[Astonish]

I do think the stock tube is the problem but you need to get a NOS tube new tubes can be shrilly in the highs, the electro-harmonix while I found to sound very good did have some metallic highs, magni 3 also has a forward sounding upper frequency range but its still smooth sounding and a warm amp, The brightness might be from you dac, but the MCTH does have a clarity advantage when compared to the other amps mentioned it was much clearer sounding than my lyr with expensive tubes, by clarity I don't mean more highs it was actually smoother sounding as well, it was just more clear, open and spacious sounding with overall better detail and depth to the sound.
Maybe you should try giving it a burn in or something.

I think shrill is a good word. And yea I do think that it does have a bit of a clarity advantage, the one thing I noticed is it’s a lot more airy and the soundstage is bigger too, really opens that up. But it has a sibilance to my ears, it can be fatiguing to listen to.

As far as the tube how long does it take to burn in? I’m the second owner so it’s not like the tube is brand new. I’ve heard this amp leans toward bright, so whether or not it’s worth trying a new tube I’m not sure, if anyone has any suggestions for warmer ones that don’t cost half the price of the amp that would be good.

 

[Zulkr9]

Depends try using them for a bit more I heard someone recommending burning these in for a 100 hours, also I think the Electro harmonix tube is what is giving it the bite in the treble, I swapped it out not long after I got it. But that shrillyness aside I didn't find the amp to be bright, what dac are you using, You cold try rolling in a Genalex E88CC, I think that is the only new production 6922 thats good.

 

[Zachik]

The $80 monoprice amp and dac. I like the sound of it better than the Cavalli, magni 3, and little dot mk2. Not saying it’s better, but it has a fun sound that I like with the headphones I use (650, m1060, jubilee)

Interesting. I actually own one - use it at work with HD569.

 

[Slashn77]

does anyone know when this is coming back to massdrop? Was going to pull the trigger on a Lyr 3 but seeing as how they are delayed until october sometime I may be able to save half the money and give this or Vali 2 a try to pair with a Mimby and LCD-2C and Sennheiser HD 700s

 

[Marlowe]

does anyone know when this is coming back to massdrop? Was going to pull the trigger on a Lyr 3 but seeing as how they are delayed until october sometime I may be able to save half the money and give this or Vali 2 a try to pair with a Mimby and LCD-2C and Sennheiser HD 700s

I can't speak to the Lyr 3 or the LCD-2C since I have not heard them (though I have a lot of other Schiit gear and am very happy with each one), but I use the CTH (with an adapter and NOS Tung-Sol 2C51) with the Mimby and Sennheiser HD700 and the combination sounds great.

 

[someyoungguy]

Okay so I finally got around to doing this “ground mod”.

After some looking around I found this store that sells “grounding/earthing” gear: https://www.groundology.co.uk/

I don’t have much need to ground my yoga mat but I do have a need to ground a CTH so ordered a Aus/NZ plug from this store that has a live ground prong and two plastic prongs for the +/- prongs on the plug, along with a 3m cable that connects to the plug. There’s a few online shops selling the same gear, but even though I’m in NZ getting it from this UK was cheapest, go figure.

I needed some space on the back panel to drill a couple of holes so went in the blank part in the centre above the small holes (see photo).

Drilled one hole to put it a 5mm bolt which would form the earth connection, scraping the paint off the inside in order to get a good connection to a washer. Next to this are a nut, then a 5mm hoop connector sandwiched between two more washers, then another nut and locking nut to keep it all tight.

I took the 3m straight cable from the store and cut it shorter (getting rid of some unnecessary connector at the end too) then fed the wire into the back plate of the CTH and crimped it into the 5mm hoop connector (see photo). So on the outside you see an extra white cable going into the back and an extra bolt head.

Then the other end of this ground cable connects into the mains plug, real handy.

It works great - before with the 6C8G tube there was a substantial hum when using my B&W P7s. Touching my finger on the case would reduce this by about half, but probably because it’s still a fairly bad ground. Using this ground mod cuts the noise by about 80-90%. There’s still some static hiss audible when music isn’t playing, or in quiet sections, but it’s minimal and the hum is gone.

Since the ground cable connects into the mains plug with a little push/pull connector I can easily pull the ground cable in and out and note the difference - it’s quite substantial.

So @Zachik if you’re still keen to use the 6C8G tube and Campfire Cascades, based on my experience this should pretty much fix it. Certainly for me it went from basically unlistenable hum to a minimal level of hiss.

Over the next few weeks I should be able to clock up quite a few listening hours and get back to enjoying the CTH

 

[Zachik]

Okay so I finally got around to doing this “ground mod”.

After some looking around I found this store that sells “grounding/earthing” gear: https://www.groundology.co.uk/

I don’t have much need to ground my yoga mat but I do have a need to ground a CTH so ordered a Aus/NZ plug from this store that has a live ground prong and two plastic prongs for the +/- prongs on the plug, along with a 3m cable that connects to the plug. There’s a few online shops selling the same gear, but even though I’m in NZ getting it from this UK was cheapest, go figure.

I needed some space on the back panel to drill a couple of holes so went in the blank part in the centre above the small holes (see photo).

Drilled one hole to put it a 5mm bolt which would form the earth connection, scraping the paint off the inside in order to get a good connection to a washer. Next to this are a nut, then a 5mm hoop connector sandwiched between two more washers, then another nut and locking nut to keep it all tight.

