[iFi audio]

Yes I do, I just made mistake, I spent not a hundred, I spent 225, anyway worth it

If it's an improvement you can easily hear, I'd say it was money well spent

 

[iFi audio]

WE396As

Although pricey, these are considered a step above JANs inside our Pro iDSD machines.

 

[bluesaint]

Another experiment in sound tailoring if one owns both pro products.

It's been years since I had the full ifi stack, but I can say this, not all WE396a are created equal. The early 1950s JW 2C51 /396a are the one's to get. They will have 3 digit date codes. The JW were military edition, and non JW were civilian. I still have some that I plan on keeping till end of days, but they do occasionally show up here and there.
Maybe too warm if you use these on both dac and amp.

 

[JaquesGelee]

I'd have to double-check, but Muzo is the only one I'm aware of at the moment.

Ok, thank you. Any help about the other named things? I also please you to answer the two/ three weeks old ticket.

This one also...

Thank you

 

[Baten]

Ok, thank you. Any help about the other named things? I also please you to answer the two/ three weeks old ticket.

This one also...

Thank you

iDSD Pro is currently not/available. Please try again later.

Sorry

 

[iFi audio]

Ok, thank you. Any help about the other named things? I also please you to answer the two/ three weeks old ticket.

This one also...

Thank you

Can we please take it to PMs? It will be much easier for me to help you there, thanks!

 

[chaz_flhr]

WE396As i just went two matching pairs , as for streaming element i use a pi for usb / or pi2aes with spdif / bnc , means I dont need the ifi roon bridge , i get better jitter response plus using roopie xl airplay its actually more responsive than using IDSD wireless / network no video lag or anything

I have 5 stars in my pro ican and I just put some WE396A,s in the pro idsd i also have some triple micas on the way to test as well.

 

[chaz_flhr]

It's been years since I had the full ifi stack, but I can say this, not all WE396a are created equal. The early 1950s JW 2C51 /396a are the one's to get. They will have 3 digit date codes. The JW were military edition, and non JW were civilian. I still have some that I plan on keeping till end of days, but they do occasionally show up here and there.
Maybe too warm if you use these on both dac and amp.

The matched set I purchased was from 50 / 51 not sure if they were JW’s or not So far they sound good with about 20 hrs on them I will keep my eyes open for some JW’s.
I was going to replace the 5 stars I have in the ican with the triple micas and see how that combination sounds.

 

[bluesaint]

The matched set I purchased was from 50 / 51 not sure if they were JW’s or not So far they sound good with about 20 hrs on them I will keep my eyes open for some JW’s.
I was going to replace the 5 stars I have in the ican with the triple micas and see how that combination sounds.

just make sure you do get closely matched pairs. ifi doesn't mention this, but the units does perform a self-test at startup that prevents badly matched pair from working.
The Triple Mica definitely should be an upgrade over double mica 5*. Do keep in mind there are 5* triple mica as well.

 

[iFi audio]

the units does perform a self-test at startup that prevents badly matched pair from working.

Although I'd have to ask internally about that just to be 100% sure, it's highly likely that you're right.

 

[chaz_flhr]

just make sure you do get closely matched pairs. ifi doesn't mention this, but the units does perform a self-test at startup that prevents badly matched pair from working.
The Triple Mica definitely should be an upgrade over double mica 5*. Do keep in mind there are 5* triple mica as well.

Thanks I will keep that in mind although all tubes I buy are purchased as matched sets. Is there a known value for tolerance in matching? Self testing makes sense if one pays attention they can see a line at the bottom of the screen scroll across from left to right upon starting some kind of timer for either self test or tube warm up.

 

[iFi audio]

Is there a known value for tolerance in matching?

Although I don't know the exact value, I'll ask about that at our HQ.

 

[bluesaint]

Thanks I will keep that in mind although all tubes I buy are purchased as matched sets. Is there a known value for tolerance in matching? Self testing makes sense if one pays attention they can see a line at the bottom of the screen scroll across from left to right upon starting some kind of timer for either self test or tube warm up.

There are two criteria when it comes to matching, don't get mis-lead by random sellers:

1. Matching based on manufacturing date. ie. matched pair where both were made in 1950 week 15
2. Matching based on tube tester reading. So given these are dual triode, the reading could be 44/44 if both triodes are a perfect match. Or 22/50 where one triode is significantly better than the other. 22/50 would be an example of not a good tube as the variance between the two triodes are quite off.
   1. So in the above example, an excellent matched pair would be something like 50/50 for tube 1, and 49/50 for tube 2. Or 50s across the board would be a perfect match (assuming 50 is maximum reading on the tube tester). So a horribly matched pair would be 15/40 tube 1, and 10/35 tube 2 for example.
   2. Also the lower the reading, the less life it has left in general. So you want the reading as high as possible
3. Lastly, the best possible type of matching is a combination of 1 and 2. ie. both tubes were manufactured same week, same year, same batch and have matching triode readings on both tubes.

 

[bluesaint]

And if I had to guess how Ifi units perform self-diagnostic on the tube, is a simple combined output reading of tube 1 and tube 2. if the variance is higher than a specified value, it won't power the tube circuit to protect itself.

 

[iFi audio]

There are two criteria when it comes to matching, don't get mis-lead by random sellers:

1. Matching based on manufacturing date. ie. matched pair where both were made in 1950 week 15
2. Matching based on tube tester reading. So given these are dual triode, the reading could be 44/44 if both triodes are a perfect match. Or 22/50 where one triode is significantly better than the other. 22/50 would be an example of not a good tube as the variance between the two triodes are quite off.
   1. So in the above example, an excellent matched pair would be something like 50/50 for tube 1, and 49/50 for tube 2. Or 50s across the board would be a perfect match (assuming 50 is maximum reading on the tube tester). So a horribly matched pair would be 15/40 tube 1, and 10/35 tube 2 for example.
   2. Also the lower the reading, the less life it has left in general. So you want the reading as high as possible
3. Lastly, the best possible type of matching is a combination of 1 and 2. ie. both tubes were manufactured same week, same year, same batch and have matching triode readings on both tubes.

Very useful stuff, thanks a lot