot now. What if I were to use a sort of glove for my hand, would that be OK for the tubes?
 
Oh also I want to point out that amazingly, the above comparison with Elise coming out on top of the LC was actually with the Elise being in SE and the LC in balanced!

 

[UntilThen]

@DecentLevi I'm speechless 

 
.... unable to respond meaningfully for the moment.
 
 
Except to say .... do not change tubes until they are cool down. Don't use glove to yank it out. Play safe disconnect the headphone jack.. revisit the 7 rules. Please do not be impatient to change tubes.....  and don't tube roll like there's no tomorrow.... those sockets have a finite lifespan. 

 

 

[Suuup]

Oh also folks - what was that that was being said earlier about letting tubes cool down before swapping them? Mine are getting super hot now. What if I were to use a sort of glove for my hand, would that be OK for the tubes?

Oh also I want to point out that amazingly, the above comparison with Elise coming out on top of the LC was actually with the Elise being in SE and the LC in balanced!

You still have to wait a few minutes after powering her down to change the tubes. The capacitors have to fully discharge first.

 

[DecentLevi]

OK if I give it just about 2-min to cool down is that good enough? I've never experienced hot tubes before with the Ember

 

[UntilThen]

I always like to read the initial impressions of a new Elise owner, especially one who have experience with certain amps to draw some comparisons. The initial impressions are priceless.
 
@DecentLevi let me first of all congratulate you on the safe receipt of your Elise. Serial number?
 
I'm quite amazed even at this initial listen, that you think it's so much better than the LC and Ember. Those comments regarding the EC ZD and Crack with Speedball are also quite amazing. 
 
2 mins is still too short. Wait for it to cool down before changing. That's more than 5 mins easily. Be patient. You're in for a long ride with Elise so look after her well because she's going to give you endless sonic delights.
 
Keep those impressions coming. Well done and thanks for giving a very detailed initial impressions.
 
Edit:- Now @connieflyer will be unable to sleep whilst waiting for his Elise LOL.

 

[DecentLevi]

No problem, I've got you all to thank for this opportunity to behold such a priceless musical instrument. I couldn't have done it without the inspiration and support from all of you - thanks for enduring my six month's of 'harassment' (

 LOL) as I stood by only as a wannbe.
 
Another update - perhaps the biggest what experience of my audiophile life - I'm now pairing the Elise with the world's one-and-only SoundMAGIC HP-100 "Tru-Fi Speakers mod"; a local headphone modding business put together by local Head-Fi member friend of mine - and I'll tell you, this is THE SOUND - so extraordinary I've gotten the chills twice from this pairing - and I mean a very uncanny chill - the kind where you're half way "exit planet earth" and unable to speak rationally - it's like the best of my past and present all combined into one... What!!!
 
Feel free to read about this headphone, the story is in my signature.
 
PS- this pairing is so extraordinary I think it'll take a strong amount of will-power to come back to my HD-650 - and the soundstage is NO slouch whatsoever either, and even though this is a closed-back and very isolated headphone!

 

[UntilThen]

Interesting never heard of SoundMAGIC HP-100 before. 

 

[UntilThen]

My initial listen of Elise was with Lorenz C3G and Tung Sol 5998. It was a jaw dropping moment. My tubes were already burned in but Elise was brand new then. My headphone then was HD650.
 
All I could post then was the gif of Jim Carrey jaw dropping moment. 

 

[hpamdr]

Welcome to the incredible Elise Experience DL  It will take you two weeks before you enjoy it fully.
 
Quote:

  Oh also folks - what was that that was being said earlier about letting tubes cool down before swapping them? Mine are getting super hot now. What if I were to use a sort of glove for my hand, would that be OK for the tubes?
 
Oh also I want to point out that amazingly, the above comparison with Elise coming out on top of the LC was actually with the Elise being in SE and the LC in balanced!

When tube are super hot, you have to handle with care as :
Tubes are more sensitive.
As it is really hot you can have uncontroled reaction if your burn yourself.
 
I use some silicone hot pad used in kitchen, i cut it to have a band 30/50mm width.

