[NiTROAUDiO]

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

Don't think I've been anymore surprised, was assuming I would see a fiio listing image in my email but I saw that instead.

No experience with fiio gear personally, you could check some reviews. I'm not sure what purpose there is in getting a portable music player or amp (I dunno what the q5) when you can just get a dac for less though.

 

[47anLoken]

I haven't tried the Siemens tube, but please let us know what you think. The consensus on them online seems to be they are fairly neutral and not too warm.

The tube got here a fews days ago and I've been running it for maybe 10 hours. Maybe it'll change some after more burn in but it's definitely a keeper. Posted pictures and description on a few tube forums and experts confirmed that this is one of the rarest and most sought after versions of the CCa Siemens tubes. Lucky me.

It is indeed very neutral. It's also very detailed, especially the mids and highs are excellent. The bass is very good as well but not the first thing I took notice of. The soundstage also feels wider both horizontal and vertical than my other tubes. I did a quick comparison to my 6c8G Ken Rad which is a bit warmer sounding but not a all as crisp and detailed as the Siemens. It has much more of a veiled sound which I didn't notice before I tried the Siemens tube.

I guess my search for alternative tubes doesn't end here but it'll be very hard to beat this Siemens tube.

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

Glad to hear the tube sounds great. I'm doing some listening with my newly acquired HE-500 and I understand what CEE TEE means when he says the CTH sounds the best with the EH.. Well until I switch back to my HD600. It does sound like I'm hearing the amplifier in it's purest state though. Something about a high impedance dynamic driver becomes more visceral with different tubes. The hd600's presentation isn't really enhanced as much as the HE-500 with the EH tube either. HD600 brings your attention to mids that are forward in staging, HE-500 just conveys information with some indifference but more technical proficiency.

 

[SmashBruh]

Thought I'd check in on this thread and @Guidostrunk to see how the 6sn7 tubes are performing in his MCTH when combined withe the LPS and adaptor. I've been thinking about trying this combo myself and just wanted to see how it's holding up/see if you had any tube recs before I took the plunge!

 

[Guidostrunk]

No issues whatsoever. The Tung-sol 6cg7 is a fantastic tube as well. Same specs as 6sn7 but no need for an adapter. It looks like a tall bottle 6922.

 

[SmashBruh]

Has anyone by any chance tried a 6SL7 or 6SU7GTY?? I've heard great things about the latter and, I may be wrong, but it seems to me like the 6SU7GTY operates within the recommended specs of the CTH.

 

[SmashBruh]

Well, I gave the 6sn7 mod a shot with an RCA 6sn7GT and garage 1217 adaptor and got no sound coming out of my output... It's fine when I switch back to my 6c8g, but yeah... I do have my LPS set to limit the current at 1.25 amps though. Do you think increasing that value would fix the issue? Any idea what I should set it to?

Interestingly enough the LPS reports that the CTH draws more amperage when I have the 6c8G plugged in vs the 6sn7GT... I wonder why...

 

[Guidostrunk]

My acopian is 28v/5amp. (A28mt500) which is the new one I acquired since dropping my A28mt300 during transport and cracking an internal board. 6sn7 worked flawlessly on that supply as well.

 

[dpump]

The Garage1217 adaptor is made to work with Garage1217 amps. May not work with all amps due to the way the heater connections are wired. At least that's my understanding.

 

[SmashBruh]

My acopian is 28v/5amp. (A28mt500) which is the new one I acquired since dropping my A28mt300 during transport and cracking an internal board. 6sn7 worked flawlessly on that supply as well.

I'll try changing my amp's current limiter to 28v/3a and if that fails 28v/5a and see if that works!

The Garage1217 adaptor is made to work with Garage1217 amps. May not work with all amps due to the way the heater connections are wired. At least that's my understading.

Oh, really? There was no mention of that on the ebay page; but I'll shoot him a message just to be sure! Thanks for letting me know!

