[JazzVinyl]

Not that you asked me but, my new amp is Ser. # 922.

Mine ordered after Shane’s yet has a S/N that is 201 prior.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Curiosity got the best of me, had to try my Tung-Sol 12SL7 BGRP….nearly fell out of my chair….as I floated away in the fantastic sound!!

OH MY!!!

 

[Shane D]

Just did the quiet test again with the stock tubes in. Paused the music and turned the volume to max, in high gain. Completely quiet. No hiss, nor hum.
Maybe the tubes have burned in? Or maybe it is a high gain thing? Although I would think that it would be the opposite.

 

[JazzVinyl]

The NOS Tung-Sol 12SL7 hummed like mad when I first tried it. Very untoward! Thought I had wasted my money!!

Then remembered most Hum comes from an “unclear path” to ground.

Added a double thick wire to the external 12v power supply all the way to the wall outlet‘s ground terminal and blam. Hum went away completely. The NU did not need tge extra ground path but the TS did.

i have also seen noisy drivers “calm down” with some time on them as well.

And….have a couple Sovtek 6SL7’s….compared them visually with the supplied China tube, they are identical. Same plates, same micas, exact same internal construction. Looked with my magnifier/flashlight. Same.

Bet all are made in Russia!!!

 

[triod750]

Yes I used to externally heat the 2x 6as7g’s in a Felix Elise and indeed major cool down. The Transformer supplying that 2.5 amps per 6080/6as7g also gets warm and its heat (in the Elise) stayed inside the amp….

I removed the T-S 6BX7 pair and inserted a coin base RCA 6BX7 pair instead, with same external psu. Temp on top of glass 125C. Amp doesn't get warm at all...
(Sorry to disturb a thread about LD MK9 but at least we have the same chassis, probably some of the innards too).

 

[JazzVinyl]

I removed the T-S 6BX7 pair and inserted a coin base RCA 6BX7 pair instead, with same external psu. Temp on top of glass 125C. Amp doesn't get warm at all...
(Sorry to disturb a thread about LD MK9 but at least we have the same chassis, probably some of the innards too).

i am afraid that I have lost track of your point, @triod750.

Started out as a discussion about the need for a fan with dual super warm running 6080’s in the MK9.

Please clarify where this is going.

.

 

[JazzVinyl]

 

[st939]

No. 721

Yes.
listening to it right now. Most of the time on a Beyerdynamic T1 (V1) for PC listening. Most of my music is HiDef FLAC or DSD.
Path:
PC->USB->Gustard DAC-X26->Mark Levinson ML-7A->little dot MK9 or Adam Audio A5X

 

[triod750]

i am afraid that I have lost track of your point, @triod750.

Started out as a discussion about the need for a fan with dual super warm running 6080’s in the MK9.

Please clarify where this is going.

.

What's the point with a point? I am not heading anywhere, this is just a 'scientific journey', collecting and sharing bits and pieces of information. The discussion about heat from 6080 sparked my interest and I refered to Mordy's methods to control this heat issue. Then curiosity got the best of me, I took some random measurements and shared the result, 'contaminating' the thread in the process. Don't let me distract from what it's all about .

 

[JazzVinyl]

Yes.
listening to it right now. Most of the time on a Beyerdynamic T1 (V1) for PC listening. Most of my music is HiDef FLAC or DSD.
Path:
PC->USB->Gustard DAC-X26->Mark Levinson ML-7A->little dot MK9 or Adam Audio A5X

Very nice! I am impressed with the SQ from the MK9. Your using one for years, speaks well of it's longevity and value.

 

[Shane D]

Very nice! I am impressed with the SQ from the MK9. Your using one for years, speaks well of it's longevity and value.

Forgive me if you have already mentioned, but what amp are you coming from just before this?
I just went back and saw that it was a Feliks Elise.
How would you compare the amps?

The last couple of days have been awesome with the stock tubes and my T60 Argons. Maybe a mix of their burning in and my brain adjusting.

It is definitely not a one dimensional amp, which is very cool.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Forgive me if you have already mentioned, but what amp are you coming from just before this?
I just went back and saw that it was a Feliks Elise.
How would you compare the amps?

The last couple of days have been awesome with the stock tubes and my T60 Argons. Maybe a mix of their burning in and my brain adjusting.

It is definitely not a one dimensional amp, which is very cool.

I started Tube Adventures with Little Dot MK IV then went to Feliks Elise, then the Glenn OTL, now MK9.
Liked the Feliks Elise. Was 2x 6SN7 and 2x 6080/6AS7

Elise was another amp that gathered too much heat below the top deck. I did not use a fan with mine and it definitely suffered from the heat buildup. Would have been better if I had used a fan with it. Elise did have a nice black background.

MK9 is a very nice sounding amp. I like the 6 (for me 6/12) SL7 and 6080 (or 6AS7). The amp seems highly optimized for the SL7 and the dual power tubes. It has an impressively quiet/Black Background (I was worried about this).

With the use of the Fan, I have no doubt the MK9 will last longer than me. I detect no "smearing" of delicate highs with the MK9 that I have in some other tube amps. And indeed it does "reach deep" as hoped, being 'OCL'.

I think the Elise and MK9 are pretty equal, SQ wise, I never had the later several versions of the Elise. Did hear that improvements were made to each upgraded version of that model.

I do like the very specific tube compliment of the MK9. The Elise could use a lot of different driver tubes, and one tended to stray from the optimized tube compliment. The Elise creators never said if it was OTL or not....we think it was. The MK9 has made me a believer in the advantages of an output transformer.

I do like the use of the output transformer and no final output cap (OCL) in the MK9. I think the power supply is highly optimized for the goal of no output capacitor. The MK9 exceeds my expectation for such a modest price.

I am using only the ZMF Aeolus cans, which are well known to shine best via a tube amp. This fact may be coloring my opinion.

Maybe I should say "the Aeolus really love the MK9" they have that synergy that is prized in audio land...

 

[Shane D]

I am finding it great with every set that I own. I am finishing up today with the T60 Argons and I was, again, impressed.

Tomorrow will be a test that I think this amp will fail, but we'll see. Tomorrow is HiFiman HE6se V2's.

 

[JazzVinyl]

May The Glow Be With You

 

[Shane D]

Trying something new today, but it is not going well:
BF2 to Schiit Loki to LD MK9 to HiFiman HE6se V2's. Even with the Loki on and the amp pumping in high gain at 3:00, it is just listenable. Pretty much what I expected.

I will go back to the Grado GH2's tomorrow as I await the arrival of my new-to-me Grado Hemps.

These are the only headphone that did not please me on this amp, but you gotta be real about these headphones. It takes a very special amp to drive them really well.

I am very happy with my purchase. I think this is what I was looking for when I went tube-amp hunting.