[Dynasty62]

Yup, will do once I get all my equipment in order... it might be a few weeks though. I can't wait to compare the TS and EF-91s!
 
Thanks for all your help!

 

[egoxrt]

I have just rolled a pair of DR's in my MK IV SE and they have made the single greatest improvement to my system. They are matched to a pair of CV4015 large shield drivers and are just plain magnificent. The difference between the Electro Hamonix gold pins, the Russian 6N6P and the DR's is night and day, the first thing you will notice is the stage is HUGE and the separation doubles. I have AKG K702's matched with a Double Helix cable and i can hear changes to detail very clearly, the DR's seem to have a very special quality to them, please keep in mind the ones i have are early 80's tubes and might be different to the later production units.
 
I have rolled small shield CV4015's from the 70's and 80's, these sound identical, large shield CV4015's from the 50's, similar to later ones with a warmer quality and more defined bass, CV4010 Blue glass, nothing special there. I am yet to try any of the North American tubes, but will do one day and post a detailed review on the entire lot.
 
Quote:

55M8100 is identical to CV4010; one is a civilian version, and the CV a military version. The source you have for $23.00 for a pair including shipping seems to have good feedback.
I paid around $15.00 including shipping for a pair CV4010s a couple months ago, but this guy got smart and upped the price after several orders came in (perhaps from people on this site having seen the recommendation). IF you have patience just check E-Bay on a regular basis and you will find them cheaper - I am big believer in the $8.00 rule - never pay more than $8.00/tube.
Valve Electronic is one of the names Mullard used. If the tube is a CV4010 and it states made in Great Britain it is most likely made by Mullard.
I have the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones and did not notice any distortion with the Mullard EF91s. (However, I much prefer speakers to headphones.)
I bought two different Amperex EF95 tubes which probably are from the 60's. Both state Made in Great Britain and have black plates with a circular hole in the middle of the black plate and look exactly like my CV4010 tubes by Mullard. I think it is a safe bet to say that they are made by Mullard so I don't see the need to pay big bucks for the Amperex EF95 if you could get Mullard CV4010's much cheaper.
Re the power tubes the manual states that the 6N6P-i are the stock tubes. One of my stock tubes went bad and I put in a pair of 6N6P tubes that I bought via E-Bay for around $6.00 each from somebody in Eastern Europe. I can't really hear much of a difference between the 6N6P and the 6N6P-i.
The manufacturer of the Little Dot MkIII (David) claims that the 6H30Pi-DR power tubes will make a difference, but at a cost of $150.00 and up for a pair I feel that it defeats the purpose of a $200.00 amp. In addition, I have not heard from anybody on this forum that these power tubes are so much better. Does anybody have experience with the DR tubes?

 

[mordy]

Thanks for your interesting post. Do you have a good source for the the CV4015 long shield and the DR tubes?
What is the difference between short shield and long shield tubes?
I assume that you have to change the jumpers to use the CV4015 tubes. Personally, I found it nerve wracking for fear of dropping the tiny jumpers inside the amp.

 

[Zudeo]

Also, what are "DR" tubes? I also have a Little Dot MK III and I found your post helpful.

 

[mordy]

Tubes made in USA, Europe and Russia may be identical or similar, but each region uses different letter and number designations for their tubes.  6AK5/5654, EF95 and 6J1 respectively, have the same characteristics.
The driver tubes for the Little Dot MkIII are made in Russia and thus have Russian designations. (I am not aware of US or European tubes that can be substituted for the Russian MkIII driver tubes.)
Many times the Russian Cyrillic characters on the tubes are translated into English letters. The last two letters on the tube preceded by a dash ("-") denote special characteristics of the tube.
-EV or -EB means extended service life (5,000 hours instead of the standard 2,000) and low microphonics.
-I (which looks like a mirror imaged N in Russian) means optimized for pulsed mode (standard for the MkIII power tube.
-DR means exceptionally long service life (10,000) hours and reliability.
 
Here is a link to Russian tube designations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_tube_designations
 
Here is homework: Decipher 6ZH1P-EV (not as hard as it looks!)
 

