[mordy]

Hi Renderman,
 
Always feels good when somebody agrees with you LOL - speaking about the synergy of C3g and Syl/Philips 6080 tubes. I have a couple of pairs of different Sylvania tubes; will try them out as well.
 
Now, the question to me is: How does this combination compare to the C3g - A1834 combo?

 

[hypnos1]

  Hi Renderman,
 
Always feels good when somebody agrees with you LOL - speaking about the synergy of C3g and Syl/Philips 6080 tubes. I have a couple of pairs of different Sylvania tubes; will try them out as well.
 
Now, the question to me is: How does this combination compare to the C3g - A1834 combo?

 
Yo mordy, look forward to R's findings...
 
Although I'd promised myself NO MORE SPENDING, gibosi's liking for the Mullard ECC31 (gibosi - please stop finding these things, lol!!) tempted me to splash out on a pair of NOS tubes...well, I think I have a pair of Mullards - one looks like it could be a rebranded one (QTL stamped)...if it ain't, I've spent a hell of a lot for an ordinary 6N7G!!).
 
It sure will be interesting to see how they compare to my C3gSs...so now it's back to more adapter making! (they are available on ebay for not too much money, but I'm now addicted to pure silver/single-crystal copper/gold wire lol!!
 
Shall also be seeing how a GEC 6080 pairs with a GEC CV2523 - hopefully they won't clash as your own experiment did - yet another adapter needed alas (my amp, along with a few other first adopters, has the recessed sockets - mixed blessing!).

 

[gibosi]

  Although I'd promised myself NO MORE SPENDING, gibosi's liking for the Mullard ECC31 (gibosi - please stop finding these things, lol!!) tempted me to splash out on a pair of NOS tubes...well, I think I have a pair of Mullards - one looks like it could be a rebranded one (QTL stamped)...if it ain't, I've spent a hell of a lot for an ordinary 6N7G!!).

 
I had been looking at that QTL tube, wondering if it was a real Mullard, and soon I shall know! lol. And of course, I will be very interested to read your impressions of the ECC31.
 
But so sorry.... I am always looking for new tubes to try.

 

[hypnos1]

   
I had been looking at that QTL tube, wondering if it was a real Mullard, and soon I shall know! lol. And of course, I will be very interested to read your impressions of the ECC31.
 
But so sorry.... I am always looking for new tubes to try.

 
Hi g...the fact that you were pondering that QTL gives me a bit more positive encouragement!...and reinforces my suspicions based upon 1. The overall proportions, including the base, seem to mirror the Mullards. 2. The plates look pretty well the same, especially with the rods running up the sides. 3. Came across another QTL tube on a thread somewhere that turned out to be a Mullard (tenuous I know, but just another possible factor!). And lastly, it just 'SMELLS' a Brit tube!!

.
 
So it's a case of fingers crossed that I got a good deal...and yes, soon I too shall know lol!
 
Fingers crossed also that with the Elise's drivers configured in series and not parallel, plus heater/grid/gain/transconductance values all higher than the 6SN7, all will be OK...time will tell!...
 
ps. With X00s (if not 000s by now!!) tubes in your arsenal, does retirement not appeal?! - your dedication and enthusiasm are truly commendable, mon ami...and a real asset to this community of ours.

 

[Renderman]

  Hi Renderman,
 
Always feels good when somebody agrees with you LOL - speaking about the synergy of C3g and Syl/Philips 6080 tubes. I have a couple of pairs of different Sylvania tubes; will try them out as well.
 
Now, the question to me is: How does this combination compare to the C3g - A1834 combo?

 

 
Yo mordy, look forward to R's findings...

 
Hi guys I know you are eager to read about my experience with these tubes but have been really busy lately, I tried to get as much time in with them as i could. It was not easy for me evaluating this combo!
 
