[jurumal]

I have a ZMF Verite Closed I'd like to try on a Feliks amp. The closest audio store I know of in my area is Upscale Audio, but they currently do not have any weekend accommodations for demos. I'm only free on the weekends to travel to an audio store. I understand if anyone reading this would be against this I idea I'm going to propose, but I'm asking if anyone in the LA/Orange/Riverside/San Bernardino counties would allow me to try a Feliks amp in exchange for listening time with a ZMF VC. I can provide a timestamp with my VC to prove I'm serious. Please PM if interested.

Alternatively, if anyone knows if there's an audio store in the aforementioned counties besides Upscale Audio that has a tube amp for demo, please let me know.

 

[LoryWiv]

Question for the cognoscenti (I'm looking at you @mordy, @OctavianH and others) is the 6BL7 octal power tube drop in compatible with Euforia / Elise. They seem plentiful and affordable compared to 6AS7G / 5998 / 6080 so interested in trying if electrically compatible. Thanks for any info.!

 

[Deleeh]

hello,
My second pair of Lin Lai E-6SN7s arrived this week.
Again ordered from Grant Fidelity.
Same quality as the first pair.

Just need to burn them in, currently I have a pair of 6080 General Electric that also need to be burned in.

First impression the 6080 from General Electric are not bad together with the Lin Lai.
But I need some time.

 

[OctavianH]

Question for the cognoscenti (I'm looking at you @mordy, @OctavianH and others) is the 6BL7 octal power tube drop in compatible with Euforia / Elise. They seem plentiful and affordable compared to 6AS7G / 5998 / 6080 so interested in trying if electrically compatible. Thanks for any info.!

I have not used any 6BL7 but from what I read about them they "should" be compatible. I would say only that you might need an external powe supply for them because they need 1.5A for the heater. There are others who tried them, so I will let them conclude.

 

[LoryWiv]

I have not used any 6BL7 but from what I read about them they "should" be compatible. I would say only that you might need an external powe supply for them because they need 1.5A for the heater. There are others who tried them, so I will let them conclude.

Thanks, @Octavian. Not clear why 1.5A heater current would require external as it's less than KT88, for example, which is 1.6A and Elise handles fine. Am I missing something?

 

[nykobing]

Thanks, @Octavian. Not clear why 1.5A heater current would require external as it's less than KT88, for example, which is 1.6A and Elise handles fine. Am I missing something?

I remember something about the 6BL7 not sounding that good with a single tube on each side and that people started to enjoy it when they were used in quads.

 

[OctavianH]

Thanks, @Octavian. Not clear why 1.5A heater current would require external as it's less than KT88, for example, which is 1.6A and Elise handles fine. Am I missing something?

No, only that you remain with 3,5-4A for the rest and the previous post.

 

[mordy]

Question for the cognoscenti (I'm looking at you @mordy, @OctavianH and others) is the 6BL7 octal power tube drop in compatible with Euforia / Elise. They seem plentiful and affordable compared to 6AS7G / 5998 / 6080 so interested in trying if electrically compatible. Thanks for any info.!

The 6BL7 is drop in compatible with the Euforia/Elise amps. Each tube draws 1.5A so you would need two pairs (with dual adapters) for each channel to approximate the 2.5A draw of the 6AS7/6080 family of tubes. Using just one pair may not be enough power for the amp.
I think that the Euforia can handle a total of 7A and the Elise a little less (around 6.5A if I remember correctly). You have to add up the total current draw of all the tubes that you are using to make sure that you do not exceed the 7A.
If you are using a pair of 6SN7 tubes as drivers the current draw is 2 x 0.6A = 1.2A + 4 x 1.5A for a total of 7.2A which is beyond the recommended maximum current draw and could result in overheating the amp.
It is possible that adding an external fan, cooling the amp and transformer, will bring down the operating temperature to make it safe, but I don't think that the Feliks people will approve of it.
If you use driver tubes will less current draw, for example 0.3A, it should be OK.
Another way of doing it is to use an external power supply for the power tubes.
A further consideration is that the multiplification factor (mu) for 6BL7 is 15, compared to 2 for a 6AS7 tube and 2.5 for a 6080 tube. The 5998 has an mu of 5.5.
For practical purposes the higher multiplification factor in power tubes means that the amp plays louder but I don't think that it makes a huge difference in the sound with the power tubes mentioned above. - It could make a much bigger difference with driver tubes where the mu factor can go up to 100 which may make certain tubes with high mu incompatible (causing distortion).
Finally, there is a very similar tube to the 6BL7 - the 6BX7. The main difference between the two is the multiplification factor which is 10 for the 6BX7 (and 15 for the 6BL7).
All the major manufacturers made these tubes - some people feel that the early Sylvania parallel plate tubes could be among the best sounding in these two categories.

