robboffard
New Head-Fier
The 6BQ5 will not work in the LD4. See below for compatible tubes.
http://littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820&sid=0e615810f969d644902c79770bea6e8d
Ugh. So much for good recommendations! Thanks mate.
The 6BQ5 will not work in the LD4. See below for compatible tubes.
http://littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820&sid=0e615810f969d644902c79770bea6e8d
Scottsays:Recently purchased a Little Dot MKIII through Massdrop and have been experimenting with various tubes--from suggestions from this thread. A big thank you for all the contributors--I have no clue about this stuff and am happy to get any advice.
I have a set of Fostex TH 900 with the Silver Dragon cord from Moon Audio--hoping to tamp down the excessive high end.
Really want to know if there is a good tube to match to these headphones that will tame the high end--
I really love the bass and sound of these headphones but---damn, the high end can get really piercing and frankly unlistenable with certain tracks.
If anyone has any knowledge and experience with this I would be grateful for any advice--
thanks!
Dont think there gonna help your ear bleedThe brightness of these stock 6J1's in conjunction with my new pair of grado sr325e's makes my ears bleed. I can't wait for my Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV to get here.
The brightness of these stock 6J1's in conjunction with my new pair of grado sr325e's makes my ears bleed. I can't wait for my Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV to get here.
Hi Bryce.E,The brightness of these stock 6J1's in conjunction with my new pair of grado sr325e's makes my ears bleed. I can't wait for my Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV to get here.
Yep.I'd second that about the Yugoslavian 6HM5s - really nice, detailed & rounded sound ( almost like a mix between the best bits of the Mullards and the Voskhods).Hi Bryce.E,
The Voskhod tubes are bright sounding - don't think that they will help. In addition, they need a very long time to burn in - around 120 hours (compared to 20-50 hours for most tubes).
In my LD MKIII days we rolled tons of tubes, and one of the best driver tubes was the Yugoslavian Ei 6HM5. It is not very expensive at all, and is a good recommendation.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EI-6HM5-EC9...051561&hash=item5d4fdb1092:g:prcAAOSwDk5UEhHk
Be aware that they have a quick heat-up feature that looks like a fiery flash when you turn on the tubes - nothing to be concerned about.
Hi shepperd,I've been meaning to add to the discussion for some time but haven't gotten to the end of my tube rolling or reached any definitive opinion. First a big thanks to Mordy who started me off with his original post and second a disclaimer; I dont use head phones but I do have a very good system and because I bought a tube buffer/pre with those awful chinese tubes, I found this discussion and it set me off on a long NOS journey. Not counting the dead tubes and a few I haven't tried, I've been thru about 14 variants of the ef95 family, including some that have never been mentioned as far as I know.. I have been pleasantly surprised by the efficient honest and reactive service provided by 99% of the ebay sellers, especially Russian and Ukrainian. A few even sent me extra tubes or ones I didn't ask for!
The reason I'm jumping in is because I have 4 different variants of the Voskhod and while they do take time to break in, none have been bright. The first pair were marked 83, the second were the gold pin variety followed by a very early set (73') which do not have the ribbed glass, finally a set dated 88' To my surprise the last sound the best and have blossomed at around the 50 hour mark.
Granted head phones offer a different sound than speakers and what I hear is no doubt different than what others do. Each tube has a slightly different perspective/sound and it is hard to grade them with any degree of certainty (which hasn't stopped me from trying!) Some tubes just are not as musical and satisfying as others and this is not just audiophilia nitpicking. But I have to say, having spent many hours breaking in each and every set and listening carefully, I always return to the Voskhod as being the best all round tube, especially the 88' variant. I had high hopes for the older variety but they are a bit too polite. Anyway none of this will help anyone who has different ears and equipment. Just my tale and it has been fun (and rather expensive) ordering NOS tubes from far off lands, waiting for days by the mail box, unpacking, inserting, listening...serious fun.