I tried them with different headphones and my speakers, the Sylvanias are certainly a bassy tube, more bass weight, good low end extension and full sounding bass. This to me sounded very good with the (to my ears ever so slightly bright) Beyerdynamic T1. The combo was okay with my AKG K7XX and filled the room with bass presence when using my speakers.
 
Soundstage is nice, pretty big, mainly very wide. To me it sounds like the C3gs bring out a lot of the details but the Sylvanias do not convey all of this detail like the GECs do. To me the GECs are in a league of their own.
 
All in all the Sylvania 6080WC is quite a good tube. This might not be for you if details are high on your list of priorities (although the C3gs do compensate for that somewhat) but if you like a smoother, softer, slightly bass heavy presentation with a good soundstage this just might be a good, not too expensive option.
 
In the meanwhile... I also received the Philips 6080WA (Made by Mullard) today. Those will be replacing the Sylvanias now and I will report back soon
 
(Damn... I got the GECs but still have the tube rolling virus...)

 

[gibosi]

  ps. With X00s (if not 000s by now!!) tubes in your arsenal, does retirement not appeal?! - your dedication and enthusiasm are truly commendable, mon ami...and a real asset to this community of ours.

 
Even in retirement, new discoveries and challenges beckon.... and I cannot resist! lol.
 
It just seems that I keep stumbling across new tubes that appear to have good promise. At the moment, I have my sights on three, one of which is on its way to me as I write this...

 

[CITIZENLIN]

To lucky Elise owners, Did you get the tracking number prior to shipping from Feliks? I am on 7th weeks since the day I place the order. Waiting game and reading all tube rolling /impressions/ review are making me anxious.  

 

 

[Lord Raven]

Hello Mordy,

Bro, I would also like to know if a warmer/colder amp if good for better sound. There is no thermal protection on Elise, unlike solid state and that's for certain

GEC/Osram/MWT A1834
Are these tubes super rare or readily available? What is the expected price? I've never bought tubes before, just like drugs haha

You're right, I'm just playing via my phone with every enhancement off and it still shines like a diamond.

Regards
Lord Raven

Hi LR,

The Elise sounds good right out of the box - u don't have to wait for magic. But it keeps on improving up to about 150 hours before reaching full potential.

I don't have any expensive cables and/or speakers, but the sound is great anyhow. My music source is some 300 CDs put on my hard drive using iTunes, but now playing through Musicbee. When it comes to audio and tubes I don't think that great performance necessarily is connected to very expensive items. By buying judiciously you can get get great sound and great sounding tubes for modest amounts of money.

Re the guy with all the tubes, you have to figure out how to get his cooperation - maybe sending somebody else in there to pick out those GEC/Osram/MWT A1834 tubes....

On another note I notice that the Elise runs much cooler standing on my three 1" aluminum cones - I don't even seem to need the fans. Perhaps the socket savers for the two power tubes help as well. Now, with the two fans running, it is possible that the amp does not warm up enough with a possible degradation in sound. This is just a guess, but it seems to me that the amp did not sound as good being barely warm using the fans and the footers. Does anybody know if a tube amp needs an optimal operating temperature, or is cooler better?

 

[Lord Raven]

To lucky Elise owners, Did you get the tracking number prior to shipping from Feliks? I am on 7th weeks since the day I place the order. Waiting game and reading all tube rolling /impressions/ review are making me anxious.    

You should wish for free upgrades I waited 2 months, the waiting time is doubled mainly cause they're also building other amplifiers not just Elise. I did not get it, is your Elise in transit? I got a tracking number.

 

[Lord Raven]

Hi Renderman,

Thanks got the suggestion, I tried this today but I couldn't only do this couple of times. I have a lot of static in my body, if I frequently touch Elise then I get a spark which bugs me :/

Also, you had a sale thread, I lost the link to it. I wanted to ask if you had the most wanted Chatham 6AS7 tubes for sale? I'm stuck, need these to go C3Gs route.

