[ColSaulTigh]

My general note regarding the Elrogs is "weight". Everything playing through them has more gravitas. Bass becomes rich without becoming bloated, mids are pushed forward without becoming hollow, highs are clean without sibilance.

They just improve the overall musical experience.

 

[normie610]

Well, shout-out to both @paradoxper and @ColSaulTigh for preaching the Elrogs. It does bring some improvement over WEs. They sound more lively and energetic without sacrificing any musicality. Listening to violins in classical pieces are such a joy. Bass hits hard in other genres whereas treble has that same extension as WEs (if not better).

I think the synergy with input/preamp tubes is also important to reach that level. I managed to finally get this incredible sound by pairing the Elrogs with Brimar 6SL7GTs. The Elrogs didn’t have a good synergy with Linlai E-6SL7s (which in turn has very good synergy with WEs). In the coming days, I’ll be rolling more input tubes since I have a few (RCA red base, and my previous favorite the Tung Sol 6SU7GTY among others).

I’m also in the hunt for MELZ 1579 but apparently not that easy to find compared to 1578. I did manage to snatch a pair of NOS MELZ 6N9S (as I understand these are the older version of 1579). We’ll see how it goes. But as of now, the sound is pretty incredible!

The Acuhorn XT DAC looks interesting and I’m quite intrigued by it. But since it‘s doesn’t have ethernet input and not able to play DSD512, I’d have to buy a separate streamer and use Roon to downsample 512 files I have in my library. But I guess never say never!

Back to enjoying the Elrogs!

 

[paradoxper]

Well, shout-out to both @paradoxper and @ColSaulTigh for preaching the Elrogs. It does bring some improvement over WEs. They sound more lively and energetic without sacrificing any musicality. Listening to violins in classical pieces are such a joy. Bass hits hard in other genres whereas treble has that same extension as WEs (if not better).

I think the synergy with input/preamp tubes is also important to reach that level. I managed to finally get this incredible sound by pairing the Elrogs with Brimar 6SL7GTs. The Elrogs didn’t have a good synergy with Linlai E-6SL7s (which in turn has very good synergy with WEs). In the coming days, I’ll be rolling more input tubes since I have a few (RCA red base, and my previous favorite the Tung Sol 6SU7GTY among others).

I’m also in the hunt for MELZ 1579 but apparently not that easy to find compared to 1578. I did manage to snatch a pair of NOS MELZ 6N9S (as I understand these are the older version of 1579). We’ll see how it goes. But as of now, the sound is pretty incredible!

The Acuhorn XT DAC looks interesting and I’m quite intrigued by it. But since it‘s doesn’t have ethernet input and not able to play DSD512, I’d have to buy a separate streamer and use Roon to downsample 512 files I have in my library. But I guess never say never!

Back to enjoying the Elrogs!

The Elrogs really have no drawback, no weak point, and no real peer. Glad you are enjoying them.

Definitely recommend the 1578 over 1579 as it's the real magic of the 6SN7 family although those Brimars are pretty great.

I'll let you know how the XT goes, however, quad Elrogs are already a real bite. You can run dual pair in single ended but should step down to their SE model in that case.

 

[normie610]

The Elrogs really have no drawback, no weak point, and no real peer. Glad you are enjoying them.

Definitely recommend the 1578 over 1579 as it's the real magic of the 6SN7 family although those Brimars are pretty great.

I'll let you know how the XT goes, however, quad Elrogs are already a real bite. You can run dual pair in single ended but should step down to their SE model in that case.

The thing is my Manley only takes 6SL7 and not 6SN7 so it has to be either 1579 or 6N9S.

Keep us updated on the XT then.

 

[paradoxper]

The thing is my Manley only takes 6SL7 and not 6SN7 so it has to be either 1579 or 6N9S.

Keep us updated on the XT then.

EveAnna of Manley told me no restriction with 6SN7. Might double check.

 

[normie610]

EveAnna of Manley told me no restriction with 6SN7. Might double check.

Oh really? I did exchange a couple of emails with her in the past but not about the 6SL7/6SN7. In the articles or publications I’ve read, the SL has very different property from SN. SL is more of high gain low current whereas SN is low gain high current. Perhaps it will work, but with a compromise to the sound?

 

[paradoxper]

Oh really? I did exchange a couple of emails with her in the past but not about the 6SL7/6SN7. In the articles or publications I’ve read, the SL has very different property from SN. SL is more of high gain low current whereas SN is low gain high current. Perhaps it will work, but with a compromise to the sound?

I did not clarify with her and it's possible she mistook the pre for the Classic SE.

 

[alvin sawdust]

Is anyone here using Living Voice KR-300B, if so what are your thoughts?

 

[normie610]

Brimar + Elrog

 

[DJJEZ]

Brimar + Elrog

What you think?

 

[normie610]

What you think?

This pairing is damn good! I like it better than WE + Linlai 6SL7.

 

[normie610]

@paradoxper Have you managed to listen to the Manley preamp? If not then I think you should do it. It has this feature called ”Direct” mode, which bypasses the output transformer, and supposedly it will give you the true sound of the tubes (I always listen with Direct mode on). I just listened to the TC with Elrogs on Manley, and boy oh boy, it’s uber transparent with loads of details, with more expansive soundstage. This uber transparency and detail is much more apparent on the TC vs CA1a. The difference is much less when I used WEs.

And when I switched to Transformer mode, the sound becomes a bit more “muted”, airiness is much less, details are still there but not as immediate as Direct mode.

Knowing your preference for transparent and detailed sound, I think you’re gonna love Manley’s Direct mode with Elrogs. I don’t know whether your Cabernet has a similar feature, if it doesn’t then you definitely have to try the Manley.

 

[paradoxper]

@paradoxper Have you managed to listen to the Manley preamp? If not then I think you should do it. It has this feature called ”Direct” mode, which bypasses the output transformer, and supposedly it will give you the true sound of the tubes (I always listen with Direct mode on). I just listened to the TC with Elrogs on Manley, and boy oh boy, it’s uber transparent with loads of details, with more expansive soundstage. This uber transparency and detail is much more apparent on the TC vs CA1a. The difference is much less when I used WEs.

And when I switched to Transformer mode, the sound becomes a bit more “muted”, airiness is much less, details are still there but not as immediate as Direct mode.

Knowing your preference for transparent and detailed sound, I think you’re gonna love Manley’s Direct mode with Elrogs. I don’t know whether your Cabernet has a similar feature, if it doesn’t then you definitely have to try the Manley.

Is there a difference in drive between the two modes? Once I settle down the XT tube rolling and sort 5U4G, I still aim to bring in the Manley so this is interesting especially with TC.

 

[normie610]

Is there a difference in drive between the two modes? Once I settle down the XT tube rolling and sort 5U4G, I still aim to bring in the Manley so this is interesting especially with TC.

As I’ve explained and AFAIK, it just bypasses the output transformer so what you hear is the tubes themselves rather than the sound of transformer (supposedly). But maybe others who are more technically competent can also chime in. Or perhaps you can have a chat with EveAnna herself as she’d be the best person to explain the technicalities

 

[paradoxper]

As I’ve explained and AFAIK, it just bypasses the output transformer so what you hear is the tubes themselves rather than the sound of transformer (supposedly). But maybe others who are more technically competent can also chime in. Or perhaps you can have a chat with EveAnna herself as she’d be the best person to explain the technicalities

I assume bypass mode is used for speakers so there's a limiting factor when using the headphone output transformer. I'll see if I can't crawl the net for a bit more information but this is illuminating and may speak further to how revealing the Elrogs are.