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Hagerman Audio Labs "Tuba"
Jun 30, 2020 at 4:16 PM Post #166 of 383
When properly placed (and no grounding issues are present) I can confirm that the Tuba is perfectly silent. In my opinion it's indefensible for a headphone-amp to have background noise of any kind, as you have no way to escape it when the drivers are placed only a few centimeters away from your eardrums.
 
Sep 8, 2020 at 10:33 PM Post #168 of 383
I bet you ll love the old mullards. I sure loved mine. Running pair of amperex 7189 and it really helps with the bass/low end. How do you like your teslas? I personally believe the TUBA is shy in low end, so i am always looking for tubes that enhance the bass.
 
Sep 9, 2020 at 1:31 AM Post #169 of 383
Somebody sent me a pair of Telefunken, which I am using now. Great detail with super wide soundstage. Not too different from the Mullard 7189. Swapped out a Grado Opus3 for my worn Dynavector, so bass is really filled out. Going to try a re-tip of my Dyna with an Ogura 3/30 line contact...
 
Sep 9, 2020 at 5:01 AM Post #170 of 383
I think I may have said this before, but the choices of EL84 and the Hammond iron are excellent "real world" decisions. Low cost and widely available parts make this a keeper rather than an ephemeral boutique device. I don't think the 157G was designed as a plate choke, but it works very well as one, and I've used it in a 300b SE amp. Since it can take 40mA it can be used nicely with tubes like the EL84 and 6V6 in triode, and the 30H inductance is enough for the purpose. Great choice. This is just fundamentally a good design and so well thought through for what it is. The EL84 in triode stands up against all the hallowed tubes like 6SN7 - I think it sounds better and others have said the same.
 
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Sep 9, 2020 at 8:43 AM Post #171 of 383
Funny I had one of my old Mullards just die and was looking for a like tube...i came across a pair of Tesla Czech EL84's and one came in with a missing tube and it was
pin 9...i sent Jim a not hoping it wasnt used in the amp...nope so i have a dead NOS tube...sad....have to figure out a way to solder to that pin !!! OMG!

So i measured the remaining Mullard and the working Tesla and they match pretty close...so i have one mullard and one Tesla in the Tuba glowing nicely and the sound is superb!!

Ah life it good!!
Alex

and the sellar is sending me a replacement for the missing pin 9 tube!
 
Sep 10, 2020 at 2:24 PM Post #173 of 383
Hello Jim, nice to see you here. I am wondering why did you stop making these full-size cable burners anymore? I love mine, they are very handy and convenient for burning cables, headphones, or even amps/preamps. I put thousands of hours on my FryKlener, and I really worry one day those caps are tired and I need a new one. I also have your power cable burner as well.

IMG_8609.jpg
 
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Oct 10, 2020 at 6:30 PM Post #174 of 383
Decided to part ways with my TUBA :sob:. Please check out For Sale section. Might give OTL amp a try with my ZMFs. Feel free to pm me.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 2:20 PM Post #175 of 383
Listening to my (new to me) Tuba right now.

Quick question. The right side tube glows a little brighter than the left side. This is the same against both sets of tubes that I own (EI & Stock Mullards)

Is this an issue? I'm assuming this amp is auto biasing. Any words of wisdom here?

The other question I have is in regards to power. I have Grado RS2e and i have to set the volume nob to 1 o'clock to get the volume I like...but I've read other people with grado's being happy at 9 o'clock. Even audioquest night hawk i am setting at 1 o'clock (using lo output). Is this normal?
 
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Dec 16, 2020 at 2:37 PM Post #176 of 383
thebigcanman said:
Listening to my (new to me) Tuba right now.

Quick question. The right side tube glows a little brighter than the left side. This is the same against both sets of tubes that I own (EI & Stock Mullards)

Is this an issue? I'm assuming this amp is auto biasing. Any words of wisdom here?

The other question I have is in regards to power. I have Grado RS2e and i have to set the volume nob to 1 o'clock to get the volume I like...but I've read other people with grado's being happy at 9 o'clock. Even audioquest night hawk i am setting at 1 o'clock (using lo output). Is this normal?
Click to expand...


Congrat's on your new TUBA! It's a great headphone amp. Give Jim Hagerman a call at Hagerman Audio Labs. Or Email him at jim@haglabs.com

Jim will be able to answer your questions regarding the TUBA. Great guy to deal with and very knowledgeable.
 
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Dec 16, 2020 at 2:57 PM Post #177 of 383
Tubes are oriented 180 degrees apart in rotation, in order to optimize internal mirrored symmetry. If you view from another angle the result may change...

As far as gain - that is entirely dependent upon source components - some DACs are louder than others.
 
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Dec 16, 2020 at 3:03 PM Post #178 of 383
Jim Hagerman said:
Tubes are oriented 180 degrees apart in rotation, in order to optimize internal mirrored symmetry. If you view from another angle the result may change...

As far as gain - that is entirely dependent upon source components - some DACs are louder than others.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response Jim. I just gave it a 360 and definitely not the case. The right tube is distinctly brighter. Should I email some pics?
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 5:23 PM Post #179 of 383
All tubes glow at different brightnesses. It's a matter of how much excess filament gets exposed outside of cathode sleeve. Tubes are built by hand. Take a closer inspection and you will find plenty of differences. Some brands are known to be brighter than others.

In the TUBA amplifier, heater current is identical in both tubes because they are wired in series.
 
Dec 16, 2020 at 8:18 PM Post #180 of 383
Jim Hagerman said:
All tubes glow at different brightnesses. It's a matter of how much excess filament gets exposed outside of cathode sleeve. Tubes are built by hand. Take a closer inspection and you will find plenty of differences. Some brands are known to be brighter than others.

In the TUBA amplifier, heater current is identical in both tubes because they are wired in series.
Click to expand...

Yeah the tubes brightness is going to vary considerably, nothing to do with the amp itself or quality/performance of the tubes. Also, agreed that the reason why you are getting the lower volume compared to others is probably from the dac rather than the amp. The gain can be substantially different from one dac to another. When I have AB’ed different dacs I have to volume match everytime I switch from one to another. Sometimes it’s a minor or pretty major difference between the different dac
 
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