[Arcee]

For me, after trying several tubes, Chinese stock tubes, RCA black plates and Mullard's, plus also some power tubes, the absolute perfect combination is the Mullard EF 95 driver tubes combined with the Electro Harmonix 6H30Pi-EV gold pin power tubes. The sound on my Sennheiser HD600's is just absolutely awesome. And I learned my lesson on burn-in: please don't give up or even judge on tubes without substantial burn-in! I have some 150 hours on the mentioned combination and only now have the impression the sound reaches the top. Soundstage is awesome, the Mullard's have fantastic mids and the kind of highs I really like hearing, and after the upgrade of the power tubes deeper bass, which before I had those, I didn't think my HD600's could do.

It also shows how great an amp the Little Dot MKIII really is, I am addicted to it!

 

[MIKELAP]

For me, after trying several tubes, Chinese stock tubes, RCA black plates and Mullard's, plus also some power tubes, the absolute perfect combination is the Mullard EF 95 driver tubes combined with the Electro Harmonix 6H30Pi-EV gold pin power tubes. The sound on my Sennheiser HD600's is just absolutely awesome. And I learned my lesson on burn-in: please don't give up or even judge on tubes without substantial burn-in! I have some 150 hours on the mentioned combination and only now have the impression the sound reaches the top. Soundstage is awesome, the Mullard's have fantastic mids and the kind of highs I really like hearing, and after the upgrade of the power tubes deeper bass, which before I had those, I didn't think my HD600's could do.

It also shows how great an amp the Little Dot MKIII really is, I am addicted to it!

So now i guess you up for page 77 in the LITTLEDOT TUBE ROLLING GUIDE have fun an by the way for a look at power tubes this is a good read also in the same thread enjoy.p 201 starting at post 3007

 

[Anavel0]

I know we don't get frequent post in this thread anymore, so I just wanted to mention that I just got my hands on a pair of NOS Siemens 6AK5W blue glass tubes. I've only been listening to them for a short while so no full review just yet.
 
The short comparison to my Sylvania 5654 gold brands, they seem to have the same great mids but with a bit more clarity in the treble and a slight bit deeper bass. I'll post again after I've had a couple of days to roll.

 

[Anavel0]

After living with them for a week now I've noticed a lot better clarity in the treble. It's also sounds like the bass is a bit more extension. Soundstage is a tad bit wider. Also, I feel a bit closer to the front row, instead of several rows back. Compared to the stock GE 5654 tubes it's a marked improvement across the board.

 

[Greystoke]

After living with them for a week now I've noticed a lot better clarity in the treble. It's also sounds like the bass is a bit more extension. Soundstage is a tad bit wider. Also, I feel a bit closer to the front row, instead of several rows back. Compared to the stock GE 5654 tubes it's a marked improvement across the board.

I got a pair of these myself, definitely an improvement.  Nice clarity, especially with dialogue (I use this amp with headphones to watch Netflix).  Background music is detailed, but not overly emphasized, sounds very natural.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

With all the plug and play driver tube i've tried IMO the 6HM5 is the best sounding.

 

[zool]

I'm about to pull the trigger on some Sovtek 6H30Pi supertubes. However I listen to my mk3 for pretty long periods at a time and I think it runs pretty hot with the stock power tubes. Will it run even hotter with the 6H30Pi tubes? Anyone notice this? I have some recollection of someone here on head-fi mentioning that. I have the v2.0 board, so the amp should be compatible with the Pi tubes without any modifications.
 
When it comes to driver tube rolling I think it varies allot on which headphone you have.. You really have to find the right sound for the characteristics of you're headphone. I really like the EF92 (M8161) mullards for my Audio-Technica ATH-ES10 and the Mullard EF95 (M8100) sounds amazing with the Fidelio X1. I also like the Voshkod (6ZH1P-EV) and the Tung-sol (6AK5) tubes with he X1. But the mullard EF95 just sounds so rich and full but still has great control over instrumental space and soundstage.. I'm really impressed and enjoying it very much. I remember really enjoying the Voshkod with Audio-technica ATH-A900 when I use to own it. That was a fun combination as well.
 
Anyone else have some thoughts on driver tubes for Fidelio X1?

 

[Arcee]

  I'm about to pull the trigger on some Sovtek 6H30Pi supertubes. However I listen to my mk3 for pretty long periods at a time and I think it runs pretty hot with the stock power tubes. Will it run even hotter with the 6H30Pi tubes? Anyone notice this? I have some recollection of someone here on head-fi mentioning that. I have the v2.0 board, so the amp should be compatible with the Pi tubes without any modifications.