 

[egoxrt]

The CV4015 large shield can be had here http://www.radio-antigua.com/cv4015m8161tuberhrevalvulanos-p-1725.html
The 6H30DP/DR can be had here http://www.partsconnexion.com/tube_nos_6h30.html

 

[kwang411]

What are some really warm or mellow tubes you guys would suggest (it would be great if there is more emphasis on the midrange too)? I'm really trying to tone down the treble of  my HD800s.. Thanks in advance!

 

[leesure]

Quote:

What are some really warm or mellow tubes you guys would suggest (it would be great if there is more emphasis on the midrange too)? I'm really trying to tone down the treble of  my HD800s.. Thanks in advance!

I'd try the Mullard CV4010.  I found them to have really liquidy midrange, but were a little rolled off at both ends.

 

[kwang411]

Sorry I forgot to mention that I already have the Mullard M8100 and M8161, butI still don't think they are warm enough.
I want tubes that are rolled off in the top end, I'm willing to sacrifice some details..
I read that the Amperex 6AK5 tubes are really warm? Are there any other suggestions? Thanks!
 
Quote:

Quote:

What are some really warm or mellow tubes you guys would suggest (it would be great if there is more emphasis on the midrange too)? I'm really trying to tone down the treble of  my HD800s.. Thanks in advance!

I'd try the Mullard CV4010.  I found them to have really liquidy midrange, but were a little rolled off at both ends.

 

[eugeneyou]

 
im totally new here.

 

what do i need for getting MKIII? DAC? IPOD DOCK?

 

[mordy]

I have two Amperex 6AK5 tubes. Both are made in Gt Britain and look like Mullard tubes with the round hole in the plate. One on them has the bugle boy logo. To me they don't sound better than the CV4010 tubes. The sound is very detailed with a nice midrange, but both the top and the bottom seems rolled off, and the sound is too thin for me. The bass is accurate, but there is no punch or slam.
How did you find the original equipment GE5654 tubes with your headphones? To me these tubes are less detailed but have a lush midrange and a rolled off top.
As stated in earlier posts, I usually listen to speakers and use the MkIII as a tube buffer, feeding into a solid state receiver. Many times I find that the tubes I am using require more or less treble or bass with certain recordings. For this purpose I use the tone controls on my receiver with good results. Perhaps there is a way to add tone controls even if you are listening to the MkIII directly through your headphones.

 

[mordy]

All you need are headphones and any music source such as IPod, CD player, MP3 player, PC, AM/FM radio etc. You need a cable to connect these sources to the MkIII, and that's it.

 

[kwang411]

Hey thanks for your input. I'm coming from LD mk IV SE actually, so it came with Mullard CV4010s and not GE5654. Do you think the GE tubes are lusher than the Mullard CV4010s?
Maybe I'll give the GE5654s a try, are they just normal Ge5654 or are they the 5-stars version?
 
I'm running my system using my desktop, so I'm only using Foobar to EQ my HD800s.
 
Quote:

I have two Amperex 6AK5 tubes. Both are made in Gt Britain and look like Mullard tubes with the round hole in the plate. One on them has the bugle boy logo. To me they don't sound better than the CV4010 tubes. The sound is very detailed with a nice midrange, but both the top and the bottom seems rolled off, and the sound is too thin for me. The bass is accurate, but there is no punch or slam.
How did you find the original equipment GE5654 tubes with your headphones? To me these tubes are less detailed but have a lush midrange and a rolled off top.
As stated in earlier posts, I usually listen to speakers and use the MkIII as a tube buffer, feeding into a solid state receiver. Many times I find that the tubes I am using require more or less treble or bass with certain recordings. For this purpose I use the tone controls on my receiver with good results. Perhaps there is a way to add tone controls even if you are listening to the MkIII directly through your headphones.

 

[eugeneyou]

 

where can I get the cable.any decent cable?better cable?so no DAC needed?

 

[leesure]

Just got a pair of old Tung Sol's.  Very nice!  They really seem to get out of the way and let the music shine through.  It was only about 5 minutes before I stopped listening to the tubes and just let the music wash over me. 
 
They are not the rolled off top end that kwang411's looking for, tho.  Sorry.
 
But for the rest of us, the veil was lifted.  Really nice tubes.  Unfortunately, I'm getting a hum from one of them.  If I tap on the tube it goes away for a while, but eventually comes back.   Might be worth the aggravation, they are so good.