[bigdirty]

I've got some WE 403b, for a vastly different sound try some Brimar EF91. Soundstage like whoa

 

[lescanard]

I've decided it's time to stop buying tubes on eBay which I am sure many f you have said to themselves at one time or another. Some quick impressions and a question or 2 for fellow MKIII owners:

I've found the EF95s to be lacking a bit the past several months as I have branched out. The best of the bunch still seem to be the Russians, although just found a pair of GE 5-Stars on eBay and am listening to them right now and I like them. I'm not enamored with the Raytheons, like the Mullard 8100s and found some cheap RCA 5654s which are very, very good IMO.

The EF92s and EF91s shine and I would love to try more. The Mullard 8083s are the best sounding pair with my Grados by far. They just warm them up beautifully and really give some extra depth in the bass with these notoriously Brighter sounding cans. The Mullard CV4014 (91s) and Mullard EF91s with Blue middles are simply amazing with the k701s - incredible soundstage, depth and an overall sonic treat - probably my #1 and #1a by a mile overall. Summary of favorites/must haves - Grados - Voshod CZH1P-EV's, 8083s... k701s - CV4014s, Mullard EF91s. In my collection and still to try - GE Jan 5654, GE Jan 5654W.

1 - does anyone have any opinions on the above mentioned with either Grados 325is' or k701s (or any must haves I may be missing with these phones)?
2 - Re: the Mullard EF91s - My question is what is the difference in these tubes - the one pair was bought from an eBayer - listed as Mullard EF91s without a shield and has on the box CV4014 and KQDD/K, the other, I bought 5 from a guy in Great Britain and they are listed as Mullard EF91s - have a shield (and EF91 stamped on) and are blue in the middle. I absolutely love both and wondered if anyone knew the similarities or differences of these tubes.

Thanks everyone!

 

[alex98uk]

Where did you get the Mullard 8303's? I can't find them on eBay!

Any advice on what to look for in order for a crisper high end sound. I have some Sony XB700 headphones, so I have the bass, but I sometimes feel the upper range is missing.

 

[lescanard]

Sorry - it was a mis-type - meant 8083s...Got them here:

2 NOS Mullard CV4014 / EF91 / 6AM6 Vacuum Tubes NIB - eBay (item 150387024241 end time Dec-07-09 10:47:52 PST)

 

[kres]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lescanard /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry - it was a mis-type - meant 8083s...Got them here: 2 NOS Mullard CV4014 / EF91 / 6AM6 Vacuum Tubes NIB - eBay (item 150387024241 end time Dec-07-09 10:47:52 PST)

Hi everybody

I am looking for tubes to replace my stock tubes on my LDIII.
With my K701, I find the stock tubes very poor in bass.

If I take the tubes on ebay, at this URL, will the sound be improved, especially on bass extension and depth ? Will the bass be also tight ?

Thanks a lot.

Otherwise, I think I will look for a Heed Canamp, which rseems to be the best option for driving a k701, thought difficult to find (at least in second hand market).

Kres

 

[internethandle]

Noobie question:

Just got my Little Dot MK III today from a fellow head-fier, and he included two extra tubes. However, they are not matched. One is an RCA 5654 that has no other identifications on it except "RCA" "5654" and the number "7722." The other tube is an RCA Command 5654. Does this mean they are not matched?

I had read up that most amps will allow you to put in an unmatched pair, so I went ahead and plugged them into the amp, and they work fine. I get the impression though that the RCA Command Series 5654 should be superior over (what others seem to have dubbed) the "plain Jane" RCA 5654. I also have read that the risk of plugging in an unmatched pair is that you're going to different SQ for each channel, which would be more pronounced or less depending on how mismatched they are.

Would appreciate some clarification.

 

[erikzen]

Personally, I think getting matched pairs for the LD MKIII is overrated. I bought a lot of tubes when I had the amp. At first I paid top dollar from from known sellers for vintage, NOS, matched pairs. But $30 to $60 for a pair of tubes seemed a bit steep to me.

Then I started hunting around eBay for better deals, with the idea of not paying more than $10 per tube. I was able to find a bunch. Sometimes the seller would say they were matched and other times not. I found that sometimes when they said they were matched they were obviously not, like in your example above.

I must have had at least a half dozen pairs of unmatched tubes and never did I find a channel imbalance or any degradation in sound. As it turned out my favorite pair of tubes were matched, NOS, from a reputable seller but I think that just had to do with the tubes and not so much because they were matched.

I also liked the Western Electric 403B. I got a bunch of them pretty cheaply and none of them were matched, but they sounded wonderful in the amp.

Of course maybe my ears aren't good enough or my source wasn't revealing enough but to my ears, spending a lot of money for matched pairs with the Little Dot is not necessary. I'm sure there are mismatches that are so bad, the difference is obvious but I've never come across the issue.

