[barontan2418]

Came upon a site last night whilst searching for a spare EL39 that showed a stock of 800 such tubes at £16 a pair. The site made out to be French but as I hurried out of it I noticed few Chinese characters. I got caught out for £40 not long ago whilst purchasing a Ken Rad 6sn7gt vt231 from what alluded to be a Spanish site. After waiting several weeks for said tube to arrive I received a package from China containing a 20 cent ring. God knows why they bothered sending anything.

 

[mordy]

Came upon a site last night whilst searching for a spare EL39 that showed a stock of 800 such tubes at £16 a pair. The site made out to be French but as I hurried out of it I noticed few Chinese characters. I got caught out for £40 not long ago whilst purchasing a Ken Rad 6sn7gt vt231 from what alluded to be a Spanish site. After waiting several weeks for said tube to arrive I received a package from China containing a 20 cent ring. God knows why they bothered sending anything.

That's terrible that people are so crooked. In the US eBay offers a lot of protection, and I always try to use a credit card via PayPal which offers another two layers of protection against fraud.
About two years ago I ordered tubes from Russia. They were sent out with tracking from a reputable seller, arrived here, but got lost in the US Customs. Trying to speak to them and the US Post Office was like talking to a wall.
At the end PayPal reimbursed me in full.

 

[barontan2418]

That's terrible that people are so crooked. In the US eBay offers a lot of protection, and I always try to use a credit card via PayPal which offers another two layers of protection against fraud.
About two years ago I ordered tubes from Russia. They were sent out with tracking from a reputable seller, arrived here, but got lost in the US Customs. Trying to speak to them and the US Post Office was like talking to a wall.
At the end PayPal reimbursed me in full.

Yes in my naivety I failed to use PayPal, in fact it stands to reason that dodgy sites are most likely not to have that option. Wise after the fact. Never again.

 

[Scutey]

Diverging from the subject slightly, what's your oldest tube in use on Euforia/Elise. Mine I believe is Telefunken EL11 D.R.P
Which having looked it up on Google stands for:
WWII ORIGINAL GERMAN WWII original German radio tube Telefunken. Bears the DRP mark (Deutsches Reich Patent)

Tubes lettering code is hd which puts it at Oct 1938. Amazing that a tube 14 years older than me still rocks, my wife would tell you I stopped rocking long ago.

It's amazing tubes can sound so good after so long, I have a pair of Ken Rad VT-163 dated October 1943, in pristine condition, they look as good as the day they were made, even the box is mint.
ps sorry to hear you were stung, if it's any consolation you're not the only one, I have too .

 

[DecentLevi]

Look who's on the front page of Head-Fi... and all this literally was only from the 1st of 3 (main) impressions from SoCal CanJam last weekend that I wrote in 1 hour.
My final impressions will be this weekend - hint... there is an industry changing dinosaur lurking around the corner

 

[Johnnysound]

Great reviews, DL !

 

[teknorob23]

These NOS Philips mini-watts are playing for the first time in my Euforia are next up in my quest to discover whether @hypnos1, with his introduction to the EL11's has not ruined my tube rolling career before it even going . After 8 or so hours burn in they're actually coming the closest so far and in one area might even be dare i say it a little better. The bass has a shorter decay and seems slightly better controlled especially in mid-bass. Listening to a fantastic new (interpretation of old school) techno album "Blue Spring" by Nathan Micay, the kick drums are intensely accurate and controlled yet natural sounding with zero bloom. They dont go as low as the valvos in terms of lovely sub bass. In addition to the bass the midrange while not as full seems equally precise as does the treble and the stage width is not far off the valvos either with perhaps more airiness.

