[hypnos1]

  Hi G,
 
If you have two different driver tubes that sound similar, nothing prevents you from using them as a pair. IMHO you can only hear a difference when they are very dissimilar or vary a lot in how loud they play. Sometimes two different tubes will complement each other and enhance the sound as well.
 
With separate voltage regulators you can run two tubes on different voltages as well. - not a problem.

 

  The Elise certainly does look like it will be a great little amp. But since I am more of a tinkerer and tube roller than an audiophile, the fact that it requires two drivers is a non-starter for me. I have too many single drivers, some quite rare and often expensive, and the thought that I would have to try to find matches for these tubes in order to enjoy them stops me cold. But it is great to see the enthusiasm here, and I sincerely hope it lives up to everyone's expectations.

 
Hi gibosi.
 
Pity then us poor things with the LD MKIII/IV/SE!

...but mordy does have a point...
 

  Hi G,
 
If you have two different driver tubes that sound similar, nothing prevents you from using them as a pair. IMHO you can only hear a difference when they are very dissimilar or vary a lot in how loud they play. Sometimes two different tubes will complement each other and enhance the sound as well.
 
With separate voltage regulators you can run two tubes on different voltages as well. - not a problem.

 
I certainly agree with you, m - I found a mix of PsVane CV181-TII and a 7N7 much better than 2 of each. Mind you, these were as powers, but I suppose the same could be true used as drivers...

 

[gibosi]

Hey guys, give me a break! Just because it doesn't pose a problem for you doesn't mean that it is right for me.
 
Case in point, I just picked up a Tung-Sol 6SN7GT with black glass, square top mica and flat black plates for a great price. Now mind you this is a totally different tube than the Tung-Sol Mouse Ears or the coveted 6SN7GT/VT-231 with black glass, round or oval top mica and round plates (BGRP). In my experience, this is much more rare. So how does it sound? If I have a two driver amp, I can't say... Sure I can put another Tung-Sol in the adjacent socket, but then, how can I answer the most obvious question?  How does it sound vis-a-vis the BGRP?
 
So if I am going to drop a significant amount of money to purchase a new amp, it must work for me. And in fact, for my purposes, two drivers is actually worse than my tricked out Little Dot with one driver. I want something better. After thinking about what I want and need out of my next amp for the past year, I am now convinced that one driver and two powers is the best configuration for me. To each his own.....
 
However, I sincerely have no desire to rain on your parade so these will be my last words on this subject.....
 
Cheers
 

 

[2359glenn]

  Hey guys, give me a break! Just because it doesn't pose a problem for you doesn't mean that it is right for me.
 
Case in point, I just picked up a Tung-Sol 6SN7GT with black glass, square top mica and flat black plates for a great price. Now mind you this is a totally different tube than the Tung-Sol Mouse Ears or the coveted 6SN7GT/VT-231 with black glass, round or oval top mica and round plates (BGRP). In my experience, this is much more rare. So how does it sound? If I have a two driver amp, I can't say... Sure I can put another Tung-Sol in the adjacent socket, but then, how can I answer the most obvious question?  How does it sound vis-a-vis the BGRP?
 
So if I am going to drop a significant amount of money to purchase a new amp, it must work for me. And in fact, for my purposes, two drivers is actually worse than my tricked out Little Dot with one driver. I want something better. After thinking about what I want and need out of my next amp for the past year, I am now convinced that one driver and two powers is the best configuration for me. To each his own.....
 
However, I sincerely have no desire to rain on your parade so these will be my last words on this subject.....
 
Cheers
 

 
The question you should have asked is just how does two 6SN7s help drive low impedance
headphones. When it is the 6AS7s that drive the headphones.

 

[gibosi]

  The question you should have asked is just how does two 6SN7s help drive low impedance
headphones. When it is the 6AS7s that drive the headphones.

 
I wonder about that too.... It is very hard for me to understand how anything in front of the 6AS7's would make any difference at all. I suggested to them (through Hypnos1), that allowing for the use of 6336's is a proven way to drive low Z headphones, but instead, they elected to use two 6SN7's as drivers.....

 

[2359glenn]

 

  The question you should have asked is just how does two 6SN7s help drive low impedance
headphones. When it is the 6AS7s that drive the headphones.

 
I wonder about that too.... It is very hard for me to understand how anything in front of the 6AS7's would make any difference at all. I suggested to them (through Hypnos1), that allowing for the use of 6336's is a proven way to drive low Z headphones, but instead, they elected to use two 6SN7's as drivers.....

It would need to have an expensive power transformer to power 6336s
Just the filaments of two 6336s draw 10amps.  I think it is being designed to be a low cost amp.

 

[gibosi]

  It would need to have an expensive power transformer to power 6336s
Just the filaments of two 6336s draw 10amps.  I think it is being designed to be a low cost amp.

 
I knew that 6336's would essentially require doubling the size of the transformer, from 5-plus amps to 10-plus amps, but I didn't realize that doing so would be significantly more expensive. Since doubling the size of the transformer is more expensive than I thought, I understand now why they decided against including the ability to run 6336's in their base configuration. I think they are designing this amp to compete with the Little Dot 9, Crack, DarkVoice and similar amps.

 

[hypnos1]

   
The question you should have asked is just how does two 6SN7s help drive low impedance
headphones. When it is the 6AS7s that drive the headphones.

 
Hi 2359glenn.
 