 

[internethandle]

Thanks for the advice. If there's any difference in SQ between the two channels because I'm using unmatched tubes, I haven't been able to tell so far. They certainly sound like a bit of an improvement over the stock driver tubes.

 

[sinisterm]

Long time no see, so hello to everyone.

Was out of headphones business for almost a year but now the bug bite me again, and of course it's time to tube roll aswell.

Anyone heard of "France RTC 5654 6AK5 CV4010 EF95"? There's 8 on Ebay for 8USD per piece. I guess I'll take the dive.

How's the "scene" anyway nowdays?

Any new excellent brand/model tubes found?

 

[EluamousNailo]

After reading almost all of this thread, I have nearly a full page of possible tubes to test eventually, but are these 3 tubes good starting tubes?

Mullard M8161
Tung-Sol 6AK5 Black Plate
Amperex 5654

 

[sinisterm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EluamousNailo /img/forum/go_quote.gif After reading almost all of this thread, I have nearly a full page of possible tubes to test eventually, but are these 3 tubes good starting tubes? Mullard M8161 Tung-Sol 6AK5 Black Plate Amperex 5654

Haven't heard the Amperex's, but the Mullard's and Tung-Sol's are very nice tubes indeed. You can't really go wrong with choosing those.

But I'd suggest you to consider Voshod 6J1P-EV russian tubes (10USD for 10 pieces). They are bloody cheap, and sound very good.

 

[kres]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kres /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi everybody I am looking for tubes to replace my stock tubes on my LDIII. With my K701, I find the stock tubes very poor in bass. If I take the tubes on ebay, at this URL, will the sound be improved, especially on bass extension and depth ? Will the bass be also tight ? Thanks a lot. Otherwise, I think I will look for a Heed Canamp, which rseems to be the best option for driving a k701, thought difficult to find (at least in second hand market). Kres

Finally I have ordered these Mullard tubes on ebay.

Do I have to switch anything on the little dot mk III, or I just have to replace the stock tubes by the new ones without any modifications ?

Thanks

 

[Lantis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kres /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finally I have ordered these Mullard tubes on ebay. Do I have to switch anything on the little dot mk III, or I just have to replace the stock tubes by the new ones without any modifications ? Thanks

From the MK III manual:

Code:

[left]Little Dot MK III Jumpers for Driver Tube-Rolling The Little Dot MK III has three jumpers that allow two different types of driver tubes. You can access the jumpers through the amplifier’s bottom panel, and they are located to the sides of the pair of capacitors closest to the front of the amplifier. Please power off the amplifier, and unplug it for at least 10 minutes before attempting to change the switch settings. [color=Red][b]If the jumpers covering pins 1 and 2, the following EF95 type driver tubes may be used:[/b][/color] [list=1][*][b]WE403A[/b] [*][b]5654[/b], CK5654, GL5654, 5591, [b]CV4010[/b], CV5216, CV8246, 6069, CV10442 [*][b]EF95[/b], [b]M8100[/b], 6AK5W, CV10100, CV8159, CV8225, CV850 [*][b]6J1[/b] [/list]
[b] [color=Red]If jumpers are covering pins 2 and 3 (EF92 side) the following EF92 type driver tubes may be used:[/color][/b] [list=1][*][b]EF92[/b], [b]6CQ6[/b], CV2023, V884, VP6, [b]M8161[/b] [*][b]EF91[/b], 6AM6, CV10327, [b]CV138[/b], CV1955, CV2195, Z77 [*][b]CV131[/b], 9D6, W77 [/list]
 Any other equivalents or drop-in replacements for the above-mentioned tubes (both sets) may also be used. [b]Important Note:[/b] While all of the above tubes should technically be equivalent or similar, only the tubes in bold have officially been tested to be compatible.[/left]

 

[kres]

Many thanks !

 

[lescanard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kres /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi everybody I am looking for tubes to replace my stock tubes on my LDIII. With my K701, I find the stock tubes very poor in bass. If I take the tubes on ebay, at this URL, will the sound be improved, especially on bass extension and depth ? Will the bass be also tight ? Thanks a lot. Otherwise, I think I will look for a Heed Canamp, which rseems to be the best option for driving a k701, thought difficult to find (at least in second hand market). Kres

Got these as well as I posted earlier and will tell you they made a huge improvement to my k701s. Very noticeable and without a doubt my current favorites (along with some Mullard EF91s with blue glass I recently won on eBay). If your source is good I cannot imagine you won't love them.

The bass to my ears is absolutely perfect (although I have always felt the k701s deliver great bass as opposed to others). Still very tight - and IMO improved significantly (especially from the EF95 family I think).