 

[DecentLevi]

Thanks Hpamdr, so I take it you're saying it may be OK to remove hot tubes if you're careful and wear hand protection. But I'll give mine a few minutes anyway.
 
According to my card, I have Elise #44. It's hard to believe there's only 44 of these gems circulating! I think Feliks Audio and users could really benefit from expanding production! But then tubes may eventually become scarce since most of them are antique.
Oh and my driver tubes & headphones were already burned in, which may have contributed to the magnificent sound I'm already getting.
 
Yup, there's really something special about this HP-100 mod.  The mod propelled these headphones from sitting unused at the bottom of my drawer for one year to often rivaling the HD-650. A very night & day difference compared to the HP-100 stock; with lusher mids, bass that's weightier yet clean, etc. That headphone model is nearly out of production, but my friend is getting overstock from the supplier so he can still do some mods for those that are interested. His name username is @Packdemon (Lyova, a skilled Armenian craftsman in California).

 

[whirlwind]

  Oh also folks - what was that that was being said earlier about letting tubes cool down before swapping them? Mine are getting super hot now. What if I were to use a sort of glove for my hand, would that be OK for the tubes?
 
Oh also I want to point out that amazingly, the above comparison with Elise coming out on top of the LC was actually with the Elise being in SE and the LC in balanced!

Please wait a few minutes before pulling those tubes out to roll them.....those caps need to discharge  

 
Enjoy your new amp.

 

[DecentLevi]

So, why not add to today's excitement - I'll go ahead and let my secret loose with you guys

1. Quad 6J5 as drivers with GE 6AS7GA:

These are the tubes (specifically the Visseaux 6J5) that are universally regarded as the king for the Ember amp. I discovered they should be compatible with the Elise in dual mode, so after confirming this with Feliks Audio, I went ahead and ordered an extra set of adapters to try it on the Elise. (dual Visseaux and dual Zenith 6J5; both of which are almost identical in sound and construction). These are single triode tubes so must be run in dual mode in order to get a stereo signal, and are only compatible as drivers, as far as I understand.
 
Unfortunately, the sound I got seemed a bit 'thinner' and slightly hollowed out compared to this combo I first tried.:

1. GE 6SN7 GTA + Sylvania 6SN7 WGT with GE 6AS7GA:

 

1. So next I swapped the dual 6AS7 for two EL3N with quad 6J5 as drivers:

(no photo)
I got a somewhat fuller, richer 'tubey' sound and poss. bigger stage, but unfortunately the EL3N's are causing volume break-up / distortion during louder parts of the recording. I played around with the input volume, and even swapped for my other pair of EL3N's, but unfortunately I'm still getting a very unsettling distortion at loud parts of the song.
 

1. Switching from EL3N to GE 6SN7 with quad 6J5 as drivers:

The distortion is gone and the sound is more clean than lush.
 

 
The sound still seems somwhat 'thin' and hollowed out with the quad 6J5, so I would not recommend these tubes for the Elise - unless anybody thinks these would work in single-mode, or dual mode as drivers powers?
 
Also would somebody please tell me if it's really safe / recommended to use 6SN7 as powers? Because according to the manual, these are supposed to be drivers. 

 

[hypnos1]

Hey @DecentLevi...CONGRATULATIONS...and welcome once more to the Elise clan - this time as a formal member, lol!!

As UT says, your impressions before she's had any time at all to settle in are such as to take the breath away! I am so glad we haven't all been leading you up the garden path, and that you seem to think she has some merit!!

...don't really know how your poor head is going to handle what will soon be coming your way, with further burn-in and more exotic tubes...so be prepared!!!
Just like the rest of us, you're in for quite a ride (not to mention plenty of lost sleep!)...but then, I suspect you already realised that from what has been covered here for a long while now, LOL..

. And so all that needs to be said now is..........ENJOY!.......

 
ps. As has already been mentioned, probably best to be safe with the 'cool off' time - 5 mins are surely safer, especially for those caps as well...

 

[gilbertasm]

Hello,
 
I've read in original Elise thread that this amplifier is  SE OTL type.  Is this really the case? I ask, because there is no mention of word OTL in Felix Audio  Elise  page.