Before i get carried away, as is my tendency with new kit, i'm guessing theres still some running in to do and i need to broaden my listening material before i can give any sort of reliable assessment, but so far i dont find myself searching for their merits as i did with the Sylvania 7n7's, but so far purely based on listening to electronica, my Stellia havent had my head nodding like this for a while.

quickly on the on that last note, i'm still not 100% decided on whether i like the 7N7s. In my set up atleast, where i'm using the Euforia entirely as a headamp, i think they're just a bit too polite. In that i mean they do everything well, they sound lovely and natural but its all a bit conservative and the staging is positively mean compare to the full flavour , 100% sugar coca cola buzz epicness that i get from the E11s

Look who's on the front page of Head-Fi... and all this literally was only from the 1st of 3 (main) impressions from SoCal CanJam last weekend that I wrote in 1 hour.
My final impressions will be this weekend - hint... there is an industry changing dinosaur lurking around the corner

really enjoyed reading your impressions and looking forward to the introduction to the new "dinosaur". On the whole i completely agree with your assessment of the IEM market but did you get a chance to swing by the Empire Ear's stand, because i'd be interested to get your take on the Phantoms. On whats been my whistle-stop tour through headfi trying to find something that would play nice with my poor sensitive lugs, i must have tried most TOTL iems many of which had their merits but very few IMO performed well enough with different types of music, choosing to focus on technical performance over musicality. The Phantoms however completely bucked this trend with the most "hi-fi" tuning id heard, by which i mean a beautiful natural tone/timbre, coherent presentation while still be technically good enough to used for reference listening. The finding of yours that i found surprising, was how much you liked the Quad amp. Coming from a 2 channel background and living in the UK i have lot of time for Quad, but i found PA One+ was more in line with Elise and that for me at least it didnt come near to the Euforia. Admittedly i have only listened to it for a short time in another system and i was focused on demo'ing the stellia's. Great read looking forward to the next edition

 

[mordy]

These NOS Philips mini-watts are playing for the first time in my Euforia are next up in my quest to discover whether @hypnos1, with his introduction to the EL11's has not ruined my tube rolling career before it even going . After 8 or so hours burn in they're actually coming the closest so far and in one area might even be dare i say it a little better. The bass has a shorter decay and seems slightly better controlled especially in mid-bass. Listening to a fantastic new (interpretation of old school) techno album "Blue Spring" by Nathan Micay, the kick drums are intensely accurate and controlled yet natural sounding with zero bloom. They dont go as low as the valvos in terms of lovely sub bass. In addition to the bass the midrange while not as full seems equally precise as does the treble and the stage width is not far off the valvos either with perhaps more airiness.

Before i get carried away, as is my tendency with new kit, i'm guessing theres still some running in to do and i need to broaden my listening material before i can give any sort of reliable assessment, but so far i dont find myself searching for their merits as i did with the Sylvania 7n7's, but so far purely based on listening to electronica, my Stellia havent had my head nodding like this for a while.



quickly on the on that last note, i'm still not 100% decided on whether i like the 7N7s. In my set up atleast, where i'm using the Euforia entirely as a headamp, i think they're just a bit too polite. In that i mean they do everything well, they sound lovely and natural but its all a bit conservative and the staging is positively mean compare to the full flavour , 100% sugar coca cola buzz epicness that i get from the E11s



really enjoyed reading your impressions and looking forward to the introduction to the new "dinosaur". On the whole i completely agree with your assessment of the IEM market but did you get a chance to swing by the Empire Ear's stand, because i'd be interested to get your take on the Phantoms. On whats been my whistle-stop tour through headfi trying to find something that would play nice with my poor sensitive lugs, i must have tried most TOTL iems many of which had their merits but very few IMO performed well enough with different types of music, choosing to focus on technical performance over musicality. The Phantoms however completely bucked this trend with the most "hi-fi" tuning id heard, by which i mean a beautiful natural tone/timbre, coherent presentation while still be technically good enough to used for reference listening. The finding of yours that i found surprising, was how much you liked the Quad amp. Coming from a 2 channel background and living in the UK i have lot of time for Quad, but i found PA One+ was more in line with Elise and that for me at least it didnt come near to the Euforia. Admittedly i have only listened to it for a short time in another system and i was focused on demo'ing the stellia's. Great read looking forward to the next edition

Hi t23,
You mention head nodding - by me it is toe tapping lol. If i found myself subconsciously tapping my toes and heels it is sure sign of a really good sounding setup.