 

[connieflyer]

I used them in my Elise many years ago. I used them both as singles and in dual sockets back then. It was so long ago. Paired with EL3N. Did not like them with C3G. Take a look back to 2016, Mordy, Untilthen, PCTZP, and many others tried these combos, but my favorites with Elise were the six pack of EL3N's . See this page https://www.head-fi.org/threads/feliks-audio-elise-new-thread.782754/page-590#post-12441317 and here also https://www.head-fi.org/threads/feliks-audio-elise-new-thread.782754/page-485#post-12297869 many users back then.

 

[connieflyer]

I put a pair of 6bl 7 in and let them warm up for an hour. Have not used them in several years. Pair them with well-used kt77 and I am very surprised at the sound. Plenty of volume on the Sennheiser 800 and Oppo pm-1. Sound is very engaging

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Today my Euforia went dead on the left channel when I plugged in the headphones.

I switched it on normally and waited 15 minutes and then plugged in the headphones and the left channel didn't work.

Because I changed the tubes I thought that one had failed.
So I took them all out and put in another pair of 6080 and 6SN7, switched it on again and waited 15 minutes and again the left channel was off.

When I pull the plug out slowly, the right channel goes out and the left channel comes back on.
I therefore rule out the possibility that it is due to the tubes, which are new, that one has failed.

My question now is: Is it a disease of the Euforia that the headphone socket goes out?

I usually plug the headphones out with feeling before I switch it off, and after it has warmed up for 15 minutes.
I think it's because the jack has been disconnected by plugging it in and out.

Someone here had the same problem the other day, but it was out of warranty, I think.

I wanted to know if it happens more often that the headphone jack is broken or if it's just a coincidence.
Since I still have warranty, it will probably be sent in and could then clarify with Feliks whether there is a possibility to install a "better" headphone jack if it is a disease.

I assume that nothing else has broken as a result.
I won't switch it on again until it has been repaired.

 

[JTbbb]

Hello,
Today my Euforia went dead on the left channel when I plugged in the headphones.

I switched it on normally and waited 15 minutes and then plugged in the headphones and the left channel didn't work.

Because I changed the tubes I thought that one had failed.
So I took them all out and put in another pair of 6080 and 6SN7, switched it on again and waited 15 minutes and again the left channel was off.

When I pull the plug out slowly, the right channel goes out and the left channel comes back on.
I therefore rule out the possibility that it is due to the tubes, which are new, that one has failed.

My question now is: Is it a disease of the Euforia that the headphone socket goes out?

I usually plug the headphones out with feeling before I switch it off, and after it has warmed up for 15 minutes.
I think it's because the jack has been disconnected by plugging it in and out.

Someone here had the same problem the other day, but it was out of warranty, I think.

I wanted to know if it happens more often that the headphone jack is broken or if it's just a coincidence.
Since I still have warranty, it will probably be sent in and could then clarify with Feliks whether there is a possibility to install a "better" headphone jack if it is a disease.

I assume that nothing else has broken as a result.
I won't switch it on again until it has been repaired.

Mine did exactly the same. It was a combination of the jack plug socket not holding up very well, and a switching unit on the headphone socket pcb failing. This switching unit connects the LH and RH channels to the headphones, sometime after switching on to allow the tubes to warm up.

Check my previous posts for the full story. My jack socket was replaced with a higher quality one and obviously the switch unit. My amp was 14 months old when this occurred.

 

[mordy]

Mine did exactly the same. It was a combination of the jack plug socket not holding up very well, and a switching unit on the headphone socket pcb failing. This switching unit connects the LH and RH channels to the headphones, sometime after switching on to allow the tubes to warm up.

Check my previous posts for the full story. My jack socket was replaced with a higher quality one and obviously the switch unit. My amp was 14 months old when this occurred.

I only want to add that to prevent such ocurrencies I use a little headphone extension cable that is always plugged into the amp. When I switch headphones I plug it into the little extension and when it wears out (happened once so far) it is no big deal to change it.
Hoping you get back your amp fixed soon - hard to live without listening to music...

 

[Deleeh]

Hello, @mordy
Yes, these are good tips.
I will think about it.
I still have the Singxer Sda 2 and the Little Dot 1+, I think I will survive.
I rather hope that it will be done before the summer break.

@JTbbb

Do you happen to know what was used for the exchange?
I read your post the other day and thought exactly what you said and hoped it was that and not one of the tubes that had gone.
I'll talk to Feliks about it anyway, maybe the one from the AE would be better if that could be possible.

And thanks for your answers guys,

 

[JTbbb]

I only want to add that to prevent such ocurrencies I use a little headphone extension cable that is always plugged into the amp. When I switch headphones I plug it into the little extension and when it wears out (happened once so far) it is no big deal to change it.
Hoping you get back your amp fixed soon - hard to live without listening to music...

I use such an extension lead myself and have done so prior to the failure, but I bought the amp when it was seven months old so can’t vouch for it’s previous usage. The switching unit failure may or may not be associated with frequency of socket use.