[superdux]

no hum here using C3G tubes

 

[Acapella11]

With C3gs tubes (socket extender -> adapter), I have a very weak hum. I need to crank up to 10 o'clock to hear any. However, I hardly ever get close to 10 o'clock when listening. The Ei 6HM5 show the same hum at 2 o'clock. Well, the C3gs is a high gain tube after all. So, in summary, I am not bothered but would be curious about a grounding solution.

 

[mordy]

Hi,
 
Had one of my teenage grandsons over yesterday - wanted to show off my wonderful system, so I asked him to pick his favorite tune on his iPhone and I would play it through my system.
 
Connected the iPhone - the music was compressed, highly processed and awfully recorded. Tried to talk to him about dynamic range, soundstage, imaging etc - forget about it! I think he understood what I meant (I demonstrated it to him with different recordings) but he didn't care.
 
I know what an iPhone is capable of; it can play quite nicely. However, it seems that this generation has been brought up on mediocre music reproduction without any appreciation for great sound.
 
Same thing with headphones that are in style again. Another grandson showed me his Dr Dre headphones. The look was cool, but the sound was just way to bass heavy; muddy and unpleasant.
 
Do I have the wrong impression that kids don't care about great sound reproduction any more?

 

[hypnos1]

  With C3gs tubes (socket extender -> adapter), I have a very weak hum. I need to crank up to 10 o'clock to hear any. However, I hardly ever get close to 10 o'clock when listening. The Ei 6HM5 show the same hum at 2 o'clock. Well, the C3gs is a high gain tube after all. So, in summary, I am not bothered but would be curious about a grounding solution.

 
Hi A11.
 
Looks like the high (yes!) gain, plus higher transconductance of the 'S' is highlighting something somewhere in your system/surroundings etc...I was going to point the finger at possibly the adapters and/or extenders (or tubes, even!), but as it appears with the 6HM5s, the blame seems to lie elsewhere, lol.
 
I personally have never had any hum whatsoever from mine - perhaps the MKIV SE has better grounding/isolation than the MKIII?
 
I shall have to do a much more in-depth comparison between my original set-up - with the tube pins soldered direct to the wires-cum-pins, straight into the amp's sockets - and that using encased tubes into adapters...with ears poised for HUM! 

.
 
Will post my findings in due course...

 

[hypnos1]

  Hi,
 
Had one of my teenage grandsons over yesterday - wanted to show off my wonderful system, so I asked him to pick his favorite tune on his iPhone and I would play it through my system.
 
Connected the iPhone - the music was compressed, highly processed and awfully recorded. Tried to talk to him about dynamic range, soundstage, imaging etc - forget about it! I think he understood what I meant (I demonstrated it to him with different recordings) but he didn't care.
 
I know what an iPhone is capable of; it can play quite nicely. However, it seems that this generation has been brought up on mediocre music reproduction without any appreciation for great sound.
 
Same thing with headphones that are in style again. Another grandson showed me his Dr Dre headphones. The look was cool, but the sound was just way to bass heavy; muddy and unpleasant.
 
Do I have the wrong impression that kids don't care about great sound reproduction any more?

 
I fear you may well be right, mordy...one must be careful not to over-generalise, of course, but everywhere I look (and listen) around me it seems either horrendous bass rules, or equally horrendous (what passes for...) treble!...SIGH...

 

[sgbwill2]

   
I fear you may well be right, mordy...one must be careful not to over-generalise, of course, but everywhere I look (and listen) around me it seems either horrendous bass rules, or equally horrendous (what passes for...) treble!...SIGH...

Being 21 myself and considered of the younger generation I can say there are a select few out there who don't fall into the trap of buying over advertised, hyped up pieces of crap such as beats and iphones. Though I have had numerous debates with my friends on the subject who all seem to be blind to the fact that these products are overpriced and under-perform compared to other alternatives often at a much cheaper price. Though because high quality audio products aren't as well advertised as say beats, skullcandy etc and they aren't necessarily as aesthetically pleasing they will never get any recognition from the younger generations unfortunately =/

 

[hypnos1]

  Being 21 myself and considered of the younger generation I can say there are a select few out there who don't fall into the trap of buying over advertised, hyped up pieces of crap such as beats and iphones. Though I have had numerous debates with my friends on the subject who all seem to be blind to the fact that these products are overpriced and under-perform compared to other alternatives often at a much cheaper price. Though because high quality audio products aren't as well advertised as say beats, skullcandy etc and they aren't necessarily as aesthetically pleasing they will never get any recognition from the younger generations unfortunately =/

 
Hi sgbwill2..agreed..."a select few", lol!....sad that otherwise reasonably intelligent people can be so easily swayed by 'fashion/the look', obviously OTT (nay puerile!) marketing etc. etc.
 
Still, we live in hope, n'est-ce pas?...

