[rain_uk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kg21 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Brimar 9D6, 4 available.. Wish there were more choices for powertube...

I also yearn for more power tube choice
Thanks for posting the 9D6 link, I been after some for a while and have just grabbed a pair.
I have emailed the seller to ensure they are as described, before I pay..

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kg21 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Found this after looking for the different tubes mentioned in this thread: Brimar 9D6, 4 available. Gonna pass on it myself, dont have that much to spend on tubes right now.

So tempting. But $31 USD (after shipping) for two tubes is not cheap. Just spent some money today on audio stuff. I think I will wait for impressions first or a slightly better deal.

Of course, there is always tomorrow. Another day to spend money.

 

[grinchy]

Oh crap. I just bought two of the unbranded Mullards (thanks for the link).
Now I'm going to have to find some of these Russian tubes too. I know in like three weeks I'm going to have 50 or 60 tubes here.

Oh, PM me if you're interested in splitting a lot of 10 of these Russian driver tubes - that or perhaps if you have another brand of driver we can work a trade.

And the amp sounds peachy to me in stock shape.

 

[penguindude]

Wait until u try it with the Russian 6C19Pi-B power tubes. The bass gets much tighter and punchier and less coloration to the overall sound.

Glad ure enjoying the amp!

 

[grinchy]

6C19П-B

I'm not having any luck finding the Svetlana's lots of Uly's available. Anyone buy two too many of the Svet's?
Please please drop me a pm.

Edit: Placed a bid for a lot of 10 Uly-B - or so I think. Auction ends soon so if I win it's just the three week wait . . .

 

[syncmaster68]

Ok, so I finally got my silver Little dot2++.
First impressions on stock tubes are positive. Nice build quality overall, it seems to work all right. It gets hot, hotter than any amp I 've ever had, but I am ready to cope with it provided it gave me the sound quality I expect.

Given my poor sources (a crappy sound card and a very modest Sony DVD/CD player) and the lack of burn-in I cannot give a proper review of its sound quality.

For instance there is no hum, pop, crack, buzz or hiss whatsoever. It's dead black at the listening level I can use (which is not very loud, actually). I hot-swapped headphones, turned on/off the amp repeatedly, it acts like a SS one.

Gave it a try on Senns HD595 and it drives them easily, they get too loud for me with knob almost to minimum. They sound much better on the Little dot than on the PA2V2 I used to have. It's no hype, it's as plain as daylight.
There is plenty of tuneful bass - what kind of ears do have those who think 595's haven't got enough bass?? Maybe I should say that I don't particularly enjoy the use of subwoofers...They give me headaches.
I can hear that clean voices sound sweeter than unamped.Steel guitars seem to revel into being amplified through this amp.
Treble is ok, I don't notice any unusual harshness. There is a hint of congestion when there is a lot of high frequency activity, but maybe it's the source.

On Beyer DT231 Pro I have to turn up the volume more. Highs get a little bright, but mids are better than unamped. Bass is good, but it is softer than on Senns and it lacks the lowest extension.

Overall I can say that the amplifier emphasizes the characteristics of the headphones I have. Unamped, the differences between them were not so evident, now I can say which is better more easily.

Based on my past experience with speakers and speaker amps, I dare say that what's happening now is just a good amplifier taking control over the drivers. It grips them and makes them move as they are supposed to.

I have some extra tubes so I will experiment in the future, but for the time being I will be trying to listen to the amp on better sources.
I'll get back with impressions in a 100 hours !!

 

[ZenFountain]

I know this thread is for the LD2++, but I was wondering if someone could give me advice on replacement tubes for my standard LD2. The stock tubes have 1000+ hours on them and are not looking so hot...I have no idea what the life expectancy of a tube is or what to look for in a bad tube so any help would be appreciated.

 

[kg21]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rain_uk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also yearn for more power tube choice Thanks for posting the 9D6 link, I been after some for a while and have just grabbed a pair. I have emailed the seller to ensure they are as described, before I pay..

np, thx for making this awesome thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif So tempting. But $31 USD (after shipping) for two tubes is not cheap. Just spent some money today on audio stuff. I think I will wait for impressions first or a slightly better deal. Of course, there is always tomorrow. Another day to spend money.

yea if we lived in Europe it would be almost a no brainer.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenFountain /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know this thread is for the LD2++, but I was wondering if someone could give me advice on replacement tubes for my standard LD2. The stock tubes have 1000+ hours on them and are not looking so hot...I have no idea what the life expectancy of a tube is or what to look for in a bad tube so any help would be appreciated.

The tubes are bad when a channel is dead or a hum/hizz appears and goes with the swapping of the tubes. There are no other alternative tubes for the LD2. The best way is to order replacement tubes from the LD manufacturer directly or through their reseller.

 

[kg4icn]

I have been mixing the tubes I have. I have either kept similar drivers or power tubes at all times. I also kept switching the headphones back and forth on my head- I know our ears adjust to sounds over time. I am using Sennheiser HD-600 and purple car jumper cables to connect them.

