HiFiman HE-500 (HE as in High End) Proving to be an enjoyable experience in listening.
Aug 14, 2011 at 9:14 PM Post #661 of 20,386


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Cooky Jar is gone. Jim does not always have some nOS I want like Mullard 12AT7. I buy my 6922 and some others from Jim . I am not ever sure they sell 100 tubes a day. Hell most people buy tubes every two or three years when you have a stash. that is what I find myself doing. I have so many EL84 I wont need any for years. I also have 6922, and everything else my amps use in stash. I may pick up some more Mullard 7189 and EL84 but thats only because they are hard to find and Kevin has the EL84
 



I'm sure there's quite a few or so audiophiles out there with MB750s powering their big Sound Labs electrostats.
 
Aug 14, 2011 at 9:16 PM Post #662 of 20,386
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Yea
 
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I'm sure there's quite a few or so audiophiles out there with MB750s powering their big Sound Labs electrostats.



 
 
Aug 14, 2011 at 9:30 PM Post #664 of 20,386

 
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I was in this other forum and that's what they were talking about. I got in there because I have an ARC amp, just to get some tidbits about vintage ARC equipment.


How many guys you think have those speakers in there and how many are using those beast and  even so they good for a couple years or more. I can tell you MCShane does not sell that quantity of tubes. He does this part time and many guys are not rolling in those amps. The speakers you mention are a huge speaker and not many have been sold through the years. The most popular are Maggies over there in the AA and they use mostly solid state amps and tube preamps. Most of the conversation I have read in there lately has been on 6922,EL34 and your noisy 6DJ8 and in the amp section most has been on preamps and 12AX7 and 6922 at least in the last two weeks.
 
 
Aug 14, 2011 at 9:42 PM Post #666 of 20,386
 
 
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 I think feeding the HDP into the Lyr is going to really make you happy driving the HE-500. 

 
I've only had a couple hours with the combination so far, but the difference is incredible, it's a whole different beast.  The bass in particular has radically improved.  It's now got the depth, balance, and clarity I was hoping for.    I'm blown away and the Lyr only has about 20 hours on it so far.   
 
Aug 14, 2011 at 9:47 PM Post #667 of 20,386


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I've only had a couple hours with the combination so far, but the difference is incredible, it's a whole different beast.  The bass in particular has radically improved.  It's now got the depth, balance, and clarity I was hoping for.    I'm blown away and the Lyr only has about 20 hours on it so far.   


 
That's the thing with these HiFiman orthos. Feed them with more watts and they love them.
 
Aug 15, 2011 at 9:50 AM Post #670 of 20,386


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I think they prefer tube watts more than solid state watts. Tube watts are like fine dining, solid state watts are like fast food?


Tubes do not have the drive, control, low noise, or efficiency of good solid state.  That is not to say that they don't have their place, the extra - goodness of tubes is that ultra satisfying emotional context you can get when tubes are an essential part of a synergistic pairing.  Its more a matter of taste. (which is as close as I am going to try to get to a food metaphor).
 
The HE-500 in my opinion is better driven by a tube-hybrid or solid state design.  It needs the extra control and its already detailed character will amplify any issues with any substandard tubes out there.  The LYR is a hybrid amp and was designed with a solid state output section specifically because it delivers the current required for orthos (like the HE-500).
 
 
 
 
Aug 15, 2011 at 11:29 AM Post #671 of 20,386

 
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Tubes do not have the drive, control, low noise, or efficiency of good solid state.  That is not to say that they don't have their place, the extra - goodness of tubes is that ultra satisfying emotional context you can get when tubes are an essential part of a synergistic pairing.  Its more a matter of taste. (which is as close as I am going to try to get to a food metaphor).
 
The HE-500 in my opinion is better driven by a tube-hybrid or solid state design.  It needs the extra control and its already detailed character will amplify any issues with any substandard tubes out there.  The LYR is a hybrid amp and was designed with a solid state output section specifically because it delivers the current required for orthos (like the HE-500).
 
 
 


Then apparently you have not heard good tube amps
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Aug 15, 2011 at 1:48 PM Post #673 of 20,386
Come on guys, how did you conclude that from earthling's post? He didn't say anything against tubes...in fact he's recommending hybrid setups (tube + SS mixture).
 
Aug 15, 2011 at 3:39 PM Post #674 of 20,386
Because many tube amps do not lack for "drive, control, low noise, or efficiency" or whatever was actually implied by earthling's post. It is assumed, then, that he has not had experience with tube amps that count the listed deficiencies as merits instead. Regardless of preference between tube and solid state amps, his comments should not be applied so broadly and haphazardly.
 
Aug 15, 2011 at 7:15 PM Post #675 of 20,386
I have heard a lot of good tube amps, owned quite a fair number of them, own some now. Some of the my favorite amps have been tube amps. My favorite amp ATM happens to be solid state. As I type this I am looking across a couple of tubes in boxes which arrived today so its kind of funny (to me anyhow) to see the reaction to my offhand comment about electronics which itself was in response to the comment that was equating solid state to fast food. 
 
My comment was about electronics (what I do) not music (what I enjoy). Nowhere did I say that tubes=bad sound. In fact, what I said was "the extra - goodness of tubes is that ultra satisfying emotional context you can get when tubes are an essential part of a synergistic pairing."  I thought I was complementing the use of tubes.
 
Electronics are electronics, they can be measured. Musically enjoyment cannot. Noise as in S/N. THD, current drive, and efficiency whether that is measured as consumption or waste is something that can be measured.  Look at the specs for any high end tube amp and they simply will not match up to the specs of a similarly priced solid state design (on those measurements).  In fact, they probably won't match up to a much lower cost solid state design.  Those are facts.  Not my facts, not my opinion, they are the measured output from the manufacturers themselves.  Does that make either better, more musical, more enjoyable.. nope. well, not necessarily anyhow.  Again, this doesn't make me anti-tube it just means that there is more to understanding how to put a system together than the measurements would have you believe and in some cases, I choose to have tubes as an essential, synergistic part of my system.
 
The second half of what I said was:
 
"The HE-500 in my opinion is better driven by a tube-hybrid or solid state design. It needs the extra control and its already detailed character will amplify any issues with any substandard tubes out there."
That is more of a knock on the HE-500 (which I own, am quite fond of, but to be nitpicky..) 
 
"The LYR is a hybrid amp and was designed with a solid state output section specifically because it delivers the current required for orthos (like the HE-500)." 
 
That isn't opinion, that is fact, one that the designer has openly stated.  It makes sense, the design trade off was to take the best capabilities of both designs, add some magic, and TADA... schiit happens..(in a good way). I think they did a great job of meeting all of the design targets with the LYR... thats why I own one.
 
 In respect to this incredibly derailed thread, I have the HE-500 coupled with the LYR (w/ OMG ----- TUBES!), and am auditioning a decware as soon as time allows.  My DAC/pre is the incredible Anedio D1, all SS.
 
 
 

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