 

[WithGumption]

Alright guys, I'm ready to join the EL family, I think. To be fair, I don't like owning large stocks of tubes--because I like to put a lot of hours on a set of tubes before I make any decisions....

I was running some NOS Bendix 6080's (that I paid out the nose for) and some Ken-Rad Jan 6SN7 VT-231 NOS black glass US Navy issue from 1944. I absolutely loved this pairing and the holographic soundstage from the Bendix. Unfortunately, I tried several pairs of the Bendix and could not find a set that just didn't have some level of microphonics. It didn't necessarily impact listening, but anytime I touched the chassis, turned the volume knob or inserted my headphone jack--I heard that dreaded pinging. At the price I paid, I just expected them to be much lower in microphony--so long story short, they go back.

I'm currently using the stock tubes with the Ken-Rads, but what I'm really looking for is some recommendations for a set of power tubes that match really well with the Ken-Rads (I know other members have them or something very similar).

I'd like to buy one pair and give them a long run if I can--doesn't have to be in the EL family either. If anyone has some tubes they aren't using that they think would have some good synergy, I'd love to buy them off you too....and as far as adapters are concerned, can we trust the ones currently being made on eBay?

I'd love to find the holographic sound staging that the Bendix provided....tips are welcome. I read all the posts in this thread, but to be honest, the conversation goes so fast and furious sometimes, its tough to keep up and easy to forget what's already been said.

 

[mordy]

Alright guys, I'm ready to join the EL family, I think. To be fair, I don't like owning large stocks of tubes--because I like to put a lot of hours on a set of tubes before I make any decisions....

I was running some NOS Bendix 6080's (that I paid out the nose for) and some Ken-Rad Jan 6SN7 VT-231 NOS black glass US Navy issue from 1944. I absolutely loved this pairing and the holographic soundstage from the Bendix. Unfortunately, I tried several pairs of the Bendix and could not find a set that just didn't have some level of microphonics. It didn't necessarily impact listening, but anytime I touched the chassis, turned the volume knob or inserted my headphone jack--I heard that dreaded pinging. At the price I paid, I just expected them to be much lower in microphony--so long story short, they go back.

I'm currently using the stock tubes with the Ken-Rads, but what I'm really looking for is some recommendations for a set of power tubes that match really well with the Ken-Rads (I know other members have them or something very similar).

I'd like to buy one pair and give them a long run if I can--doesn't have to be in the EL family either. If anyone has some tubes they aren't using that they think would have some good synergy, I'd love to buy them off you too....and as far as adapters are concerned, can we trust the ones currently being made on eBay?

I'd love to find the holographic sound staging that the Bendix provided....tips are welcome. I read all the posts in this thread, but to be honest, the conversation goes so fast and furious sometimes, its tough to keep up and easy to forget what's already been said.

Hi WG,
I have had good results fixing some microphonic tubes with a tightly pulled band of self fusing hi temp silicone tape. Inexpensive, found on eBay or automotive parts stores.
You just cut a piece 3/4" shorter than the circumference of the tube, unpeel the protective cover from the tape, and stretch it so that it overlaps and fuses together.
It usually works very well. The tape comes off without residue if you want to remove it.
The tube ends up looking like a Tung Sol BGRP lol......

 

[Scutey]

Hi t23,
You mention head nodding - by me it is toe tapping lol. If i found myself subconsciously tapping my toes and heels it is sure sign of a really good sounding setup.

I'm sort of with you on this mordy, I like to go for a combo of finger and toe tap, If I do both, it's usually a stellar sound .

 

[mordy]

Head bobbing, finger tapping, toe tapping - your subconscious love of music expressing itself - it's all good!
And sometimes I just sit there, smiling from ear to ear......

 

[teknorob23]

Hi t23,
You mention head nodding - by me it is toe tapping lol. If i found myself subconsciously tapping my toes and heels it is sure sign of a really good sounding setup.

I'm sort of with you on this mordy, I like to go for a combo of finger and toe tap, If I do both, it's usually a stellar sound .

