[baronbeehive]

No, even when I swap the stock tubes the left meter is slightly lower than the right and remains so no matter what side the tubes are in but with the Mullard tubes the meters have the same reading.

Well if they read the same with Mullards, use them LOL!

If you get any other tubes try the same check with them, it looks like the amp is alright, so long as the readings are more or less the same, but not 45mA and 55mA that is too far out to be right. But bad tubes could do that though.

I guess the Mullards are driver tubes in which case they should be good as most Mullards are, but I'm not familiar with the MK8 tubes so ask Maxx.

 

[Saturnian]

Well if they read the same with Mullards, use them LOL!

If you get any other tubes try the same check with them, it looks like the amp is alright, so long as the readings are more or less the same, but not 45mA and 55mA that is too far out to be right. But bad tubes could do that though.

I guess the Mullards are driver tubes in which case they should be good as most Mullards are, but I'm not familiar with the MK8 tubes so ask Maxx.

I am but the difficulty is the stock tubes sound better but I'm a bit ocd and can't handle the thought of the meter readings being different, thanks for your help and I will message Maxx. Once I get the single ended problem sorted I'm sure I'll love it

 

[baronbeehive]

I am but the difficulty is the stock tubes sound better but I'm a bit ocd and can't handle the thought of the meter readings being different, thanks for your help and I will message Maxx. Once I get the single ended problem sorted I'm sure I'll love it

Yes I know what you mean! However if the readings are the same with Mullards then it points to a tube problem not an amp problem.

What was the problem with SE? There is a hum when using it, that's why it's best to use the balanced outs.

 

[baronbeehive]

... try swapping the Mullards from one side to the other, then if the readings are still the same you can be pretty sure the problem was the other tubes not the amp!

 

[Saturnian]

I am pretty sure it is a tube problem but the se problem is a lot worse than just hum, it truly is cross polarity as when I try to turn the balance to either side it still
comes from both side and results in one side being louder than the other but also has a terrible sound like the music is being played at the top of a mountain and reverbs around.

 

[baronbeehive]

I am pretty sure it is a tube problem but the se problem is a lot worse than just hum, it truly is cross polarity as when I try to turn the balance to either side it still
comes from both side and results in one side being louder than the other but also has a terrible sound like the music is being played at the top of a mountain and reverbs around.

What is it like using balanced outputs and the Mullards? Bear in mind it will improve all the way to 50+ hours burn in, and beyond.

 

[Saturnian]

It is very good, the detail and clarity are excellent but I always thought that the Mullards were considered a warm tube but this
is not the case and the electro harmonix are much warmer and more musical but as you say I think I'll have to burn the Mullards
in and hope for them to warm slightly.

 

[baronbeehive]

It is very good, the detail and clarity are excellent but I always thought that the Mullards were considered a warm tube but this
is not the case and the electro harmonix are much warmer and more musical but as you say I think I'll have to burn the Mullards
in and hope for them to warm slightly.

Ah, excellent!

Yes, you are correct, they are generally a warm tube, but they also have excellent detail and soundstage, and are usually quite punchy too. Unless they are new issue tubes in which case they will not sound characteristically Mullard. I'm assuming you are talking about the driver tubes.

You should always use the balanced connections, like all of us here do. The SE connections are c**p frankly, they are just there for backward compatability, but you would not want to use a balanced amp with SE connections. All the same I haven't heard of it sounding that bad as you described it.

If you do end up liking the amp, and it has such a sweet tone and holographic soundstage, you could consider changing out the caps at some point for some quality ones which would really push everything to top level, as it is the amp is very nice but could be pushed a lot further.

 

[Saturnian]

I will definitely keep it because I bought it for the balanced input/ outputs anyway but it annoys me when things don't function properly, I've opened it up and the se output
comes after the balanced basically at the end of the chain so it's definitely not affecting the balanced output at all, yes it is the driver tubes and they are the cryo ones with
balanced triodes from Watford valves, I would really like to change some of the caps but I'm not sure which ones are the most important even after reading some of the
mod thread, which ones should I start with and do you have a particular make that I should use.

