[DecentLevi]

Got a lot of catching up to do in time on the exciting developments here... just a quick comment. That's fascinating the 7236's are reported to do well on the Euforia. And those were preferrable to the EL32, dynamics wise? I found them to have an off kilter tonality on the Elise and ditched them before trying on the Euforia, so either it's a special synergy pairing, or even specific user's sonic preferences. I just may pick up 2 pairs to use as powers in a multi externally powered combo down the line.

Also for me, even with my favorite pairing ever which was with 6x EL32/CV1052 powers (externally powered 4x straight form + 2x ST-shape which was all that was available), + Valvo EL11 or Valvo EL12 drivers, in hindsight I realise it seemed to be slightly trailing the best in terms of 'body' / fullness... but still so exquisite that I'll take it anyday considering my best ever was not technically sound. (6336 + 4x EL32 powers)

 

[connieflyer]

H1, just dialed up Gladiator, I have not listened to it in awhile. I am mightly impressed! It never sounded so good, as with these coated cv1052's! The clarity is amazing, Lisa Gerrard never sounded so clear, and spacious. Thanks for reminding me about this recording, had been meaning to try it again but had not until your timely post.

 

[hypnos1]

H1, just dialed up Gladiator, I have not listened to it in awhile. I am mightly impressed! It never sounded so good, as with these coated cv1052's! The clarity is amazing, Lisa Gerrard never sounded so clear, and spacious. Thanks for reminding me about this recording, had been meaning to try it again but had not until your timely post.

Hi cf.

Glad you gave this tremendous recording another look. I've listened to this so many times now, I'd almost thought myself way overdosed lol!! But last night it was as though it was a different recording...192kHz, 24 bit sound from 'plain' CD. And all the tracks, not just the mighty 'Battle', were the same - separation/placement/detail/individual instrument tone etc. like I've never heard before. I'm still in total amazement as I wake up this morning....and I haven't even had my essential dose of caffeine yet!! So must get the kettle on...and wipe this silly grin off my face!!! ...BFN...

ps.Yes indeed cf, Lisa Gerrard's voice has also never sounded so 'smoky', and with such depth of feeling and effect...glorious!

pps. Caffeine withdrawal (temporarily) sorted, and the silly grin is sillier than ever lol! Could well be down to the 5.1 surround (but perfectly focused) sound still swirling around my head...pretty amazing for headphones and a 2 track recording...(need another coffee...'bye...).

 

[connieflyer]

Hi H, I am hearing the exact same thing! Sound is coming from eveyrwhere, and lots of it. This bass is starting to fill in more as well. The bass was always accurate, but now the volume of bass is fuller, richer if you will. I am so glad I stayed with these tubes and gave them the time they need to mature. Don't know how much more to expect, but even if they did not improve anymore, I am a happy camper. It just seems like they reach a plateau, and level off, sound great, and then, for no apparent reason, they improve a little more. and then plateau again. Very strange, but so much enjoyment. It almost like waiting for Christmas morning, to see what Santa has brought you! Well I too, need more caffeine, it seems like these coffee cups have a hole in them, a cup does not last as long as it used to!

 

[myphone]

I have the GEC 6080's and I would agree that they are very good as power tubes in this amp. I have only about 50 hours on this pair, as I was looking for the GEC AS7G's and could not find any at that time. So after listening to the 6080's for a short time, of course the GEC 6AS7G's became available so jumped on those. I have about 120 hours on the GEC 6AS7G's but have not used them in about six months. If anyone is looking for a very low hour pair of GEC 6080's let me know. I am going to sell off most of my tubes in preparation for the possible purchase of a new amp. I will make a good price on the GEC's for members here.

Connieflyer, could you pm me about GEC 6AS7? Thanks.

