[bcowen]

bcowen thumbs upping this post about accidentally buying bad sounding GE tubes........... not sure what to make of that.

LOL! I'd never wish bad sounding tubes on anyone. Well, except maybe @UntilThen because he only pays me $1.25 per hour...

 

[Xcalibur255]

Please tell me that wage is in exchange for recommending GE tubes to him all day long?

 

[UntilThen]

LOL! I'd never wish bad sounding tubes on anyone. Well, except maybe @UntilThen because he only pays me $1.25 per hour...

Don't complain. Some get less than that.

Look at the GE tube - Progress is Our Most Important Product. Don't you forget that.

 

[UntilThen]

More importantly what chair are you using.

 

[jgwtriode]

Ah that is clever, gave me a good laugh.

jgwtriode

 

[chrisdrop]

I really like the (5670) 5-star GE tubes (For me > Bendix, WE equivalents)

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I really like the (5670) 5-star GE tubes (For me > Bendix, WE equivalents)

Oh yeah, those are really great! One of the best 5670. The Bendix was pretty lackluster from what I remember, I did like the WE 396A however. At one point I had a big collection of those tubes, all gone now!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Going to ship @zach915m 's 45 amp today, figured I'd take some last minute photos.

Here are the tubes I'm sending with it, a little starter pack with one set of each type of driver the amp can take. From left to right - 5687, E182CC / 7119, and 7044.



And of course a pair of Tung-Sol ST-shaped 45 (Sylvania manufactured).



Here is the amp with the Tung-Sol 45 and 7044. I ended up double shielding the mains transformer to reduce the noise floor. Now all the back row shields match, which makes me happy.





Back panel with power switch.



One more listen with my Philco globe 45 and E182CC.



Time to pack it up.

 

[bcowen]

Going to ship @zach915m 's 45 amp today, figured I'd take some last minute photos.

Here are the tubes I'm sending with it, a little starter pack with one set of each type of driver the amp can take. From left to right - 5687, E182CC / 7119, and 7044.



And of course a pair of Tung-Sol ST-shaped 45 (Sylvania manufactured).



Here is the final interior circuit. Been making some tweaks here and there over the past two weeks, but now it's done.



Here is the amp with the Tung-Sol 45 and 7044. I ended up double shielding the mains transformer to reduce the noise floor. Now all the back row shields match, which makes me happy.





Back panel with power switch.



One more listen with my Philco globe 45 and E182CC.



Time to pack it up.

Wow! Really, really nice!

 

[Mr Trev]

Going to ship @zach915m 's 45 amp today, figured I'd take some last minute photos.

Here are the tubes I'm sending with it, a little starter pack with one set of each type of driver the amp can take. From left to right - 5687, E182CC / 7119, and 7044.



And of course a pair of Tung-Sol ST-shaped 45 (Sylvania manufactured).



Here is the final interior circuit. Been making some tweaks here and there over the past two weeks, but now it's done.



Here is the amp with the Tung-Sol 45 and 7044. I ended up double shielding the mains transformer to reduce the noise floor. Now all the back row shields match, which makes me happy.





Back panel with power switch.



One more listen with my Philco globe 45 and E182CC.



Time to pack it up.

Damn, that's looking good.
I have to ask though… why the RCA inputs on the front?

 

[zach915m]

Going to ship @zach915m 's 45 amp today, figured I'd take some last minute photos.

Here are the tubes I'm sending with it, a little starter pack with one set of each type of driver the amp can take. From left to right - 5687, E182CC / 7119, and 7044.



And of course a pair of Tung-Sol ST-shaped 45 (Sylvania manufactured).



Here is the final interior circuit. Been making some tweaks here and there over the past two weeks, but now it's done.



Here is the amp with the Tung-Sol 45 and 7044. I ended up double shielding the mains transformer to reduce the noise floor. Now all the back row shields match, which makes me happy.





Back panel with power switch.



One more listen with my Philco globe 45 and E182CC.



Time to pack it up.

Wowoow

Can't remember the last time I've been so excite.

Will report.

 

[jgwtriode]

Going to ship @zach915m 's 45 amp today, figured I'd take some last minute photos.

Here are the tubes I'm sending with it, a little starter pack with one set of each type of driver the amp can take. From left to right - 5687, E182CC / 7119, and 7044.



And of course a pair of Tung-Sol ST-shaped 45 (Sylvania manufactured).



Here is the final interior circuit. Been making some tweaks here and there over the past two weeks, but now it's done.



Here is the amp with the Tung-Sol 45 and 7044. I ended up double shielding the mains transformer to reduce the noise floor. Now all the back row shields match, which makes me happy.





Back panel with power switch.



One more listen with my Philco globe 45 and E182CC.



Time to pack it up.

Stunning Keenan. Gorgeous shade of blue! Love the way you lay out your amps. Very artistic top and bottom! Zach is a lucky man.
So in the end how does it actually sound and if I may ask how close is the Airmid capable of getting to it with GEC's and Tungsols?

Amazing job, looks like you have been doing this for years. Every bit as pleasing or more so to look at then anything I have seen on
the market.

Impressive and happy listening,

jgwtriode

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Damn, that's looking good.
I have to ask though… why the RCA inputs on the front?

Putting the RCAs on the front keeps the low level signal wiring short to minimize noise pickup between the RCA and the pot. Lots of AC in the back of this amp, so it helps reduce the noise floor.

Stunning Keenan. Gorgeous shade of blue! Love the way you lay out your amps. Very artistic top and bottom! Zach is a lucky man.
So in the end how does it actually sound and if I may ask how close is the Airmid capable of getting to it with GEC's and Tungsols?

Amazing job, looks like you have been doing this for years. Every bit as pleasing or more so to look at then anything I have seen on
the market.

Impressive and happy listening,

jgwtriode

Thanks @jgwtriode , I've been very short on time lately due to work so did not get around to a true A-B test, I'll give the Airmid a listen perhaps tonight or Tuesday and see how I think they stack up.

As far as the 45 amp though, I would say its main characteristics are its transparency and holographic soundstage, I think it has the best clarity / imaging of any tube headphone amp I have heard. The sound changes a bit depending on the input tubes used however. The most impressive in terms of staging / imaging is the E182CC by my ears, the 7044 is slightly less spacious but I believe has the best bass definition of the three, the 5687 is more intimate but offers a more forward and exciting sound. Also many variations of the 5687 to try and I did find there were very obvious differences in tonality between the three pairs I tried with the RCAs I am sending Zach being the best of the three.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Also got some interesting tubes last night for my two-channel amp, MWT H63. These are the British equivalent to the 6F5, but have dramatically different internal construction.



First set I bought from Italy got lost in the mail. I ended up getting someone else's vintage nautical sextant instead, but that's another story. Fortunately Langrex suddenly has a large stock of H63, hooray! I'll probably stock up while they're available.

 

[jgwtriode]

Also got some interesting tubes last night for my two-channel amp, MWT H63. These are the British equivalent to the 6F5, but have dramatically different internal construction.



First set I bought from Italy got lost in the mail. I ended up getting someone else's vintage nautical sextant instead, but that's another story. Fortunately Langrex suddenly has a large stock of H63, hooray! I'll probably stock up while they're available.

Definitely curious about these Keenan! How do they stack up against the GEC's? Hopefully close and a bit more affordable!


Happy listening,

jgwtriode