That certainly has been racking our brains for a while - the Feliks guys went to the trouble of trying both configurations (there's keen for you!) and found it DID help using 2 - in their particular set-up. And for them to go ahead with this option, without fear of adversely affecting final price, means there must be something positive happening somewhere?!
 

   
I knew that 6336's would essentially require doubling the size of the transformer, from 5-plus amps to 10-plus amps, but I didn't realize that doing so would be significantly more expensive. Since doubling the size of the transformer is more expensive than I thought, I understand now why they decided against including the ability to run 6336's in their base configuration. I think they are designing this amp to compete with the Little Dot 9, Crack, DarkVoice and similar amps.

 
Yes indeed, g, that's precisely the market segment aimed at...and to hopefully outgun, lol!

 

[MIKELAP]

Started to stock up on 6sn7 tubes  doesnt look good  for my wallet hopefully the Feliks amp will deliver .I like  that 4 tube combination if not theres always the Darvoice 336SE .Any other amp use that combination of tubes

 

[hypnos1]

  Started to stock up on 6sn7 tubes  doesnt look good  for my wallet hopefully the Feliks amp will deliver .I like  that 4 tube combination if not theres always the Darvoice 336SE .Any other amp use that combination of tubes

 
Hi MIKELAP.
 
Glad you're getting 'in readiness' - you KNOW you deserve it lol! As for the wallet, have no fear...it'll look after itself...(I wish!!)

 
But don't forget the GEC 6AS7Gs (A1834/CV2523) - you have TWO wallets, don't you?!
 
From the feedback I'm getting via Lukasz, their dedication to quality bodes well for a very smooth delivery - for us at least...but possibly painful for them!!

 

[MIKELAP]

   
Hi MIKELAP.
 
Glad you're getting 'in readiness' - you KNOW you deserve it lol! As for the wallet, have no fear...it'll look after itself...(I wish!!)

 
But don't forget the GEC 6AS7Gs (A1834/CV2523) - you have TWO wallets, don't you?!
 
From the feedback I'm getting via Lukasz, their dedication to quality bodes well for a very smooth delivery - for us at least...but possibly painful for them!!

I deserve it alright damm you Ebay lol.. As for my wallet well i only have one unfortunately, just bought 3 pairs of 5998 so its not talking to me anymore maybe in a month or so all will be ok 
 
 
.If the interiour is nicely done like the 336se with decent quality parts thats all i would need because i love the look. 

 

[mordy]

Hi All,
 
I am totally unfamiliar with amplifier design, so I may be asking the wrong question: For my LD MKIII I am running 5A worth of power tubes. To do this I need a 15A voltage regulator that can be bought for around $13 or less and a 15A 430W 12V PC power supply that can be bought for $30 or less. In comparison to the price of a smaller transformer for say 2.5A, is the increment to handle 10A so much more expensive?
 
It seems to me that I should be able to run two 5A 6336 tubes with my set-up, but everybody tells me not to try it since the internal wiring/resistors in my LD may not hold up. In any case, I have been running 2 x 2.5A tubes many hours without any problems (added external fans for additional cooling).

 

[2359glenn]

  Hi All,
 
I am totally unfamiliar with amplifier design, so I may be asking the wrong question: For my LD MKIII I am running 5A worth of power tubes. To do this I need a 15A voltage regulator that can be bought for around $13 or less and a 15A 430W 12V PC power supply that can be bought for $30 or less. In comparison to the price of a smaller transformer for say 2.5A, is the increment to handle 10A so much more expensive?
 
It seems to me that I should be able to run two 5A 6336 tubes with my set-up, but everybody tells me not to try it since the internal wiring/resistors in my LD may not hold up. In any case, I have been running 2 x 2.5A tubes many hours without any problems (added external fans for additional cooling).

If your filament power supply can supply 15 amps it should be OK. The 6336 acts like a 6AS7 without
the cathode resistor being changed.
The problem with cheep PC power supplies is that they produce allot of high frequency noise.  You cant
here it but it can make the amp sound harsh.  So the expensive transformer is a better choice 

 

[john57]

What Glenn is saying it that cheap light power supplies are the switching type which can produce hash on the line which can drift down to the audible range.  A full transformer type is much heavier. You need the original transformer for the B+ voltage as I would presumed. 

 

[mordy]

Hi 2359 glenn and john57,
 
In my post I just listed regular prices - the PS was bought on sale for 1/2 price. Before I connected it I used a very inexpensive laptop PS, but as soon as I connected the much more beefy PS power supply I heard a clear improvement in the sound with tighter bass and overall better performance. Don't know if a $60 PS qualifies as a cheap transformer or not....
 
Glenn - if I understand you correctly I should be able to run two 5A power tubes in the LD MKIII without worry. Can i expect an improvement in sound over 6080/6AS7 tubes? I use the LD as a preamp for a 110W ss amp and listen through speakers.
 
I have tried a number of power tubes and find the most satisfactory combination of bass, slam and attack with 6080 power tubes together with a 5687 driver.

 

[john57]

Mordy,
 
For me I have a large stockpile of 6AS7/6080 tubes and I like to stick with that power tube type. Lately I have been enjoying my IFI iDSD micro which is one on the best DAC's I ever heard. I won it during the IFI skunkworks design contest. I was one of the original IFI Octa adopters and have my own personal IFI concierge and IFI will treat me at dinner at the RMAF.