 
I have used my Little Dot MKIII with the stock power tubes for quite a while before upgrading them, and indeed already noticed the amp runs pretty hot already with the stock tubes. But it didn't prevent me to upgrading them eventually. I have also upgraded to the 6H30Pi's, but not the Sovtek ones. I upgraded to the Electro Harmonix 6H30Pi-EV gold pin's instead. Either way, it's 6H30Pi's as well so regarding the temperature, it should be similar. And to be honest, my MKIII doesn't get noticably hotter with the 6H30Pi's than with the stock tubes; it is more or less the same. And I've been using the 6H30Pi's almost on a daily basis for two months now, it plays fine and it was a great upgrade, really worth it. Minor detail: I have the v4.0 board and not the v2.0 board so I cannot guarantee what it will do on your v2.0 board.

 

[MIKELAP]

  I'm about to pull the trigger on some Sovtek 6H30Pi supertubes. However I listen to my mk3 for pretty long periods at a time and I think it runs pretty hot with the stock power tubes. Will it run even hotter with the 6H30Pi tubes? Anyone notice this? I have some recollection of someone here on head-fi mentioning that. I have the v2.0 board, so the amp should be compatible with the Pi tubes without any modifications.
 
When it comes to driver tube rolling I think it varies allot on which headphone you have.. You really have to find the right sound for the characteristics of you're headphone. I really like the EF92 (M8161) mullards for my Audio-Technica ATH-ES10 and the Mullard EF95 (M8100) sounds amazing with the Fidelio X1. I also like the Voshkod (6ZH1P-EV) and the Tung-sol (6AK5) tubes with he X1. But the mullard EF95 just sounds so rich and full but still has great control over instrumental space and soundstage.. I'm really impressed and enjoying it very much. I remember really enjoying the Voshkod with Audio-technica ATH-A900 when I use to own it. That was a fun combination as well.
 
Anyone else have some thoughts on driver tubes for Fidelio X1?

Ive been running the Electro Harmonix 6H30PI-EV gold pins  for a few years now and i have a v2.0 board also and everything is fine but i also tried the russian 6N6P IR power tube which is a favorite on the Littledot tube rolling thread which sounds very good at a fraction of the price about $14.00 each +  shipping   heres the link.
                                      http://tubes-store.com/index.php?cPath=30_78&page=2                                                                                            Try this link also for reviews of different power tubes post #3007  http://www.head-fi.org/t/563884/little-dot-tube-amps-vacuum-tube-rolling-guide/3000#post_9823694                                                                                                                                                                          

 

[zool]

I just order a pair from the Tube store. Very good price and from the review they seem very nice. I had read earlier that the Sovtek Pi tube was more detailed and transparent than the electro harmonix, but the EH being more musical and warm sounding of the two. I was a little bit on the fence weather I should get EH or Sovtek but the price difference made it easier to decide. However the IR tubes seem to be very cheap for their performance and this seemed like a no brainer. Thank you for you're advice sir!
 
I was very close to getting the Sovteks from this dealer http://www.ebay.com/itm/270780908655?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT. Anyone bought tubes from them? I'm always a little careful getting stuff from China (Taiwan in this case). Allot of scamers using rebranding tricks etc.

 

[zool]

The M8100 is by far my favorite tube for the MK3 ATM. Can't wait for the IR power tubes to arrive .
 

 

[zool]

Man.. Shipping will take about 2 weeks! Me so sad :.(

 

[MIKELAP]

  Man.. Shipping will take about 2 weeks! Me so sad :.(

From my experience to Canada If you ordered from Ukraine its 2 weeks usually if you ordered from Russia its at least a month . Good luck .

 

[zool]

  From my experience to Canada If you ordered from Ukraine its 2 weeks usually if you ordered from Russia its at least a month . Good luck .

I'm really hoping that I'll get them next week. After reading the review from the tube rolling guide thread, I got really excited about this upgrade. I've also recently upgraded DAC and interconnects which have had some significant improvements. I'm hearing allot of "microdynamics" now that I didn't know existed before. So I think the power tube upgrade will be even better in my currant system than it would have been in the old one.

 

[manizkrishnan]

Hello, I recently bought Russian Tubes 6Zh1P-EV = 6J1P-EV ( 6Ж1П-ЕВ ) an quality equivalent of the EF95 / 6F32 and NOS RUSSIAN TUBES 6N6P-I ( 6Н6П-И ) an quality equivalent of the ECC99 / E182CC for my liitle dot MK III amp. Can i install these tubes with out changing anything? You seems to know lot about tube rolling. any help would be really appreciated.