[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Apparently the tubes on the Extreme just needed to be burned in a bit, just like my Cayin did. The sound has a softer tone now, more effervescent. It is starting to devolve back into a tubey sound now. Still not completely tubey though but it's sounding a lot more like it now.

The sound of the Extreme can be improved significantly with tube rolling. From the pictures, I believe that you have the Sylvania/Philips 6080 green label and the RCA cleartop 6sn7gt as the gain tube. You'll be surprised if someone else loan you a few more sets for some experiments.

Ask Mikhail for some loaners...

 

[Asr]

Mikhail continues to amaze me. Today I received a "care package" (his words, not mine) containing some tubes for the Extreme. Pics:

The sound with the new tubes (as pictured) in place is now very tubey. The amp sounds superbly paired with both K701 and HD650. Lots of texure and body, with lots of over-arching on vocals. A very surrounding effect on soundstage too, as if everything is swirling around you. There's a quality that makes everything sound radiant. There is a comparative loss of detail though - not very much, but still a little bit.

 

[pearljam5000]

if it sounds as good as it looks than it is a killer amp

can't wait to get mine!!!

it is going to be my first head amp and hopefuly my last...
Mikhail is super cool and truly a good guy,he's great.
btw,are the tubes in the pic expansive?do you need to use an adapter for them?
Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mikhail continues to amaze me. Today I received a "care package" (his words, not mine) containing some tubes for the Extreme. Pics: The sound with the new tubes (as pictured) in place is now very tubey. The amp sounds superbly paired with both K701 and HD650. Lots of texure and body, with lots of over-arching on vocals. A very surrounding effect on soundstage too, as if everything is swirling around you. There's a quality that makes everything sound radiant. There is a comparative loss of detail though - not very much, but still a little bit.

 

[Happy Camper]

The small tubes with the large sockets are adapter fitted. The price of adapters are approx. $100. ea. from SP. Tubes can be bought from SP or various tube sites.

 

[Asr]

~64 hour burn-in update

Tube-rolling has been pretty addictive.

I think the combo I like best is 6SN7 with the previously pictured Tung-Sol and IBM tubes. I like these better than the Sylvania 6080WA pair. It clears up the HD650 so it sounds less slow and cloudy, more immediate, more intimate. In comparison to a 12AT7, the 6SN7 has a little less bottom-end and mid-bass punch, but it has the sound of more pace/rhythm/energy and is a bit more spatial as well. The 12AT7 seems to add more weight and authority.

Since my pics don't show the driver tubes clearly, I thought I'd list them: Sylvania 12AT7 WB, RCA 6SN7 GTB, Tung-Sol JTL-2C5I. The 4th has absolutely no printing on it so I can't identify it. No idea what it could be.

This is an absolutely amazing amp, it blows me away. With the aforementioned tubes and running off the Arcam CD33, music just flows, it's like a river. Just pure and sweet music regardless of which headphone I'm using - K701, HD650, or AD2000. There could probably be more in the bass aspect but the mid-range is absolutely sweet and the soundstage is exceptional for what I consider is a deficient area in tube amps - there's a real sense of space and air. It's not at the level of my solid-states but it's more than I expect.

The amp also seems to be extremely powerful. No idea what the gain is but it works fine with my headphones, but more to the point, I barely have to turn it up to get volume from either the K701 or HD650. It had plenty of reserve for the K340 when I had it. No idea about how it might pair with K1000 though, but given how much the volume pot can turn, I hazard a guess it probably works just fine.

 

[ALLENR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spareribs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can the Extreme also have speaker binding posts to drive book shelf speakers well or as good as other amps in that price range? Just curious because I think someone had that configured in their version.

Hi,
I had them put in my unit. But have not successfully driven anything. I really wanted to use the amp with speakers as well as headphones, but no luck so far.

