[taso89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REB /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did anyone try the Sylvania Gold Brand 408a tubes yet? I've ordered a pair, but haven't received them yet. I'm curious as to how they might sound.

I have about 40 hours on my Sylvania Gold Brand 408a's and they sound quite good; better than the Western Electric variant.

 

[Seba]

I also bought some Sylvania Gold's from Yen Audio. It will take at least a week for them to come in Finland.

 

[REB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taso89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have about 40 hours on my Sylvania Gold Brand 408a's and they sound quite good; better than the Western Electric variant.

That's good to hear

. Mine should arrive any day now...

 

[Morb]

OMG.. well i've ordered my LD I+ ... and i'm looking into some tubes for when the amp arrives. I'm new at this scene... what do you guys recommend?

Everyone says Mullard M8161?
these:
eBay.be: CV4015 M8161 EF92 9D6 MULLARD QDD TUBE VALVE NOS E PAIR (object 270280786830 eindtijd 27-nov-08 12:42:21 CET)

Are they any good.. any other suggestions?

There's this shop on ebay from the UK which is good for me as i'm from belgium

eBay Store - The Tube Zone: New Old Stock Tubes, Tube Sockets, New Tubes

suggestions please?

 

[bigjim82]

For what it's worth, I just bought 4 GE 408A's for $1.00 each from piexx.com (now they are $1.49). Still waiting on the amp and the tubes.

Has anybody got an opinion on the opa627 with 408A combo yet?

 

[StratCat]

Something of interest to you guys that just ordered the 408A Sylvi Golds from Yen Audio that you may want to know (to gloat over):

You guys paid 48 USD per set (minus any MSLive discount) last week and bought out his entire lot except for one remaining set. That last set then immediately went from "Buy Now" to "Bid" auction status, with a minnumum bid of 48 USD.

I watched bidding all week, and there were no bidders. Today I watched the auction, in real-time, expire w/o any bids (I considerd sniping, but passed for non-related reasons - I had already decided to get some WE408's I found locally).

So what happenned to that last set?

They re-listed w/i minutes as a bid auction with a 48 USD minimum + a 89 USD "Buy Now" option!

Check It Out

Sounds like marketing to me.

(and yes, there now is a part of me that wishes I sniped it at 48.xx USD!)

 

[googan]

waiting for my LD I+ to arrive. I'm new to tube rolling. is the 408a type supposed to be best out of the three supported types? is it because of the higher voltage heater rating?

i got in on the $1.50 per piece GE 408a's. A little under $12 shipped for 4 pieces.

 

[malldian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigjim82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif For what it's worth, I just bought 4 GE 408A's for $1.00 each from piexx.com (now they are $1.49). Still waiting on the amp and the tubes. Has anybody got an opinion on the opa627 with 408A combo yet?

Are they matched from there?

 

[googan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by malldian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are they matched from there?

Good question.. Someone posted on the Little Dot forums that they were selling them matched, but it says nothing on the Piexx website. I sent over an email asking if they match so I'll let you know when I hear from them.

How important is tube matching anyway for a headphone amp? I've read that it shouldn't make much or any audible difference most of the time.

 

[REB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StratCat /img/forum/go_quote.gif Something of interest to you guys that just ordered the 408A Sylvi Golds from Yen Audio that you may want to know (to gloat over): You guys paid 48 USD per set (minus any MSLive discount) last week and bought out his entire lot except for one remaining set. That last set then immediately went from "Buy Now" to "Bid" auction status, with a minnumum bid of 48 USD. I watched bidding all week, and there were no bidders. Today I watched the auction, in real-time, expire w/o any bids (I considerd sniping, but passed for non-related reasons - I had already decided to get some WE408's I found locally). So what happenned to that last set? They re-listed w/i minutes as a bid auction with a 48 USD minimum + a 89 USD "Buy Now" option! Check It Out Sounds like marketing to me. (and yes, there now is a part of me that wishes I sniped it at 48.xx USD!)

Glad to hear they still have at least one pair... I've been waiting for mine (purchased at $48USD) to arrive for almost a month now...

 

[taso89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigjim82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anybody got an opinion on the opa627 with 408A combo yet?

Yeah I posted on it a couple of pages back. The only reason I'm keeping it in the I+ is because I have no use for it in the Zero now. The difference between this and LT1364 is negligible, if any. In fact I think I prefer the sound of the LT1364. However, both are a nice step up from the stock opamp. If you don't already have a spare OPA627 lying around I would just get a LT1364 which should be much cheaper.

 

[Seba]

My Sylvania's were shipped on 20 Oct so they should arrive next week.

 

[googan]

I just got a response back from Chris at Piexx who said it really isn't necessary to match tubes especially if they come from the same lot. So the GE 408A from Piexx don't come matched. Can't really blame them for the price though.

 

[taso89]

I'm not so sure.. I mean when you tap the left tube, you hear microphonic effects in the left channel on your headphones. Unmatched tubes could perhaps have a channel imbalance or something like that. Whether matched tubes are necessary is amp-dependent (correct me if I'm wrong). I wouldn't consider the guy you bought your tubes from a reliable source

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taso89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not so sure.. I mean when you tap the left tube, you hear microphonic effects in the left channel on your headphones. Unmatched tubes could perhaps have a channel imbalance or something like that. Whether matched tubes are necessary is amp-dependent (correct me if I'm wrong). I wouldn't consider the guy you bought your tubes from a reliable source

I'll second that. Tubes like these are typically 30 to 60 years old and their measurements are all over the place, I've bought quite a few tubes from shady dealers that come terribly mismatched and that's why I only buy matched pairs from reputable dealers these days, I've found that it is cheaper this way in the long run not to mention the performance gains from running well matched tubes in your amp.

- DoA