 

[baronbeehive]

they are the cryo ones with balanced triodes from Watford valves

Very interesting, I've looked at these cryo valves but not actually tried them. What do you think about them, have you compared them to non cryo? It could be that the cryo versions have a cleaner sound and that might explain why you found them rather brighter than expected.

 

[baronbeehive]

I would really like to change some of the caps but I'm not sure which ones are the most important even after reading some of the
mod thread, which ones should I start with and do you have a particular make that I should use.

There are a lot of mods that could be done and they all work together, from wiring to resistors to caps but to just concentrate on the caps we are over the top types on the supermod thread which explains why we went for the excellent.. but expensive.. Jupiter caps! That's alright if money is no object.

I would say the 3 most important groups of caps would be coupling first, then WCF due to the white cathode follower design these are almost as important as the coupling caps, then also important are the cathode caps. I would recommend for coupling Audyn True Copper being cheaper. For WCF you need a brigher faster cap to stand out at that point in the circuit so Mundorf Supreme SIO or Audyn True Silver. Then for cathode bypass caps Nichicon Muse KZ's are excellent and not expensive. They help out with power recovery from transients.

Here is a capacitor review to give you some idea: http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html

If you do decide to go ahead, it might be a good idea to come over to the supermod thread for help and problem solving.

 

[Saturnian]

Thanks for this, I will definitely head over there at some point but I need to just try to enjoy the amp at the moment, I managed to wangle a new set of tubes
from Yang as I told him that I'll stop hassling them if he sends me some which I consider fair as one or more of the tubes were faulty and considering I fixed
the cross polarity myself it makes for a quieter more relaxed life for all involved, the ground wire coming from the balanced output was soldered to the tip of
the single ended output but I desoldered and soldered correctly, incredibly shoddy work but an easy fix in the end.

 

[Yaska729]

Finally get all the tubes so I can turn on my MK viii today. So I’ve been looking for a balance tube amp for my T1 2nd, and I am really glad that I found an amazing deal on a used mk viii withou tubes. I choose the Brimar 12AT7 with triple mica, square getter, and black plate that were made in the 50s. For rectifier I bought Electro Harmonix 6H30pi gold pin, and I am wondering if there is a better replacement?

I’ve been checking out the supermod page and I think I’m going to try to do a bit of mods such as the caps, resistors, and the wiring. Below is my current setup and thanks to those who have posted a lot of useful info under this thread, it really helps me a lot while I was looking for an amp!

Picture of my current setup

 

[baronbeehive]

Finally get all the tubes so I can turn on my MK viii today. So I’ve been looking for a balance tube amp for my T1 2nd, and I am really glad that I found an amazing deal on a used mk viii withou tubes. I choose the Brimar 12AT7 with triple mica, square getter, and black plate that were made in the 50s. For rectifier I bought Electro Harmonix 6H30pi gold pin, and I am wondering if there is a better replacement?

I’ve been checking out the supermod page and I think I’m going to try to do a bit of mods such as the caps, resistors, and the wiring. Below is my current setup and thanks to those who have posted a lot of useful info under this thread, it really helps me a lot while I was looking for an amp!

Excellent!

I haven't heard the Brimar 12AT7's but I was looking at getting the similar 12Ax7's a while back for my APPJ amp as they looked to be a top tube. In the end I didn't go for them as I found what I liked in the TS5751.

What cans are you using?

 

[Yaska729]

Excellent!

I haven't heard the Brimar 12AT7's but I was looking at getting the similar 12Ax7's a while back for my APPJ amp as they looked to be a top tube. In the end I didn't go for them as I found what I liked in the TS5751.

What cans are you using?

I think some of the Brimar is as good as Mullard, maybe a bit more neutral on the tonality, but still warmish excellent British tubes!

Beyerdynamic T1 2nd