[teknorob23]

spot the interloper

 

[mordy]

Peanut butter and jelly.....

 

[triggsviola]

That’s where I got mine! I love those guys!

 

[hypnos1]

Is this normal? There is some pitting and residue between the collar and the glass. It almost looks like some of the base has melted.

Hi triggs.

Sure does look like an over-zealous application of adhesive lol! And shouldn't actually affect the tube's performance, but wouldn't harm to send the photo to Lukasz for his opinion......

 

[hypnos1]

spot the interloper

Yo tr...I think F-A certainly pulled one out of the hat to get Focal using their amps for demo purposes...well done Lukasz!!

And can't wait to see the video showing just how those cans perform lol...trouble is I'm a solid fan of open headphones - closed just don't do it for me alas...

ps. Can't begin to imagine the bass sound with EL38s in the power seat!!!

 

[teknorob23]

A faulty "over excited" stock power tube, has forced (not massively hard) my hand to roll for the first time while i wait for the replacement to arrive from Poland.

1975 military Mullard 6080 CV2984 from Langrex in Sussex. £30 each and i dont know whether this a good deal or not, but they looked brand new, and after 12 hours run in theres zero noise. I cant give much in terms of compares with the stock tubes SQ-wise until i get the replacements, but i think the bass seems a little fuller.

Does anyone else have experience with these?

 

[JazzVinyl]

A faulty "over excited" stock power tube, has forced (not massively hard) my hand to roll for the first time while i wait for the replacement to arrive from Poland.

1975 military Mullard 6080 CV2984 from Langrex in Sussex. £30 each and i dont know whether this a good deal or not, but they looked brand new, and after 12 hours run in theres zero noise. I cant give much in terms of compares with the stock tubes SQ-wise until i get the replacements, but i think the bass seems a little fuller.

Does anyone else have experience with these?

Yes, I have long owned a pair, from 1970.

I like them very much, but I do elevate mine via socket savers because the base tends to get quite warm.
Keeping them up, off the deck to helps stave off the heat they gather.

Rich bass, and luscious midrange! Good choice!

 

[teknorob23]

Yes, I have long owned a pair, from 1970.

I like them very much, but I do elevate mine via socket savers because the base tends to get quite warm.
Keeping them up, off the deck to helps stave off the heat they gather.

Rich bass, and luscious midrange! Good choice!

thats good to hear, as the choice was more by ever so slightly educated luck than judgement and thank for the tip re socket savers, are the easy to get hold of?

 

[mordy]

thats good to hear, as the choice was more by ever so slightly educated luck than judgement and thank for the tip re socket savers, are the easy to get hold of?

Hi t23,
The cheapest source is this one (ask them for a price on two octal socket savers - should be about the same as this offer):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bakelite-V...h=item258b9f0bab:g:2-kAAMXQuTNTLSH-:rk:1:pf:0
These socket savers are not super high quality but will get the job done.
There are other offers but they can be much more expensive. You can also make a best offer and shave off some more from the price.
The socket savers save wear and tear on the amplifier sockets, and act as heat insulators which is a good thing with hot running tubes.

 

[connieflyer]

Problem with socket savers is that you are putting one more connection in the signal path. I used to use them, put had one go bad on me, no harm done, but was not going to put a cheap piece on my system, with the thousands I have invested in gear, am not going to put it at even a small risk, to save a socket. Sockets can be adjusted or replaced, so don't see the need. I was a flight electronics technician in the Navy, and in all the years I worked on tube gear, never had a socket go bad. This equipment flew for fourteen hours a day for years, had many tube failures, and with all the replacement of tubes, never had a socket go bad. Even working in the shop, same thing. Occaisonaly had to tweak a socket that got loose, no problem at all. So I don't see the need to put a cheap piece like these in the path. But each person has to decide for themselves.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Your entitled to your opinion, CF...I was not insinuating that the 6080 would cause a socket to go bad. I was stating the fact that the 6080 base gets very warm and not using the saver more easily transfers that heat into the amp chassis.

In a blind test, I wonder if you could really detect a socket savers' presence?

.

 

[attmci]

Hi t23,
The cheapest source is this one (ask them for a price on two octal socket savers - should be about the same as this offer):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bakelite-V...h=item258b9f0bab:g:2-kAAMXQuTNTLSH-:rk:1:pf:0
These socket savers are not super high quality but will get the job done.
There are other offers but they can be much more expensive. You can also make a best offer and shave off some more from the price.
The socket savers save wear and tear on the amplifier sockets, and act as heat insulators which is a good thing with hot running tubes.

NP with these.

I can sell you one for $100, if that makes u feel good.



Sorry for posting this in a wrong thread at head-fi.

 

[Johnnysound]

A faulty "over excited" stock power tube, has forced (not massively hard) my hand to roll for the first time while i wait for the replacement to arrive from Poland.