Hi t23,
You mention head nodding - by me it is toe tapping lol. If i found myself subconsciously tapping my toes and heels it is sure sign of a really good sounding setup.

the head nod is a hang over from past life as pretentious techno DJ and is physical tick exclusive to good electronic music, the toe and finger taps are for everything else

 

[teknorob23]

Thank you @hynos1 for these works of art and I hope it’s not too much of sacrilegious act to leave the mini-watts in the driving seats

 

[DecentLevi]

Terrific Canjam, [...]
I'll offer some brief impressions below: [...]

I bought the Feliks Audio Elise MkII to pair with my ZMF Auteur. I've been super happy with the Auteur but hearing them through this amp added a level of warmth, musicality and sheer joy I hadn't experienced with them before. Euphony is the only single word that describes the synergy between Auteur<-->Elise, but without any of that gooey warmth that obscures detail as I'd encountered with other tube amps. Guess I'm officially on OTL tube guy now. Personally, I also think the design is simple, elegant and handsome. Ah, glowing tubes against a black metal background. It's amazing how we learn in this hobby and continually evolve in "what we know." I had previously run a fully balanced configuration and was convinved that was the preferred config., but the single-ended Elise made me realize it's the implementation, not the technology, that defines quality and greatness. So time to change out my XLR balanced interconnects. If anyone has a recommendation for some affordable RCA interconnects to replace the XLR's, and a quality adapter for my XLR 4-pin terminated headphone cables to 1/4 inch male, I'd welcome suggestions. Importantly, thanks to Evan and the great people at Upscale Audio booth for allowing me a nice long listen.

Another CanJam in the memory banks, and with all of the gear and great listening, what I appreciate the most are the nice people who populate this grand hobby of ours. Of course, the Auteur singing sweetly through the Feliks Elise will be a nice reminder as well.

Cheers, and happy listening.

Well @LoryWiv interesting to see you get a Feliks Audio amp. I've been an avid Feliks Audio proponent and have owned their Elise then Euforia amps since 2015. Are you sure what you got was an Elise Mk2? I've actually never heard of that and didn't see it on the F.A. website just now. The Euforia is the upgraded Elise. For the sake of your ultimate experience I do hope it was the Euforia, having owned both I can attest a major improvement in fidelity / performance in all aspects across the board when upgrading to the Euforia, as with everybody who has tried both, save for some rare exceptions.

If not I also pose the question: had you tried the Euforia amp? (It looks the same as the Elise but about maybe 25% larger transformer; the block in the back of the unit, and is about 30% heavier and with greatly improved internals under the hood). Also by chance did you get to try the Quad PA One + amp? It's a British headphone amp about the same price as Elise boasting a low/high gain switch and internal DAC (though not entirely necessary) and balanced / SE 'normal' connections - not wanting to detract from the amp on hand I will tell you it's a super tempting option that had seemingly vastly more power reserves for harder to drive headphones.

For anyone who didn't make it, the Feliks Audio amps were actually on exhibit from another vendor, which name escapes me. They were driving it with a DAP unit and many headphones to choose from. I was really quite surprised at how much better the HD-800 paired with the Euforia than HD-600, the HD-800 sounding much more holographic and like a proper hi-end tube amp and the 600's sounding somewhat bland by contrast. But of course this can change a good deal depending on the DAC and tubes used on the Euforia. Speaking of which, Their Euforia (as well as Elise) were using stock tubes and actually sounding much better than I remembered, my having been solely a user of rare 'aftermarket' tubes. I think it was 6H13C powers with new Chinese PSVane drivers which were fairly good.

I tried the full ZMF Line and Auteur was my favorite too. Also I vaguely remember the Empyreans sounding fairly good on the Euforia, but not as good as on other amps, and still a few steps back from newer electrodynamic headphones I tried. (more to come later)

Speaking of tubes, feel free to browse around on recent pages of this thread for some tube recommendations. If you don't want to buy adapters though you may just want to stick with the stock tubes because they were quite well. A big improvement though would require tubes that need an adapter.
I heartily welcome you to this thread, we're a nice community here.