RA

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif ~64 hour burn-in update Tube-rolling has been pretty addictive. I think the combo I like best is 6SN7 with the previously pictured Tung-Sol and IBM tubes. I like these better than the Sylvania 6080WA pair. It clears up the HD650 so it sounds less slow and cloudy, more immediate, more intimate. In comparison to a 12AT7, the 6SN7 has a little less bottom-end and mid-bass punch, but it has the sound of more pace/rhythm/energy and is a bit more spatial as well. The 12AT7 seems to add more weight and authority. Since my pics don't show the driver tubes clearly, I thought I'd list them: Sylvania 12AT7 WB, RCA 6SN7 GTB, Tung-Sol JTL-2C5I. The 4th has absolutely no printing on it so I can't identify it. No idea what it could be. This is an absolutely amazing amp, it blows me away. With the aforementioned tubes and running off the Arcam CD33, music just flows, it's like a river. Just pure and sweet music regardless of which headphone I'm using - K701, HD650, or AD2000. There could probably be more in the bass aspect but the mid-range is absolutely sweet and the soundstage is exceptional for what I consider is a deficient area in tube amps - there's a real sense of space and air. It's not at the level of my solid-states but it's more than I expect. The amp also seems to be extremely powerful. No idea what the gain is but it works fine with my headphones, but more to the point, I barely have to turn it up to get volume from either the K701 or HD650. It had plenty of reserve for the K340 when I had it. No idea about how it might pair with K1000 though, but given how much the volume pot can turn, I hazard a guess it probably works just fine.

I borrowed a pair of K1000's recently and the Extreme drives them easily; even with low gain input and / or output tubes.

 

[pearljam5000]

Glad you like it ASR.
but i am kinda bummed out about the lack of bass.
is there any way to improve it?is it possible to "SLAM" the amp with the adapters?will that help to Improve Bass?
sorry for the stupid questions,i'm still a noob

oh and hopefuly i'm ordering the EXTREME this week!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif ~64 hour burn-in update Tube-rolling has been pretty addictive. I think the combo I like best is 6SN7 with the previously pictured Tung-Sol and IBM tubes. I like these better than the Sylvania 6080WA pair. It clears up the HD650 so it sounds less slow and cloudy, more immediate, more intimate. In comparison to a 12AT7, the 6SN7 has a little less bottom-end and mid-bass punch, but it has the sound of more pace/rhythm/energy and is a bit more spatial as well. The 12AT7 seems to add more weight and authority. Since my pics don't show the driver tubes clearly, I thought I'd list them: Sylvania 12AT7 WB, RCA 6SN7 GTB, Tung-Sol JTL-2C5I. The 4th has absolutely no printing on it so I can't identify it. No idea what it could be. This is an absolutely amazing amp, it blows me away. With the aforementioned tubes and running off the Arcam CD33, music just flows, it's like a river. Just pure and sweet music regardless of which headphone I'm using - K701, HD650, or AD2000. There could probably be more in the bass aspect but the mid-range is absolutely sweet and the soundstage is exceptional for what I consider is a deficient area in tube amps - there's a real sense of space and air. It's not at the level of my solid-states but it's more than I expect. The amp also seems to be extremely powerful. No idea what the gain is but it works fine with my headphones, but more to the point, I barely have to turn it up to get volume from either the K701 or HD650. It had plenty of reserve for the K340 when I had it. No idea about how it might pair with K1000 though, but given how much the volume pot can turn, I hazard a guess it probably works just fine.

 

[abs@nilenet.com]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glad you like it ASR. but i am kinda bummed out about the lack of bass. is there any way to improve it?is it possible to "SLAM" the amp with the adapters?will that help to Improve Bass? sorry for the stupid questions,i'm still a noob oh and hopefuly i'm ordering the EXTREME this week!!

In my experience the Extreme doesn't suffer from a lack of bass, at least not the Platinum version. If possible try rolling in a pair of 6080WB for output tubes (Bendix if possible) and a Ken Rad black glass 6SN7GT/VT-231 for a driver. I get great bass with that combination and my low impedance cans. Substitute the 5998s as output tubes for high impedance loads.

There is in fact an Extreme SLAM version that has some upgrades but is not customizable. I believe it falls in between the standard version and the Platinum price-wise.

That mystery driver tube looks like a 12AZ7 or perhaps a grey plate 6414.

Happy Listening!

 

[Asr]

~200 hour burn-in update

Although probably not recommended, I've been putting the tubes on unattended burn-in and rotating them out to burn in the entire set of tubes that I have. I can hear you guys gasping already and thinking a fire will erupt - heh, well I haven't been too concerned with that.

