[mordy]

Which tube are you referring to?
 

 

[mordy]

Which tube are you referring to?

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

Which tube are you referring to?

Sorry about that mordy i tough you where a mind reader i am talking about the Voshkods 6ZHIP-EV/6AK5 matched pair of course GOD that was before i saw the light got to go in the EF 95 box ,no one goes into that box anymore for those tubes and while im at it i am sampling as we speak a wonderful pair of unmacthed Tung-sol 6BE6 tubes i tried on 4setting with the socket 2-7on EF95 SETTING AND ON EF95 1-7 SOCKET WIRE MOD ALSO EF 91 92 and personnally i prefer the EF95 SETTING as more balanced sound finally .

 

[MIKELAP]

 
i just tought i throw in a picture of my tube filing system noting more than an ice cube tray and a plastic box made for bacon slices all at your friendly neighborhood dollarstore..And on the right Accapella 11's  trusty page 77 

 

[mordy]

That's funny - I also have an updated copy of p.77 next to my computer. Speaking of the 6BE6 TS tubes - did you notice any change in the sound as time goes on?

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

That's funny - I also have an updated copy of p.77 next to my computer. Speaking of the 6BE6 TS tubes - did you notice any change in the sound as time goes on?

Of the top of my head all of the recent tubes to me sound very good the tesla 6f32v ,6cb6a ,6ah6,6ew6, 6be6,6av6, the only ones i didnt really like right off  the bat are the 6136 G.E to be honest i dont stick with a tube long enough  to see improvement sorry. But the 6BE6 sounds similar to me all those i mentionned .But it would a good idea to concentrate more on 1 pair at a time .But the thing is im like a kid i like to play more than i like to study thats my problem .

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

I'm following in the wake here guys, and very grateful to everyone who's done all this awesome work.
 
Graduated from the regular pentodes to Tung-Sol 6AH6WA and thought the performance of the amp went up a whole class or two. Then came the first heptode, Telefunken EK90, and it got even better.
 
But not till after burn-in. For the first few hours, the sound was refined, but thin and the image set well back. I had to turn the volume up 1-2 points on the dial and even then there was energy lacking. However, after only 10-12 hours they sound like different tubes, precise focus, rich sound, if anything a little too immediate. I've not known a tube change so much so quickly. I see mab is keen on these - was this your experience? I'm looking forward to trying them strapped.
 

 
It's nice to hear from another set of ears! Welcome!
 
And after you have had some time with your strapped EK90, please let us know what you think.

 

[bassboysam]

i'm sure it has been discussed, but can someone explain "strapping"? When and how would I need to do it? I am curious about the EK90 and how it would sound.

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

Had a similar experience with the RCA 6BY6 heptodes. They sounded good, but suddenly after around 40 hours they "woke up" and the low end become much better. Wonder if others have had such experiences with heptodes?
 
Seems that many tubes need around 20 hours of burn in, some around 50 hours, and of course the champ here is the Voskhods that need 120 hours!
 

 
I keep going back and forth between the RCA 5915/6BY6 and Siemens EK90. The Siemens have that airy high-end detail and dry, clean bass, which I really like, but I feel that the vocals are a bit thin. On the other hand, vocals on the RCAs sound just right, but the bass still seems a bit too wet... I am looking forward to having another 10 or 20 hours on the RCAs....
 
Oh, and I got my first pair of 6CS6 today, a pair of Sylvanias. I picked these up for $0.99 each! And I wish I could say that I got free shipping too, but unfortunately not. lol Even so, these were still less than $8 shipped. Again, as our fearless champion of cheap tubes keep telling us, there are some good deals out there.
 

 
While the different printing suggests that they were manufactured at different times, otherwise, they appear to be identical. First impressions, strapped 1-7, these have the same boundless soundstage I love about the other heptodes, and they sound very promising. But recently, it seems that almost everything sounds very promising at first! lol  So need to get them burned in and spend some serious time with them....

 

[mab1376]

Quote:

i'm sure it has been discussed, but can someone explain "strapping"? When and how would I need to do it? I am curious about the EK90 and how it would sound.

 
You just need a short bit of 26 gague stranded wire and it just connects two pins. This is to use grids what would normally be "floating" or basically having no signal passing through them.
 
The EK90 we have started using a 7-1 strap which activates grid 3 which is designed for signaling. Without any mods it sounds very good right off the bat, but using the other grid seemingly has some pleasing results.
 