 

[Acapella11]

  In my experience there are significant sonic differences among the 6SN7, not only between brands, but also within the same brand over the years. And in fact, there are differences between 6SN7 manufactured by the same company at the same time. Here I am referring to Sylvania, which manufactured Chrome Domes, VT231's and the three-hole Badboys all at the same time.
 
That said, nearly all these tubes are very fine. And I think it is safe to say that any of these can shine in the right system. Again, it really comes down to synergy. So I would expand on Mordy's advice and suggest that you try several cheap pairs: For example, RCA, Tung-Sol, Sylvania, Raytheon, CBS/Hytron, National Union, and Hitachi, to help you find your favorite brands. And then, as I believe that the 1940's and early 1950's are the best, you might want to try some of these earlier tubes.
 
Used as drivers, my favorite is the 1940's Sylvania 6SN7W. However, the early 1950's Chrome Dome provide a sound that is quite close, lacking just a little warmth. Paired with a relatively warmer driver, they could be great.

 
Thank you for your 6SN7 starter guide. It looks like 6SN7 rolling will get more from my wallet than the good old heptodes, lol. I have bought a pair of Raytheon advertised as from the 50s to start with. It was still a decent price.
 
Quote:

  Hi A11.
 
Looks like the high (yes!) gain, plus higher transconductance of the 'S' is highlighting something somewhere in your system/surroundings etc...I was going to point the finger at possibly the adapters and/or extenders (or tubes, even!), but as it appears with the 6HM5s, the blame seems to lie elsewhere, lol.
 
I personally have never had any hum whatsoever from mine - perhaps the MKIV SE has better grounding/isolation than the MKIII?
 

 
You are probably right that there is somewhere a hum issue, I considered the USB-connection, will try my optical again to see if it is that. Moving my USB-cable to a front port reduced the background.

 

[Oskari]

  aren't 6463 part of the ECC86 family?

 
Whoever first wrote CC86E probably meant the E86CC. Even those are very rare.
 

1. http://www.roehrenhuette.de/42490/43046.html

 

[gibosi]

Searching Google, the E86CC is even more rare than the CC86E. Neither the Radio Museum, the National Valve Museum nor the Duncanamps sites have any information on this tube in their databases. The Radio Museum and Duncanmaps do list the CC86E but the National Valve Museum does not. Anyway, it certainly seems that both of these tubes are exceedingly rare.

 

[Oskari]

Radio Museum's source for CC86E is not firsthand information and TDSL's might be the same. The source could be mistaken.
 

1. http://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_cc86e.html
2. http://frank.pocnet.net/short/054/2/271.pdf

 

[Acapella11]

  Hi,
 
Had one of my teenage grandsons over yesterday - wanted to show off my wonderful system, so I asked him to pick his favorite tune on his iPhone and I would play it through my system.
 
Connected the iPhone - the music was compressed, highly processed and awfully recorded. Tried to talk to him about dynamic range, soundstage, imaging etc - forget about it! I think he understood what I meant (I demonstrated it to him with different recordings) but he didn't care.
 
I know what an iPhone is capable of; it can play quite nicely. However, it seems that this generation has been brought up on mediocre music reproduction without any appreciation for great sound.
 
Same thing with headphones that are in style again. Another grandson showed me his Dr Dre headphones. The look was cool, but the sound was just way to bass heavy; muddy and unpleasant.
 
Do I have the wrong impression that kids don't care about great sound reproduction any more?

Hi Mordy, I am guessing being interested in the quality of music reproduction and not only the tune is a personal preference and many just done care much. It was a good effort you did and maybe he will come back to this topic much later.
What is important to keep in mind IMO is that many of these teenagers wear headphones as expensive accessories and thereby raising the awareness of headphones in the public. Even if not all of them may convert to proper enthusiasts, this may result in more members sharing the head-fi interest. Also, once these teenagers earn proper money, some of them might be more inclined to buy themselves a nice setup at home, which could further increase the headphone industry giving all of us a greater variety and quality of gear. However, you probably cannot get them all.

 

[Oskari]

Can you put a positive spin on rap, too? 

 

 

[i luvmusic 2]

Are they even singing?

 

[mordy]

Hi sgbwill2, A11 and Oskari,
 
You all bring up valid points - kids today tend to care about the tune much more than how it is reproduced. One positive aspect of the huge interest in portable music is the great proliferation and selection of earbuds and headphones, and I have no doubt that this interest has resulted in a lot of advances in music reproduction at the high end as well.
 
I am sure that it is true the looks play a big role as well. Reminds me of a true story: A little boy wanted a certain pair of shoes, but the shoe store did not have the correct size; only a size too small. The little boy insisted that they felt fine, but the salesman and the mother knew that they were too small. The boy refused to be persuaded to wait for the right size and finally said: People can only see how it looks, not how it feels!