My source is CDs of all types on my laptop.

I first tried the russian 6C19n-B power tubes paired with one Mullard M8161and one Ediswan EF92. The Ediswan put out a little softer treble, but was more dominant in the mid treble sound area. The Mullard had a little louder treble on the high end having a little smoother sound all around. Bass and midrange were about the same as far as I could tell.

Next was the same Russian 6C19n-B power tubes with one Mullard M8161 and one Sylvania CV4015. I listened for about 30 minutes for a difference and could not tell one. I then put in matched pairs of the drivers and listened for 30 minutes each. I still could not tell a difference. At this point, I tried putting the matched pair of Ediswans back in and found the sound to be more 3D immediatly. I could hear more imperfections in the recording, but it also made everything sound more real to life.

I tried the Ediswan EF92's paired with one Chinese 6C19 stock power tube and one Russian 6C19n-B. Bass is louder on the Russian tube, but not deeper. The lower frequancies could be heard better with the Chinese stock tube. I also noticed that the midrange was missing something with the Russian tube. The vocals were not louder, but more crisp and full without too much treble in the Chinese tube. I tried matched pairs again and decided the Chinese tubes were not so bad after all. I also remember there being a big jump in bass when trying the Russian 6C19n-B for the first time. Now that they have had more use, it is not nearly as dominant.

I tried the Mullard M8161 drivers and tested the different power tubes again. I had simular results. At first I didn't care for the sound from the Ediswans so much, but now they have become my favorite with the 3D realistic and airy sound.

It is kinda funny buying tubes as an equalizer source.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kg4icn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I first tried the russian 6C19n-B power tubes paired with one Mullard M8161and one Ediswan EF92. The Ediswan put out a little softer treble, but was more dominant in the mid treble sound area. The Mullard had a little louder treble on the high end having a little smoother sound all around. Bass and midrange were about the same as far as I could tell.

How can you tell which tube is responsible for the sound you are hearing?

 

[grinchy]

Well I'm the proud new owner of 10! 6s19p-v (6C19П-B). But they are definitely Ury's, so we'll see how they sound when they get in from Ukraine. Boxes and packing clearly show -v (-b), but tube shots weren't definitive. I'll know soon enough, and all 10 were the same as 2 from the US supplier.

KG - thanks for the findings - I was wondering about running power/driver combos on each channel to aid in a/b comparisons - sounds like it works.

Too bad about those Russian driver tubes - I hoped they would range a bit deeper.

I hear you about equalization - but I think that the right tube mix would be flat - just clearer, more precise, more impactful, deliciously danceable; so the changes would be along different dimensions than frequency response.

I just listened to "Nevermind" (Nirvana) again for the 1000000 time and was flat amazed by the bass guitar. It's always been hidden before; but this listening was wonderful. I normally can't get past the 5th or 6th track on this album (heard it too often, get bored, get distracted); I was shocked when the phones went dead - truly a new dimension. Love the amp. Love the phones.

Now I understand when people talk about listening to their whole collection over again when they make a significant upgrade.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grinchy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I'm the proud new owner of 10! 6s19p-v (6C19П-B). But they are definitely Ury's, so we'll see how they sound when they get in from Ukraine. Boxes and packing clearly show -v (-b), but tube shots weren't definitive. I'll know soon enough, and all 10 were the same as 2 from the US supplier. KG - thanks for the findings - I was wondering about running power/driver combos on each channel to aid in a/b comparisons - sounds like it works. Too bad about those Russian driver tubes - I hoped they would range a bit deeper. I hear you about equalization - but I think that the right tube mix would be flat - just clearer, more precise, more impactful, deliciously danceable; so the changes would be along different dimensions than frequency response. I just listened to "Nevermind" (Nirvana) again for the 1000000 time and was flat amazed by the bass guitar. It's always been hidden before; but this listening was wonderful. I normally can't get past the 5th or 6th track on this album (heard it too often, get bored, get distracted); I was shocked when the phones went dead - truly a new dimension. Love the amp. Love the phones. Now I understand when people talk about listening to their whole collection over again when they make a significant upgrade.

Welcome to Head-fi, grinchy... and sorry about your wallet!

 

[Advil]

I just ordered these tubes to go with my mullard cv4015. Are they good? A good match?

http://thetubestore.com/sovtek6c19.html

 

[rain_uk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Advil /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just ordered these tubes to go with my mullard cv4015. Are they good? A good match? http://thetubestore.com/sovtek6c19.html

This thread never dies!! lol

Those tubes you've ordered may turn out to be either Ulyanov 6C19П (6S19P) or 6C19П-B (6S19P-V) from that dealer. I received the 6C19П and others received the 6C19П-B (lucky sods!). General opinion is the B seem a little better. They partner well with the CV4015 for most, but be sure to post your impressions

9D6 on the way...watch this thread..