There's some images and recommended settings per tube on page 77.

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

i'm sure it has been discussed, but can someone explain "strapping"? When and how would I need to do it? I am curious about the EK90 and how it would sound.

 
It is a surprisingly low tech way to connect tube pins together in the socket. Check out page 77. Essentially, you will need to find some 26 gauge, or smaller, stranded wire. Again, stranded, not solid, and very thin. Cut two small pieces, and strip the insulation off of each end, such that you can bend both of them into a U shape, and carefully insert them into your sockets, one end in pin-hole 1 and the other end in pin-hole 7. And then, carefully insert your tubes into the sockets. Thus, pin 1 and pin 7 are strapped.
 
Again, simple, but if you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask!
 
Oh, I see that Mab beat me to it.... 

 

[hypnos1]

Hi everyone,
 
Am still loving the Siemens EK90s to death - looking forward to seeing how the TFK EK90s compare. Mab : I am so sorry you have had trouble finding some Siemens - I do hope you manage to get some soon...
Re burn-in time - mine certainly benefited from 40+hours, which I would assume goes for other 6BE6s also...
Re 1-7 strapping  -  loud, yes; full, yes; exciting, yes; extended/enhanced treble, yes. BUT...on first listening, some of Genesis's 'Duke' tracks (the massively 'full' numbers) - the WOW almost turned to OW! There seemed to me, anyhow, a somewhat definite loss of overall control/integration. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this to any degree with similarly full/complex(especially electronic) music. Perhaps 'reviving' #3 needs some burn-in time also?...Or do I just need to 'recalibrate' my hearing?!!!Shall have to try further similar tracks...

 

[mab1376]

Quote:

Hi everyone,
 
Am still loving the Siemens EK90s to death - looking forward to seeing how the TFK EK90s compare. Mab : I am so sorry you have had trouble finding some Siemens - I do hope you manage to get some soon...
Re burn-in time - mine certainly benefited from 40+hours, which I would assume goes for other 6BE6s also...
Re 1-7 strapping  -  loud, yes; full, yes; exciting, yes; extended/enhanced treble, yes. BUT...on first listening, some of Genesis's 'Duke' tracks (the massively 'full' numbers) - the WOW almost turned to OW! There seemed to me, anyhow, a somewhat definite loss of overall control/integration. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this to any degree with similarly full/complex(especially electronic) music. Perhaps 'reviving' #3 needs some burn-in time also?...Or do I just need to 'recalibrate' my hearing?!!!Shall have to try further similar tracks...

 
I actually ordered a pair from NOSTUBESTORE, the owner reached out to their depot for some more since we bought them all up.
 
they are Haltron re-branded but Siemens under the covers.
 
Thanks to Gibosi for tipping me off!

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

Hi everyone,
 
Am still loving the Siemens EK90s to death - looking forward to seeing how the TFK EK90s compare. Mab : I am so sorry you have had trouble finding some Siemens - I do hope you manage to get some soon...
Re burn-in time - mine certainly benefited from 40+hours, which I would assume goes for other 6BE6s also...
Re 1-7 strapping  -  loud, yes; full, yes; exciting, yes; extended/enhanced treble, yes. BUT...on first listening, some of Genesis's 'Duke' tracks (the massively 'full' numbers) - the WOW almost turned to OW! There seemed to me, anyhow, a somewhat definite loss of overall control/integration. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this to any degree with similarly full/complex(especially electronic) music. Perhaps 'reviving' #3 needs some burn-in time also?...Or do I just need to 'recalibrate' my hearing?!!!Shall have to try further similar tracks...

 
Do I understand correctly, that you love them in the EF 95 configuration with no 1-7 strapping? But strapped, you find them lacking? I am beginning to to think that due to the 6BE6 grid 3's remote cutoff nature, maybe the 1-7 strapping is not optimal.... I have been listening to mine strapped, but am thinking maybe I should go back to unstrapped....

 

[gibosi]

Quote:

 
I actually ordered a pair from NOSTUBESTORE, the owner reached out to their depot for some more since we bought them all up.
 
they are Haltron re-branded but Siemens under the covers.
 
Thanks to Gibosi for tipping me off!

And I should say that they were able to find only 6 more tubes, three pairs, so these too may well be gone by now....