 

[SmashBruh]

So @dpump was right and it was indeed the adaptor that was amiss. Garage1217 was amazing though and replaced my adaptor for an appropriate one almost immediately. I could not be more impressed with his customer service!

Listening to an RCA VT-231 grey bottle now, and it makes the amp sound absolutely incredible with my atticus! Resolution, soundstage and extension have all increased by quite a margin. To my ears it also sounds waaay more euphonic than the Tung-Sol 6C8G without sacrificing a lick of detail. Frankly I could not be happier! It's a whole new amp! Btw, I would also like to report that it is completely unnecessary to provide the CTH with more than 1.25a. I decided to try it with my LPS set to the default limiting number and with the RCA the max amp draw has not been greater than .51a (I tried a Ken-rad and Sylvania VT-231s as well and both of them seemed to stick to around the same amperage as well.)

Thanks again for all your help guys! And THANK YOU @Guidostrunk for being the guinea pig that led us to this fantastic mod! I'm so glad I get to enjoy this for the next week before my new Mogwai arrives! (Hoping the Mogwai doesn't outclass it to the point where I feel like selling it, but if it does se la vie I guess. )

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

So @dpump was right and it was indeed the adaptor that was amiss. Garage1217 was amazing though and replaced my adaptor for an appropriate one almost immediately. I could not be more impressed with his customer service!

Listening to an RCA VT-231 grey bottle now, and it makes the amp sound absolutely incredible with my atticus! Resolution, soundstage and extension have all increased by quite a margin. To my ears it also sounds waaay more euphonic than the Tung-Sol 6C8G without sacrificing a lick of detail. Frankly I could not be happier! It's a whole new amp! Btw, I would also like to report that it is completely unnecessary to provide the CTH with more than 1.25a. I decided to try it with my LPS set to the default limiting number and with the RCA the max amp draw has not been greater than .51a (I tried a Ken-rad and Sylvania VT-231s as well and both of them seemed to stick to around the same amperage as well.)

Thanks again for all your help guys! And THANK YOU @Guidostrunk for being the guinea pig that led us to this fantastic mod! I'm so glad I get to enjoy this for the next week before my new Mogwai arrives! (Hoping the Mogwai doesn't outclass it to the point where I feel like selling it, but if it does se la vie I guess. )

Wow. Only .51a of current doesn't sound too bad at all. I might have to give this a try

 

[Guidostrunk]

So @dpump was right and it was indeed the adaptor that was amiss. Garage1217 was amazing though and replaced my adaptor for an appropriate one almost immediately. I could not be more impressed with his customer service!

Listening to an RCA VT-231 grey bottle now, and it makes the amp sound absolutely incredible with my atticus! Resolution, soundstage and extension have all increased by quite a margin. To my ears it also sounds waaay more euphonic than the Tung-Sol 6C8G without sacrificing a lick of detail. Frankly I could not be happier! It's a whole new amp! Btw, I would also like to report that it is completely unnecessary to provide the CTH with more than 1.25a. I decided to try it with my LPS set to the default limiting number and with the RCA the max amp draw has not been greater than .51a (I tried a Ken-rad and Sylvania VT-231s as well and both of them seemed to stick to around the same amperage as well.)

Thanks again for all your help guys! And THANK YOU @Guidostrunk for being the guinea pig that led us to this fantastic mod! I'm so glad I get to enjoy this for the next week before my new Mogwai arrives! (Hoping the Mogwai doesn't outclass it to the point where I feel like selling it, but if it does se la vie I guess. )

 

[SmashBruh]

Wow. I'm truly impressed. This is little amp is performing so incredibly amazingly! I was just listening to "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller band and I don't think I've ever heard such holographic and lush sound come out of my CTH!! Massdrop should really consider making a version of this amp where the 6SN7 is the spec tube because it really makes a world of difference! I want to say this is performing almost as well as my upgraded bottlehead mainline; but I might be being overly enthusiastic there. There'll probably be a shootout between the two in my home at some point though...