[howc]

I am using mullard 4010 and really preferred it over RCA 6AK5 and stock tubes but only tried them awhile. The RCA sounds good too but too bright for my liking. 
 
Now i am trying amperex ef91 and it sounds really good as well. i am no audiophile so i cant give any detail description about the sound signature so i can only say in a general terms. 
 
i've these doubt to clear.. During start up, i see that my left Amperex tube lights up brighter than right side but remain the same brightness after the startup. is it ok and normal? its the same with other brand tube. 
 
I have also located the source of noise in my setup which is caused by the power supply of my laptop. LAPTOP > USB DAC (gamma 1) > LD 3. I intend to get a external power supply for my DAC but i am just wondering if getting a external power supply but still using USB as a input will still induce noise?  
 

 

[AlexRoma]

 
Quote:

Hi,
 
I second, the 4010 Mullard (combined with 6N6Pi) shines for the LD MKIII.

Thanks  for advice. One more question. Is there a noticeable difference in sound between Russion 6N6P and 6N6Pi  (6H6П-И) . I've calld for a local tube seller and radio-engineer ,  he told me that 6H6П-И tubes are the same 6N6P but were destinate for impulse signal circuits. He did not recommended this tubes for audio-oriented hardware. But he is not an audiophile and not an amp designer, so I'll be glad if you share your own experience..
The stock tubes on my unit are 6N6P, not the Pi-s !  And yes, I've ordered a pair of Mullard M8100 CV4010 from This seller because there were no more 5$ CV4010 offering on ebay 

 

[mordy]

My stock tubes that came with the MkIII are the 6N6Pi tubes. The i designation means for intermittent (pulse mode) use. Ordered a set of 6N6P tubes as back up but felt they sounded slightly more dull than the stock tubes. In any event there was not much difference, and since the driver tubes only account for about 10-15% of the sound I would not worry too much about it.
Did anybody try the expensive 6N30P-DR driver tubes?  ($160/pair and up - supposedly tubes made after 1990 not as good as earlier ones.) Do they make a difference?
There is an offering on E-Bay for 6N6P-IR tubes for around $48/pair including shipping.
Does anybody have any experience with these driver tubes?
(D means extra long life, R means increased reliability)
 
Sorry that the guy who sold the CV4010s upped the price; he did advertise them for $5 each for a long time.
 
In any case,tube rolling can drive you a little crazy.....
 
 

 

[ribafish]

Well I've got the 6H30PI-EB  power tubes with cv4010 as driver tubes....and it sound fantastic. Although I'm not shure if i like cv4010 or cv4015 more.

 

[mordy]

The tubes you mention (6H30PI-EB)  are available on E-Bay for around $90/pair.
E means extended service life (around 5,000-10,000 hours)
B means low succeptability to noise and microphonics
 
The DR designation is a step higher with a service life over 10,000 hours and of course a much steeper price.
 
How much do they sell the tubes for that you have in your area? The ones on E-Bay are Sovteks and cryogenically treated.

 

[ribafish]

To my knowledge they don't sell these here at all, so if they do I have no idea for how much do they go. Mine are sovteks too and I believe they are the same as the ones on E-Bay(where I think these were bought). I like them, they do sound a bit better than the stock ones. I will try the 6sh1p-ev(so-called groove tubes i believe), because sometimes I'd like a bit more bass from dt880/600. Depends on the mood/genre/song.

 

[Yekrut]

Quote:

 
Quote:

Hi,
 
I second, the 4010 Mullard (combined with 6N6Pi) shines for the LD MKIII.