I took the 3m straight cable from the store and cut it shorter (getting rid of some unnecessary connector at the end too) then fed the wire into the back plate of the CTH and crimped it into the 5mm hoop connector (see photo). So on the outside you see an extra white cable going into the back and an extra bolt head.

Then the other end of this ground cable connects into the mains plug, real handy.

It works great - before with the 6C8G tube there was a substantial hum when using my B&W P7s. Touching my finger on the case would reduce this by about half, but probably because it’s still a fairly bad ground. Using this ground mod cuts the noise by about 80-90%. There’s still some static hiss audible when music isn’t playing, or in quiet sections, but it’s minimal and the hum is gone.

Since the ground cable connects into the mains plug with a little push/pull connector I can easily pull the ground cable in and out and note the difference - it’s quite substantial.

So @Zachik if you’re still keen to use the 6C8G tube and Campfire Cascades, based on my experience this should pretty much fix it. Certainly for me it went from basically unlistenable hum to a minimal level of hiss.

Over the next few weeks I should be able to clock up quite a few listening hours and get back to enjoying the CTH

VERY nice!
For now, I have been using it with stock tube and when used with 6C8G - with the HD600 which is not humming (due to high impedance...)

I will definitely consider this mode. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bazirker]

Okay so I finally got around to doing this “ground mod”.

After some looking around I found this store that sells “grounding/earthing” gear: https://www.groundology.co.uk/

I don’t have much need to ground my yoga mat but I do have a need to ground a CTH so ordered a Aus/NZ plug from this store that has a live ground prong and two plastic prongs for the +/- prongs on the plug, along with a 3m cable that connects to the plug. There’s a few online shops selling the same gear, but even though I’m in NZ getting it from this UK was cheapest, go figure.

I needed some space on the back panel to drill a couple of holes so went in the blank part in the centre above the small holes (see photo).

Drilled one hole to put it a 5mm bolt which would form the earth connection, scraping the paint off the inside in order to get a good connection to a washer. Next to this are a nut, then a 5mm hoop connector sandwiched between two more washers, then another nut and locking nut to keep it all tight.

I took the 3m straight cable from the store and cut it shorter (getting rid of some unnecessary connector at the end too) then fed the wire into the back plate of the CTH and crimped it into the 5mm hoop connector (see photo). So on the outside you see an extra white cable going into the back and an extra bolt head.

Then the other end of this ground cable connects into the mains plug, real handy.

It works great - before with the 6C8G tube there was a substantial hum when using my B&W P7s. Touching my finger on the case would reduce this by about half, but probably because it’s still a fairly bad ground. Using this ground mod cuts the noise by about 80-90%. There’s still some static hiss audible when music isn’t playing, or in quiet sections, but it’s minimal and the hum is gone.

Since the ground cable connects into the mains plug with a little push/pull connector I can easily pull the ground cable in and out and note the difference - it’s quite substantial.

So @Zachik if you’re still keen to use the 6C8G tube and Campfire Cascades, based on my experience this should pretty much fix it. Certainly for me it went from basically unlistenable hum to a minimal level of hiss.

Over the next few weeks I should be able to clock up quite a few listening hours and get back to enjoying the CTH

Well hell, I completely ignored the whole discussion of the 6C8G due to the hum (plus I'm currently enjoying my Tungsram PCC88) but if it's just a grounding issue as demonstrated by the above, I might have to give this a go. I've never been one to miss an excuse to pull out my power drill

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

I can't speak to the Lyr 3 or the LCD-2C since I have not heard them (though I have a lot of other Schiit gear and am very happy with each one), but I use the CTH (with an adapter and NOS Tung-Sol 2C51) with the Mimby and Sennheiser HD700 and the combination sounds great.

Do you find that tube reduces the bright quality of the hd700 more so than the stock ?

Edit: the stock tube definitely helped the fatigue, but I realized now I just don't really like the hd700 much after listening to the hd600.

I really like the sdac +CTH combination with my GMP 8.35d. Sound is very lively and the GMP's love that crisp articulation from the SDAC. Not sure if I'll ever put the Mimby with my CTH again, have to see if I like it with my hd600, otherwise they will be forever seperated!

 

[Guidostrunk]

Sad to see this thread go dark. Lol.

 

[KaiserTK]

Honestly even after getting the LP, the CTH gets a lot of time with the 6XX. I still feel that synergy is one of the best sounding combinations I’ve ever heard. Also for $450? A no-brainer.

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

HD600 with the CTH & Mimby Eitr have me trying to sell my HD700.. and maybe most of my other headphones

 

[Guidostrunk]

My cth , mimby, 58x , have me questioning all my previous purchases. I honestly can't tell you a previous rig I've owned that I've enjoyed music more with.
I've had this rig for 7 months now. In the past I would have switched something up by now. I absolutely feel no need to lol.

 

[BrokeSkoolBoi]

I'm looking forward to seeing the Airist Dac return to Massdrop next year, however beyond that I continue to question if my desire for a balanced system is necessary.

I'm actually surprised that I've had this amp for two months now, I certainly stopped counting the days after I burnt in the tube.

 

[jrhill]

If you were to organize a good quality linear power supply (28V @ >360mA) this will give another quite dramatic improvement in the sound too