Lastly, what is the life of these tubes I received with Elise? I read a lot of posts after yours that switching on and off might reduce the life. I'm confused now.

Thanks
LR

If I may interject here. I was not finished with my experiments on this but as it might help agnostic1er, Lord Raven and others I will go out on a limb and post my theory here.

As Hypnos1 stated an amp can sound quite different when coming back to it after a while. It occurred to me it might well be the turning off (cooling down)/turning on (warming up) of the amp that burns it (and the tubes) in more quickly thus sounding different the next session. This stands to reason because tubes heating up quickly and/or frequently age quicker.

I decided to try this for myself, turning my amplifier off and on over 35 times in a 24 hour period. Letting it heat up for 15 minutes or more, then turning it off again letting it cool down. I did not listen to the amp in this period. After this the Elise did sound quite different to my ears. Smoother, stronger bass. Hopefully I was not biased in this test tryng to prove my own theory.

Maybe it can help agnostic1er and Lord Raven burn in their amps quicker. Hopefully you guys are willing to try this and see if you can replicate my results. I'm really curious about what you guys think!

 

[CITIZENLIN]

You should wish for free upgrades

I waited 2 months, the waiting time is doubled mainly cause they're also building other amplifiers not just Elise. I did not get it, is your Elise in transit? I got a tracking number.

I am sure they are busy. Four to six weeks that what I was told. I was reading here that some of you get notification when the amp is in testing stage.  I don't think its in transit, if it was that would be great.   I should ask Lukasz for status,  Hahaha the waiting is killing me.

 

[mordy]

Hi LR,
 
GEC/Osram/MWT/STS A1834.
 
The GEC 6AS7 tube is considered to be the best power tube for the Elise by a lot of people. Unfortunately it is very expensive - I think that the going rate is in the range of $300-600 for a pair.
 
The other names above are the same tube re-branded with different names on them: Osram, MWT,STS. A1834 is the same designation as 6AS7. There are times that a re-branded tube fetches less money because people are looking for the the most famous name, in this case GEC.
 
These tubes seem to be rare as well.

 

[mordy]

Hi Renderman,
 
"the Sylvanias are certainly a bassy tube, more bass weight, good low end extension and full sounding bass. This to me sounded very good. Soundstage is nice, pretty big, mainly very wide. To me it sounds like the C3gs bring out a lot of the details but the Sylvanias do not convey all of this detail like the GECs do.
All in all the Sylvania 6080WC is quite a good tube. This might not be for you if details are high on your list of priorities (although the C3gs do compensate for that somewhat) but if you like a smoother, softer, slightly bass heavy presentation with a good soundstage this just might be a good, not too expensive option."
 
Wow! You are reading my mind with the only difference that I would be substituting the GEC for Chatham 6AS7 based on my own experience.
 
Went back to the above mentioned Sylvania 6080WC which were my favorites in the Little Dot MKIII. However, in the Elise they sounded too bright, but the late production Philips EEC 6080 sounded just like the above description.
 
Now I tried another variant: Sylvania Gold Brand 6080 tubes. These sound the same as the above description but a little more mellow - very good sounding tubes.
 
Another plus with these Sylvania/Philips tubes are that they are very easy to listen to. There is a sweetness to the sound. The Chatham 6AS7G bring out more detail but less punch in the bass, BUT, they are somehow tiring to listen to.
 
So if you don't want to spend the big bucks on the GEC A1834 (which I have not heard yet), and can't find the Chathams, by all means try a pair of the Sylvanias. You should be able to pick up a pair for $25 or less.

 

[Shaffer]

I've been spending time with my Violectric V200. It sounds dull and colorless next to the Elise. Kinda disappointing.

 

[Renderman]

I've been spending time with my Violectric V200. It sounds dull and colorless next to the Elise. Kinda disappointing.

Ha! I had the same experience when trying the built in amplifier of my DAC, and that is not a bad one at all.