Thanks  for advice. One more question. Is there a noticeable difference in sound between Russion 6N6P and 6N6Pi  (6H6П-И) . I've calld for a local tube seller and radio-engineer ,  he told me that 6H6П-И tubes are the same 6N6P but were destinate for impulse signal circuits. He did not recommended this tubes for audio-oriented hardware. But he is not an audiophile and not an amp designer, so I'll be glad if you share your own experience..
The stock tubes on my unit are 6N6P, not the Pi-s !  And yes, I've ordered a pair of Mullard M8100 CV4010 from This seller because there were no more 5$ CV4010 offering on ebay 

Thanks for the additional input. I have decided to take the plunge and purchase these as well! Thanks Alex for the link to the seller. Estimated shipping date is between Dec 14 and 27th! I guess I'll have to be patient (not a big deal since I'm still waiting on the amp )

 

[mordy]

I have the 6Sh1p-EV tubes and they are quite strong in the bass.
Here are my notes from my ongoing shootout of the tubes I bought:
 
Prominent punchy bass with slam
Soundstage not the widest with a slight lack in detail
Midrange good with shimmering highs
Summary: Neutral with punchy (slightly bloated) bass
 
Very nice tube, among the best. (Got mine from a guy in Budapest via E-Bay. Must be very strong tubes because they arrived fine wrapped in a napkin inside a padded bubble wrap bag!)
 
For more controlled bass with great punch and slam you could try the Tung Sol 6AK5.
 
Again, every tube sounds different in different settings and equipment so you have to experiment with what works best for you. Have fun!
 

 

[AlexRoma]

I do agree with mordy. I do not have much experience yet with other tubes, but they sound exactly the way Mordy described.
They do not sound like an SS amp and the soundstage is also bigger than the one in my Dac/Amp Audinst.
I am pretty sure these Russion 6N1P-EV  (6Sh1p-EV)  a the perfect choice for dark headphones that need some extra bass. They are definitely better then the stock GE tubes. 

 

[ribafish]

Well, I wouldn't call dt880 dark, but as I said sometimes i crave for a bit more bass. I will check out 6ak5, but I will wait a bit and first try 6sh1p-ev. And the cans aren't even burned-in, they have about 20 hrs on them...so I will get into more serious rolling after they have I don't know, 150-200 hrs on them. I mean I already have cv4010 and cv4015 driver tubes and 6h30pi+the stock ones, so after I get 6sh1p-ev I think I will be fine for some time...

 

[AlexRoma]

 
You know what, Ribafish, I am really curious if you`ll find the Russian tubes the best match for your headphones. Please, share your experience especially with me (us) because I do seriously consider DT880-s 600ohm my next purchase if the`ll be no way to get rid of my DT990-s killer-trebles. If the final result (with CV4010-s) of my combo will not change, I'm gona sell DT990 headphones `course the brightness of the trebles make my ears bleed on almost all the avarage-quality metal/rock recordings. Despite of thy gorgeous bass, these treble issues had almost excluded my favorite gothic metal from playlist.. Did you tried DT990 for yourself ? Are there enough bass quantity/quality in your 600 ohm DT880-s for rock/metal music ?

       For my tastes the best sounding headphones should have the almost flat frequency response with a small bass enhancement for some woofer articulated punch, but no boomy, oh, they must sound detailed, transparent with sufficient air and separation. From the beginning this was the reason I had purchased DT990-s, too much head-fi reading... The bass quality/quantity had simply blown me away on first run, so that I almost forgave any other problematic spots.. But.. Time has proved that the first impression is not always the best/right one..

 

[ribafish]

No, I tried only hd650, hd555(which I own) and dt880/600. Well, there definetely is quality in bass, but as i said i sometimes feel there should be a bit more of it...especially with some metal, which might sound a bit empty...but still depending on what you're used to and how the track was mastered...it's not a rule. Thtas why I'm gonna try these tubes and see where I end up. When I first tried them, i touhg thte treble was too hot...but on my setup everything is very good, except the bass in some tracks. Will share my experiences when I get them tubes. But, from what you're saying dt880 may not be for you, as it's got less bass than dt990(at least thats what they say). Try to borrow them or something before you buy...if you have the chance ofcourse.