1975 military Mullard 6080 CV2984 from Langrex in Sussex. £30 each and i dont know whether this a good deal or not, but they looked brand new, and after 12 hours run in theres zero noise. I cant give much in terms of compares with the stock tubes SQ-wise until i get the replacements, but i think the bass seems a little fuller.

Does anyone else have experience with these?

Yes indeed, I have 2 Mullards 6080 (65’ vintage) and 2 military CV2984 (almost identical) that might be older...both are great tubes that sound just beautiful in Euforia. I prefer the CV2984s by a small margin.

The power slot of Euforia is very demanding, believe me, and while some “big bottle” 6AS7Gs may sound great at first sight, I found that good 6080s like the Tung Sols or Chathams are much better in this amp. However, all those sound a bit raw compared to the Mullards, clearly in another league in terms of refinement and sonic accuracy. Bass is not as powerful as, say, the Chathams, but the musical presentation is much wider, natural, open and pleasant. A real threat...and they glow fiery red.

Careful matching with your drivers is mandatory, of course, and I would suggest the very best...I bet that the Psvanes will work absolutely great.

Tried a lot of 6080s and only one was above the Mullards in terms of extension (both highs and lows) and overall neutrality, while retaining a good deal of the classic “midrange magic”: the NEC 6080. Clear and “ too neutral” at first, 30/40 hours developed into a terrific tube. Rare but cheap, (I paid around $30 for a NOS pair) if you happen to find a pair for sale do not hesitate for a second.

And yes, I wondered how a Japanese tube from the sixties could sound so splendidly, until I found that legendary Western Electric owned NEC (Nippon Electric) at the time...since WE never produced this tube in the U.S., my theory is that this IS the real WE 6080. And oh yeah ,also compatible the WE 421A is the same as the 5998..at $ 350 each

 

[hypnos1]

Hi guys. Sorry if I'm a bit bloated (once again!) with this, but I feel it's a subject that deserves a bit more in-depth coverage...ie. socket savers...

1. Some tubes do indeed run hotter than others, and can have the amp feeling very warm indeed. Heat is, of course, the enemy of electronic components, but manufacturers take this into account in their designs - usually! True, some (a very few) of F-A's earlier Elises were prone to heat issues and had to be repaired (under warranty), but it would appear this has been addressed since.

The use of heatsinks in Euforia has also remedied such an issue with the very first prototype, and the fact that F-A are happy to offer a 3 year warranty would indicate to me that they are confident this should not now be an area of concern! If they did have any such worries, I'm also sure they themselves would either make socket savers, or recommend a good supplier....which brings me to the next point :

2. As per @connieflyer 's experience, the quality of such an item is paramount...I personally do not recommend taking this risk - albeit only a possibly small one...especially for the reasons I have mentioned. And if one should be fortunate(?!) enough to live in a very warm climate - without a/c! - then use of a small, silent fan to draw heat away from the amp is a much better option IMHO....
(With necessary adapters however, the minimal risk is more worth taking...).

3. With regard to socket wear, the ones used in Euforia are of extremely high quality, with the 'solid' type of receptor that will not work loose - unlike the 'segmented' type...or worse!! And thus, once again, socket savers are simply not needed IMO...

4. And as for not affecting the quality of sound, I can only go by my own personal experience in this area. When first testing a non configured for tube - before adapting the base itself - I use my homemade adapter...using a socket with high quality gold-plated copper connectors/pins, and mono-crystal UP-OCC silver and copper wires (ie. much better than any commercial one, I suspect lol!). And even then, the tube definitely performs better after full adapting, and without the intermediary socket...otherwise I wouldn't bother!!

Whether this would be the case in a system that isn't so highly resolving I can't say, but I'm sure I'm not the only lucky soul here lol!

5. I suppose the obvious solution to anyone's concerns is to stray from the path and stick with the EL family of tubes...as has been covered here ad nauseum for a very long time now!...(despite needing adapters!!). They have proved not only able to outperform 'conventional' tubes, but run FAR cooler - the amp hardly even getting warm...win, win...

And so hopefully, folks, this gives anyone considering socket savers a bit more info on the whole subject. Then, of course, it's purely one's own decision whether to use them or not...CHEERS!...CJ

ps. I suppose a good option also is to ask F-A's opinion themselves on this subject.......

 

[connieflyer]

If, my comment had nothing to do with heat, the discussion was about socket breaking down. It was about adding something else in the signal path, that may MAY add a degradation in the sound. Also something to a two thousand dollar amount of unknown construction to the circuit that could fail just to save a couple of degrees to an amp that was designed with the heat build up in mind. Raising the power tube up an inch may lower the temp some on the deck of the amp, but it is still the same distance from the transformer housing and that radiant heat is not going to be disapate any better.