I'm starting to have doubts about the 6SN7. It gives a nicely warm mid-range of course, and a good soundstage too, but music just sounds so rounded and softened with it - the loss of detail is pretty staggering compared to the 12AT7. Unless perhaps you really like mid-range, I don't think the 6SN7 is a very good tube - well ok it does sound tubey, which is fine for a tube amp I guess, but the lack of detail is pretty noticeable. The 12AT7 is a pretty big step up, with either the 6080WA pair or the Tung-Sol/IBM pair. I definitely recommend getting a 12AT7 along with the default 6SN7 so you get the best of both worlds.

Finally I want to add that I've been so impressed with the Extreme, I told Mikhail I wanted to buy it and BAM I went and did it, along with the Square Wave too, hence I've joined Team Single Power.

I'm kinda ashamed to admit I dug into my savings to fund the Extreme & Square Wave - well they're expensive amps after all, and I had no other recourse.

Damn this site and the Curse! Will the madness never end?! This accursed addiction is now usurping my emergency resources!

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn this site and the Curse! Will the madness never end?!

Welcome to the SP club... and may I introduce you to the Bendix 6080's and Cetron 7236's ? BTW, there's a whole secret about the blackplates on the 12au7 trails...

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally I want to add that I've been so impressed with the Extreme, I told Mikhail I wanted to buy it and BAM I went and did it, along with the Square Wave too, hence I've joined Team Single Power. I'm kinda ashamed to admit I dug into my savings to fund the Extreme & Square Wave - well they're expensive amps after all, and I had no other recourse. Damn this site and the Curse! Will the madness never end?! This accursed addiction is now usurping my emergency resources!

Congrats, Asr. Hope you won't mind a momentary thread-jack, but I'm pretty excited about some changes Mikhail added to my Extreme. Back in Dec. I got the Extreme Platinum, sent it back for blackgate outs (loved it), and just got it back day before yesterday from what I thought was a repair plus the addition of pre-amp outs (to a FirstWatt F1 to drive Cain & Cain Abbys and K1000s), but Mikhail also added a secondary power supply and sent another tube stash to try out...sweet. Though I've only had time to listen for a couple hours so far, all I can say is this is not the Extreme I bought back in December. It's totally blowing me away...uh... more precise impressions to follow when I get over this stage.

...Right now, it's in a box as I just drove across the state for the Tampa, Florida meet, where it will make it's debut on Saturday (only fitting since the first Extreme debuted at the Florida meet in Dec.). It will be interesting as the Woo 5 and a new Eddie Current are also showing up to play. Purk is bringing a tricked out SquareWave as well.

Anyway, I'm glad you're liking it. Forgive me if I missed it in this thread, but did you ever find a tube combo that worked with the AD2000s?

 

[Asr]

Heh, better watch out with Mikhail's stash of supplied tubes, rolling in alternatives is highly addictive! Did he supply anything specifically for one of your headphones? And I'm looking forward to reading all about the epic FL meet, for many reasons in fact.

Sorry I haven't spent much time with the AD2000 on the Extreme. I don't find it synergistic with tubes, though there are some people around here that would probably dissent with that.

 

[boomana]

I actually left half my tubes at home and still showed up here in Tampa with about twenty

I asked him about tubes for my R10s and he sent me a new KenRad and said those headphones sound best with that and my choice of 5998s or the Bendix 6080s, which I already had. What's shocked me in the few hours I've had it back, is I have new love for my HD650s/G52. They'd been relegated to a imod>Hornet or Larocco PRII bedroom rig, but I didn't want to take them off the other night to even bother with the R10s (okay, I eventually and happily did). I was using 5998s (don't remember which ones) and the KenRad driver. Just thinking about it, makes me want to unbox everything right now in the hotel, but it's 3:30am...egad...and agile_one and NightWoundsTime are coming by late morning so we can pick Thrice up from the airport (I've promised to wear my K1000s so he'll know it's us...but what lipstick goes with K1000s?....so many decisions to make). The Florida party...I mean meet...will then begin at a vegan restaurant so we can start out healthy. Will post extreme impressions then. You'll have to make the next one.

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry I haven't spent much time with the AD2000 on the Extreme. I don't find it synergistic with tubes, though there are some people around here that would probably dissent with that.

It's interesting that you think that. My only experience with the AD2000s was with an Esoteric DV50>Extreme Platinum at a mini meet. I couldn't just get with the sound, though couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like...a little too wispy if that makes sense. I kept thinking, "too bad," because there was a lot I did like (great balance for one), plus those are some dang comfy headphones!