[Impulsive]

-su, is that these mullards you are talking about?
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/2x-NOS-MULLARD-CV4010-VALVE-EF95-M8100-6AK5-5654-Tubes-/290546585784?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item43a5ed10b8
 
If so, they are frickin expensive at your seller.
 
BRW i am the only one deaf who cant hear that many differences as you do hear?
I hardly found only one, little difference between GE5654 and Mullard EF91.
Where the flock is the problem?

 

[-su]

yeah it's the same Mullard CV4010,
knowing that he sells it above $40 already turned me down anyway.
 
I haven't done the tube rolling on my LD MKIII,
the CV850s have not arrived yet 

hopefully tomorrow I can update some words about it here.
 
But...
I've done tube rollings on my Bravo (12au7 base) and my maverick D1 (5670 based),
With my rookie ears, I can hear some differences from different tubes (3pcs of 12au7 tubes and 3pcs of 5670 tubes), mostly involves better high extension, lushier mids, better low bottom reproduction, overall warmness, better soundstage, different representation of vocal, etc.
 
Well IMO the easiest components to hear and confirm are the main frequencies (low, mid and high - if the improvement is significant)...
the harder others are soundstage, forwardness (vs laidback), thickness, imaging and some other components which will need extra critical listening.
 
What I'm trying to say is IF the tube rolling's improvement involves above listed harder components, well it will definitely be harder to realize the differences...
and I'm also the guy who believes that inputs (files bitrate, recordings quality DACs quality, interconnects, etc) and outputs (headphones, earphones, speakers, etc) related to the amp are also counted as factors.
I can see your output (DT880/600) is well-known as analytical and accurate monitoring headphone,
so I suggest you to make sure you have good inputs to feed to your amp...
just a noob's $0.02 tho
 
NB: sorry for my bad english...

 

[Impulsive]

Hello there -su
Nice and easy you said it.
My chain should be OK, you see whole chain in my sig, and source is FLAC music so no problem here.
I do hear some differences, but only so small that i consider now GE5654 and Mullard EF91 almost equivalents.
Well, better vocals on EF91.
Next week should arrive those mullards which we  were talking about, so i will try them and review it here.
Then on my list are Tung-Sol 6AK5 1940 series and i am done.
I will see if it will be wasted money, but at least i will have backup tubes.

 

[mordy]

Hello Impulsive,
 
Don't worry about if you can hear differences or not - the main thing is to enjoy the music! IMHO some people just listen to their equipment, forever changing this or that to see what kind of change the new stuff made.
I think the best scenario is that you enjoy the music so much that you forget to analyze the highs and the lows, and the mids, and you just enjoy the music. (On the other hand, if you enjoy your equipment more than the music, so be it; it's OK, too. Whatever floats your boat...)

 

[Impulsive]

Hello there mate.
I do not want you to get me wrong.
I am enjoying music with new equipment, it's really big change, but i get poisoned with tube rolling...everybody is talking like, oh i just tried XYZ tubes and music is fricking awesome. totally different.
I wanted to try that too, to see if it changes music that much, but i did not noticed that big changes.
I am not disappointed from music from new tubes, they really brought out vocals and after having piano session i noticed high tones of piano do not hurt my ears anymore.
So in the end, yeah, changes are here but i think that "big" or "small" changes are relative announcements, because if you are looking for certain change and it is fulfilled, then it might be big change for you. But if not, then you wont consider it big change.
Right now, listening to piano i can say i did not have any expectations but it changed music in positive way.
Since i bought DT880, music is more relaxing for me, it sucks me in like i am there, totally forgetting about outside world. I have not experienced it before.
I am not type who analyze music while listening, because i do not know how to analyze it, i am not musician type. And music  is too dynamic to analyze for me.
I just say to myself, wow what a nice sounding chello, but in a second, it is gone, music is like river, it flows dynamically, and in every moment it is completely different.
That's why we should not analyze it, but enjoy it as it is flowing.
That's my opinion.
 
Regards,
Imp
 

 

[mordy]

Hi Imp,
 
Thank you for a very beautiful and inspiring description of music enjoyment! I really agree with you 100%!

 

[Impulsive]

Hi there mate.
That's how I feel it.
 
I am glad you agree with me

 

[Impulsive]

Ok so another good news
Today i finally received my long awaited Mullards M8100.
They arrived packaged perfectly.
So i just removed jumpers, mounted new tubes in and turned amp on.
I immediately played some favourite songs...but what the hell I noticed? Is it really improved, bigger bass, I wanted?
I cant believe it, lets try another song.
OMG Bass is better here too!
Let's try bass-heavy songs which lacked bass with previous tubes..And I was blown away with magnificent bass!
Currently enjoying awesome bass I always dreamed about.
DT 880 are musically balanced headphones, so you cant expect overhelming bass from transparent tubes and transparent audio chain.
But these little Mullards make bass stand out.
Bass that I missed since i bought them.They were perfect in every possible way. Except Bass. It was exact and punchy, but for my taste it was not enough of it.
Now my audio nirvana has been realized.
Real eargasm experienced today.
My bassy songs are in my playlist again!
 