 

[myphone]

Hi ZRW0,
As you mention, synergy is of paramount importance and tubes that don't sound good paired with certain tubes may sound excellent with others.
I never had any luck with the 7236 tubes and found them more ss like in their sound, but I don't have the driver tubes that you liked the best.
In my experience, the best power tubes in the Euforia were the GEC 6080 but they are very expensive and hard to find.
Lucked out when I found a Russian seller that had three unlabeled tubes listed as CV2984, and did not know what they were.

Agree, lighter sounding GEC 6080s work very well with T1 and HD650. Richer sounding GEC 6AS7s (with some neutral drivers TSRP/Sylvania 6SN7WGT) match HD800 and HD600 heavenly, especially for small scale string music.

Recently, i have been listening quite a bit of 421a based amp (Fi 421a amp clone?) and desktop speakers. Headphone setting still has advantage of detail and intimacy.

 

[hypnos1]

Hi H, I am hearing the exact same thing! Sound is coming from eveyrwhere, and lots of it. This bass is starting to fill in more as well. The bass was always accurate, but now the volume of bass is fuller, richer if you will. I am so glad I stayed with these tubes and gave them the time they need to mature. Don't know how much more to expect, but even if they did not improve anymore, I am a happy camper. It just seems like they reach a plateau, and level off, sound great, and then, for no apparent reason, they improve a little more. and then plateau again. Very strange, but so much enjoyment. It almost like waiting for Christmas morning, to see what Santa has brought you! Well I too, need more caffeine, it seems like these coffee cups have a hole in them, a cup does not last as long as it used to!

Yo cf...you're definitely reaping the benefits of time... more time...and yet more time lol . These tubes don't give too much initial "WOW", but develop more than any others I have ever tried.

And something you mentioned in your previous post - 'clarity' - reminded me once more of my long-standing love affair with the C3g...ever since I experimented with it for use way back in my LittleDot MKIV SE days. It is crystal clear in its presentation, and has tremendous treble 'sparkle'. The problem is, however, that it can sometimes sound a tad harsh with 'bright' recordings and/or other such oriented gear . But these otherwise excellent virtues displayed themselves beautifully again this afternoon, when revisiting another of my stalwart test CDs - Supertramp's remastered (2010) 'Breakfast in America'. Whereas the C3gs would render this somewhat bright recording too tiring after just a short while, these ST CV1052s retain the same crystal clear 'sparkle', but much more smoothly, and allow me to turn up the volume without my ears objecting too much...something I can also do, by the way, with more 'thunderous' fare - the bass especially not becoming 'boomy' or overwhelming, but satisfyingly deep, rich and tight. And this higher volume listening level brings its other advantages, of course...

The more of my old test tracks I go back to once again, the more amazed I become at the different sound I'm now experiencing. And so I can't wait to retrace the (many!) steps I've been taking on my 'test bed' these past few years...with the added bonus that I shan't now be itching to try too much new fare - my old favourites have a new glory to behold, as with seeing treasured films and recorded programmes on a new 4K TV screen (so long as well recorded in the first place lol!!). This is one very happy bunny......

 

[connieflyer]

I agree with you on the C3G's, I really enjoyed them on my Elise, very good sound from them, for the most part. Sold them off with the Elise, and a whole lot of tubes, that I could still be using! Dumb. but these CV's are getting a whole lot of use, and just keep getting better. I better start selling off some more tubes, these are not going anywhere for awhile. Sold my Gec' to a member here and hope he enjoys them. I was going to continue burning in the clear cv's past a hundred, but they sound fine, and wanted to get more time on the coated ones, and glad I did. They just keep on giving. Thanks again for these H1, makes me smile as soon as I put the phones on. Using almost every night now, including burning in for eight hours during the morning, day. Still hard to believe after being on for eight hours, the Euforia is still so cool to the touch. Of course in the winter up North here, the 6080's helped with the heat bill!

 

[DecentLevi]

A well mastered album I recommend is Guilty by Barbara Streisand (1980) The album was done with Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees and I guess they may be 'Guilty' of something together Lol! I'm still out with my transportable rig but I recon it must sound sensational on the Euforia!