 

[Yekrut]

Quote:

 
You know what, Ribafish, I am really curious if you`ll find the Russian tubes the best match for your headphones. Please, share your experience especially with me (us) because I do seriously consider DT880-s 600ohm my next purchase if the`ll be no way to get rid of my DT990-s killer-trebles. If the final result (with CV4010-s) of my combo will not change, I'm gona sell DT990 headphones `course the brightness of the trebles make my ears bleed on almost all the avarage-quality metal/rock recordings. Despite of thy gorgeous bass, these treble issues had almost exclude my favorite gothic metal from playlist.. Did you tried DT990 for yourself ? Are there enough bass quantity/quality in your 600 ohm DT880-s for rock/metal music ?

      For my tastes the best sounding headphones should have the almost flat frequency response with a small bass enhancement for some woofer articulated punch, but no boomy, oh, they must sound detailed, transparent with sufficient air and separation. From the beginning this was the reason I had purchased DT990-s, too much head-fi reading... The bass quality/quantity had simply blown me away on furst run, so that I almost forgave any other problematic spots.. But.. Time has proved that the first impression is not always the best/right one..

Alex, do you have the 600 Ohm version of the DT990s? I was able to audition both the DT880s and the DT990s when I was deciding on purchasing my headphone. Although I didn't get to listen to them for extended periods of time, I was able to compare them back to back. The DT880 is by far a more neutral sounding headphone. Yes it will reduce the edge off the treble, but will also take away lots of the "oomph" of the bass that I love in the DT990s. The DT880s is an amazing headphone, but what made me go for the DT990 was the impressive bass, as well as the super wide soundstage. The semi-closed design of the DT880 somewhat reduced that soundstage and created a more in your head type sound. Those are the two reason why I stuck with the DT990s. Also want to note that I was testing the 250 Ohm version of the DT990s, which are even brighter than the 600 Ohm version. 
 
PS: I agree that the DT990 is sometimes a bit too bright, especially with bad recordings (I've noticed this on some of my electronic music)
 
Edit: Just got my LD MKIII today! Its beautiful. I'm loving it already, burn in has started, but right of the bat it has toned down some of the highs, but can't wait to get the CV4010 tubes! Also waiting on my udac which should improve the quality of all the audio. 

 

[sferic]

I do prefer the Mullard 4015's to the 4010's, although the 4010's were better than stock. I tried some Sylvania 5654 (not GB) and they were quite harsh. I did get the Russian 6N6Pi driver tubes, and they did make the sound more solid in a subtle way.
 
The 4010's are brighter than the 4015's. If the rest of your chain is dark, you might prefer them. But I find my MKIII with 4015's so satisfying I no longer even think about changing amps. Maybe by the time they burn out LD will have something improved or maybe I'll look at Woo. But I'm totally happy for now and my wallet is safe.
 
Before this, I had a Little Country ss amp, tried 3 different Op Amps, bought the fancy power supply. It was good, and got better with the upgrades, but there were weird things like - touching the volume knob would sometimes cause a hum. When I got the LD MKIII, even with stock tubes, it just spoiled me forever. There's a metallic quality to ss that you just don't realize is there until you listen to glass.
 
My set up: MacPro playing Apple Lossless thru Play. DAC = Apogee Duet. HP's are Ultrasone 900 (Kees Mod) with Milan Acoustics cable for isolation, or (when I can listen in a silent room) Grado PS1000 (heaven).

 

[novak]

I own a fairly high-end SS amp but to be honest I just prefer the tube sound. My Symphony is always predictable and gives me the same exact sound every time I use it, but there's just something to tube amps that a SS just can't give me. If I happen to get bored to a certain sound from my LD, I can just switch the driver tubes and it sounds like something completely different. I've found that tubes evolve fairly drastically throughout their life and a tube that sounded one way when I first plugged it in can sound completely different a few months later. I just love being able to change things around to get just the sound I want!