I've been meaning to add to the discussion for some time but haven't gotten to the end of my tube rolling or reached any definitive opinion. First a big thanks to Mordy who started me off with his original post and second a disclaimer; I dont use head phones but I do have a very good system and because I bought a tube buffer/pre with those awful chinese tubes, I found this discussion and it set me off on a long NOS journey. Not counting the dead tubes and a few I haven't tried, I've been thru about 14 variants of the ef95 family, including some that have never been mentioned as far as I know.. I have been pleasantly surprised by the efficient honest and reactive service provided by 99% of the ebay sellers, especially Russian and Ukrainian. A few even sent me extra tubes or ones I didn't ask for!
The reason I'm jumping in is because I have 4 different variants of the Voskhod and while they do take time to break in, none have been bright. The first pair were marked 83, the second were the gold pin variety followed by a very early set (73') which do not have the ribbed glass, finally a set dated 88' To my surprise the last sound the best and have blossomed at around the 50 hour mark.
Granted head phones offer a different sound than speakers and what I hear is no doubt different than what others do. Each tube has a slightly different perspective/sound and it is hard to grade them with any degree of certainty (which hasn't stopped me from trying!) Some tubes just are not as musical and satisfying as others and this is not just audiophilia nitpicking. But I have to say, having spent many hours breaking in each and every set and listening carefully, I always return to the Voskhod as being the best all round tube, especially the 88' variant. I had high hopes for the older variety but they are a bit too polite. Anyway none of this will help anyone who has different ears and equipment. Just my tale and it has been fun (and rather expensive) ordering NOS tubes from far off lands, waiting for days by the mail box, unpacking, inserting, listening...serious fun.
so why such a different
"2.3 Mullard CV131/6CQ6
These are very nice sounding tubes with a laid back character that feels like you’re sitting a few rows back from the center of a concert hall. Keeping with the typical Mullard family sound, these tubes emphasize warmth and fullness, a characteristic I find very complimentary for my collection of Grado headphones. Bass quality is excellent in terms of texture and nuance, this is toe-tapping bass without being overpowering. Overall these are very nice tubes with no obvious faults and much to love.
Bass: 17
Mid: 18
Treble: 16
Detail: 14
Soundstage: 16
Total: 81/100
2.4 Mullard M8161/CV401
Focus is the word. This mil-spec version of the Mullard CV131 is one of the best sounding EF92 tubes around. It brings to the table all of the fine qualities of the Mullard CV131 and adds to it a background so extraordinarily quiet you will actually notice the silence between notes. A low noise floor lets details stand out, and music with female vocals in particular is presented with a magical sense of focused intimacy that draws you in and makes you feel as if the singer is standing right next to you, singing into your ears with all the inflections and emotions preserved. Overall this tube is well balanced and ‘audiophile’ sounding and is one of my personal favorites.
Bass: 19
Mid: 18
Treble: 19
Detail: 20
Soundstage: 19
Total: 95/100
"
??
I will get back with the link. This is the seller who send this pair unasked and had previously sold me the older, non-ribbed variety. I want to stress that this could be a fluke. By rights 1988 must have been at the very end of production. I have never seen any later ones. Likewise, one can assume that the people making these must have been packing their bags and not very motivated! By then the whole system was falling apart, the most skilled workers looking for other jobs, the machines aging...
I dont have a paypal account so I have a neighbor order for me and he has no doubt erased his browser history and paypal orders because hew is fed up with my obsession! I do have a mailing address though. Anyway they are cheap so in the worse case you can say my ears are unreliable. What I did notice was that the boxes were original and obviously never opened. The pins on the tubes were shiny and the lettering perfect, showing exact date, the rocket logo and batch number which were identical, none of which I have seen before. Some tubes I have bought had no indication of what they were anymore so I just took it on faith!
Where can one purchase these Mullard? i cant find them with these exact numbers Mullard M8161/CV401?