I also recommend the album E=mc2 (1979) by Giorgio Moroder, one of the most significant early electronic music pioneers of the 1970's

note: with both albums there are several releases with varying mastering quality

 

[hypnos1]

A well mastered album I recommend is Guilty by Barbara Streisand (1980) The album was done with Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees and I guess they may be 'Guilty' of something together Lol! I'm still out with my transportable rig but I recon it must sound sensational on the Euforia!


I also recommend the album E=mc2 (1979) by Giorgio Moroder, one of the most significant early electronic music pioneers of the 1970's

note: with both albums there are several releases with varying mastering quality

Hi DL...yes indeed, this is an extremely well engineered album and certainly does sound sensational on Euforia lol! Thanks for reminding me of one of my favourite CDs, that I'm revisiting along with all my others and, as with them, it's like I've never heard before. Barbra's technical skill, along with bags of emotion in 'A Woman in Love' and 'The Love Inside' are wonderful and some of her best work IMHO...easily matching another favourite of her I truly love (in another album) - 'By the Way'. I would love to see more recent/contemporary 'star' singers try to handle these real tests of a singer's ability...on second thoughts, I'll pass on that, thanks!!


At the moment I'm listening to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (Academy of Ancient Music/Richard Egarr on Harmonia Mundi) in hi-res, and...WOW!! The clarity, detail and expansive soundstage of this extremely good recording are breathtaking. And now, on my system, with all 4 ST CV1052s well burned in (over 150hrs), as @connieflyer and @Johnnysound have confirmed, the dynamics, depth and richness of sound are lacking in nothing whatsoever...ie. no need for multiple tube setups lol!! (Which, as I've mentioned before, Feliks-Audio will not countenance whatsoever...especially anyone using Chinese multi-adapters).

Hope you're still enjoying your travels, DL...I expect you'll be glad to get back to base so you can enjoy some more Euforia time......CHEERS!...CJ
,

 

[hypnos1]

Hi guys...just a quickie.

Spurred on by @connieflyer 's mention of F-A's coverage on Facebook, I've just been pleasantly surprised at how much more widely known their name and products have become. Anyone who, like me, hasn't yet had a peek, might find it interesting also. I didn't realise so many of their amps have a good selection of 3rd party reviews...there's evidently a big hi-fi world out there beyond head-fi lol!

It's nice to see Feliks-Audio becoming very well known and respected beyond their homeland, and it's gratifying to think that Elise and Euforia have been instrumental in helping them develop their horizons in this way. I wish them all the very best for their future in this field (as I always have done lol!), and hope the upcoming new flagship amp will catapult them to even greater heights. I'm quite sure it will!...can't wait!! ...

Thank you, F-A...for many, many hours of blissful listening. And I look forward to many, many more...CHEERS!...CJ

 

[connieflyer]

F-A is getting a foot hold over here. They will need to do more demo amps, to get more people to be able to compare with other high end machines. Now over 150 hours on the CV 1052's and the bass has opened up. It is more structured and impactful. No longer just "there" it is now in control and plentiful. Was surprised by it yesterday, as it sounded off with authority and I had to reply the piece I was listening to, and sure enough it is more than before. Thanks H1 for these tubes, they are making "music"!

 

[hypnos1]

F-A is getting a foot hold over here. They will need to do more demo amps, to get more people to be able to compare with other high end machines. Now over 150 hours on the CV 1052's and the bass has opened up. It is more structured and impactful. No longer just "there" it is now in control and plentiful. Was surprised by it yesterday, as it sounded off with authority and I had to reply the piece I was listening to, and sure enough it is more than before. Thanks H1 for these tubes, they are making "music"!