Enough about bass now
Soundstage is pretty much the same as on EF91 and vocals are same like EF91.
Roughly i can say EF 91 and M8100 have the same characteristics (I do not hear any sonic differences between them.)
The only difference is this monstrous bass.
I do not mean muddy crap.
Powerful, energetic, exact punchy bass which shakes your head.
Not killing any details, nothing is sacrificed.
Beautiful vocals, perfect midrange, no hurting highs and this awesome bass.
There is nothing I ever wished.
Music is just ...magnificent now.
It now has "Juice"
 
So now my personal preference is: Mullard M8100 > Mullard EF91 > GE5654 (Stock)
I think i will buy another pair to have spare set because this tubes made really Beyers sing and shine. This bass brought music alive (and me too).
And finally I am enjoying and hearing perfect sub-bass.
 
So in conclusion, tube rolling is fun, when you find tubes that suit you, are probably the most happy audiophile in the world.
 
Regards,
Imp

 

[AlexRoma]

Glad you liked them.. But your bass impressions made me several times like this

 . Anyway, I had not listened  EF91 tubes, and these M8100 have better extension (subbass) compared with GE5654 for sure...  Conclusion ? M8100 rule ! No more need for lottery money spending any more ... Thanks. I hope 50 hours burn in wouldn't change dramatic their sound signature.. Cause mine, burned in, sound very neutral and lush, with proper bass extension, but less kicking, compared to famous russian tubes (or any SS amp I had tried) .
 
Quote:

Bass that I missed since i bought them.They were perfect in every possible way. Except Bass.

 
I agree with you but would add some extra : "perfect in every possible way for the money they cost"  ...
 

 

[-su]

Hi Imp,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the M8100 much bro!
 
I've received my CV850 yesterday.
Very forward vocal, smooths up the high and raise the level of lower mid to upper bass...
I do feel the soundstage get narrower, but I realize it's because the vocal come more forward...
 
I think this setup ( FLAC/WAV - Maverick D1 optical input (LT1364 + GE 5-star 5670) - LD MKIII Mullard CV850 ) will really bring synergy with any laid-back, valley-like freq response, and tend-to-dry headphone i.e DT880s, SRH840s, and maybe K701s...
Still waiting for the tube to break-in, I heard a little uncontrolled bass on particular songs, hope it will go better after break-in.

 

[Impulsive]

Well, I only hope they wont change after time.
If they do, there is still way to go: Tung-Sol.
 
You know, YMMV because impressions are subjective.
I just found, what i was looking for so that's the max. I could get.
I do not want muddy sound where bass is present everhere.
Just want bass to be where it is expected to be and be punchy, powerful, alive.
And these mullards fulfilled my wish.
 
Regarding your last sentence mate, I did not heard more expensive headphones. (Thanks god because it would probably ruin me.)
I just love DT 880.
 
That's all from for me now, I have now everything I wanted, no problems remaining, just enjoying music

 
Regards,
Imp

 

[Impulsive]

Quote:

Hi Imp,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the M8100 much bro!
 
I've received my CV850 yesterday.
Very forward vocal, smooths up the high and raise the level of lower mid to upper bass...
I do feel the soundstage get narrower, but I realize it's because the vocal come more forward...
 
I think this setup ( FLAC/WAV - Maverick D1 optical input (LT1364 + GE 5-star 5670) - LD MKIII Mullard CV850 ) will really bring synergy with any laid-back, valley-like freq response, and tend-to-dry headphone i.e DT880s, SRH840s, and maybe K701s...
Still waiting for the tube to break-in, I heard a little uncontrolled bass on particular songs, hope it will go better after break-in.

Hi -su.
 
You just wrote new comment right when I was writing, didnt saw yours.
 
I just checked these CV850 on ebay and god, they are pretty expensive
80 USD for marched pair.
What's so special about them?
 
I looked closer and they seems to have inner parts the same as Mullard M8100 CV4010.
I wonder how they differ, since it is the same EF95 series.
 

 

[mordy]

Hi!
 
Update on the Large Shield Mullard EF92/CV131/M8161 tubes:
 
Pros: Very detailed sound, separating out the instruments clearly, good bass, beautiful highs. Responds especially well to the treble tone control. The EF92 tubes feel cooler to the touch than others I tried, but the amp itself runs fairly hot.
 
Cons: Mid range dark and somewhat dull and mellow, lacking "bite" in the upper mid range , ultimately harshness in bass and mid range that becomes grating (but less so than the Mullard EF91 tubes). Poor response to bass tone control. Sound stage not extended. Transistorized sound in my system. Lacking the sweetness and tube warmth of the Mullard EF95/CV850-M8100/CV4010 tubes.
 
After 60 hours of burning in I had to take the EF92s out of my system. At least it has become much easier to change the jumpers now. Put in the Mullard EF95/CV850 tubes. Finally things sounded just right again, nothing is bothering me, allowing me to concentrate on the music.
 
Sorry, but in my system the EF92 tubes sing out of tune.
Based on impressions by others, I had expected more, but I can only report on what my ears hear on my equipment....
 
 

 

[Impulsive]

Hi mordy!
 
Thanks for reviewing EF92 tubes.
Well, in audio industry, i think only 4 words say everything. YMMV.
Because there are so many variations of audio sources through amps, to headphones and not to mention the fact that everybody likes another sound.
You tried, now you know how they sound.
I wanted too, but after your review, i wont waste money on EF92
EF91 seems better than EF92 from what i see here.

 

[mordy]

Hi Imp,
 
Don't bother with the Tung Sols - the Mullards have better bass. (But again, YMMV....)
 
As to the CV850/M8100/EF95/CV4010 Mullards they should all be equivalents and very similar.