Yes indeed cf...more outlets to demo their products are definitely needed, and not just in the USA. But it must be quite a daunting task to organise such worldwide 'in the flesh' facilities, along with enabling direct purchasing. It would appear F-A are indeed now finding more folks in the industry keen on showing their products, which hopefully will encourage others to help F-A gain a larger global foothold. These things must surely take a good while to come into effect...a long-term commitment that Lukasz said the whole family was aiming for at CanJam London last year, and one not to be taken lightly, methinks!

And yo, I think bass takes the longest to fully develop with these tubes...but is well worth waiting for IMHO. It has been a fascinating see-saw journey during burn-in, wondering in which direction they'd go next lol! It's almost as though they were experimenting with what would appeal to me most...custom tubes, no less!! But no such personalisation has been the case it would seem, given I'm not alone in this!... Changes in vocals positioning have also been more numerous than is usual, but are now just right...for me, at least (reflecting very accurately just where the sound engineer positioned them in the first place lol ).

All we need now is to find out just how long-lived are these beauties...haven't been able to find any such info anywhere I'm afraid, so it looks like we'll have to be the guinea pigs. But as I mentioned before, as our amps are not pushing them at all hard, one would hopefully surmise a VERY long life indeed...fingers crossed...

 

[connieflyer]

Good point h, the only problem is once we find out what the actual tube life is, they will be gone. Which B speaks another problem, they are becoming such a rare item that should we decide to find out where their life ends we may not be able to get any more! Well hopefully in my lifetime I won't wear these out. And as far as Lucasz,goes, I only wish him and the family continued success. For my money they put out an excellent product one that I find every bit of my money, is well spent. Now if they're new amplifier turns out to be even better, I don't know what I'm going to do. Will I buy it? Or will I say if they just keep producing these products that are better and better why not wait till the next one! Answer that is easy. At my age I may not be around for the product after this next one! Take care and happy

 

[Johnnysound]

I'll try to do a detailed comparison of 6080 vs 5998 vs 421A vs 7236 on the Euforia, as I now own all those tubes.
But the problem comes with the huge number of combination with the driver tubes. For a given power tube, the combo with some driver can provide either a meh or a great experience...
In a nutshell, from my trials:
- the following are great combos: RCA-5692/TS-5998, KENRAD-VT231/WE421A, SYLV-6SN7GTB/TS-6080WA, PSVANE-VT231/TS-7236, and the quad ST coated CV1052s looks promising.
- the ones I don't recommend: RCA-5692/TS-7236, SYLV-6SN7GTB/TS-7236, KENRAD-VT231/TS-6080WA.
- and I had major flows with my TFK-EL12SPEZ trials, whatever the power tube used: major noise, and other gremlins...

Hi, ZR, I have tried some of the combos you mention, and in general terms the 6SN7GT family on the driver side of the Euforia is not exactly my personal favorite. The best sounding by far were my black glass Sylvanias VT231 “U.S. Navy” of WW2 vintage: nice, open, classic tube sound with deep bass...but you do not get quite the level of detail and refinement, or the extension that the Euforia is capable of with other drivers. In my opinion, of course.

I would suggest to experiment with a pair of EL32/VT52/CV1052 as drivers, I mean any variant, even the currently cheap “straight glass” Mullards EL32 proved to be excellent drivers...and extremely high value for the money, indeed. You’ ll need adaptors...and patience because of their very long burn in. With these accurate, quiet and neutral drivers, the sonic character of your power tubes will be revealed as never before...and the Euforia will sound awesome in the process. Be prepared for some unexpected results.

And yes, the number of possible combinations in the Euforia is enormous, more so with the EL family in which virtually any tube can be used interchangeably in both positions. However, in my experience I feel that power tubes like the great EL12SP or EL12N sound best in their proper power slot. The EL32 are kind of hybrids that can be used both ways, but they are specially capable drivers in terms of synergy with many types of powers. The 6080s or 6AS7Gs will sing, for example, each with its own sonic signature, as will the EL12s, particularly the EL12Ns, almost sublime in this combo...