McChanson amps appreciation thread

[UntilThen]

You're missing things often Greg. Did you not see I use Tung Sol 12SN7gt (6SN7 equivalent) with GEC 807 ATS25? That is less powerful and it sounded great with Duelund. How much more less powerful do you want? A 12SN7 is 20 mu.

We all know that Ultimate gets better with time but the point I'm trying to make is that it already sounded good at first listen. Perhaps a little rough and harsh but still good. That is the point I am trying to make and many other owners will attest to that.

In any case I have the amps for only a week. I will give impressions as I hear it. The owners I'm sure will add on when they receive their amps. They can take their time to burn it in.

 

[UntilThen]

However @nmat79 the owner of the Super Black Ultimate is a man of few words. Buckley chance you will hear his impressions. To date he is the owner of 4 McChanson amps. He has achieved legendary status.

I like him. A mild mannered man and we converse quite a bit via email.

 

[Deleeh]

Yes, perhaps I meant it in the same way as all other things when they are still new always need some time.
And also a little friendly reminder from me to the new owners,.

Didn't realise that 12SN7 also has 20Mu, in the case of the 807 mentioned, certainly not a bad choice.
I asked about 12AT7 because it's more or less the main configuration, at least for me.
Since I also have one there, I was more interested in it personally.
And even if I want to get Super Ultimate one day, I'm already thinking about which caps I'd like to have.
I've already decided on the colour - I like the black housing with the slightly orange colour, which goes really well with the orange glow of the tubes.
And Super Ultimate looks so inconspicuous in black and only the listener himself knows what's inside, hehe.
But Van Hai's Ultimate also looks very nice, I'd also like to mention that, and his 300b configuration is certainly very nice too.

Now I have to wait and save money for this beautiful black gold bar.
Have fun listening to the 2 beauties, I'm slightly jealous of Matt's black Ultimate.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm using 'cheaper' tubes now. RCA 12J5gt ($40?), Tung Sol 12SN7gt bgrp ($10) and Philips EL38 with Mullard GZ34. Using Duelund. Sound great !

I won't go into the intricacies of how good it is. Neither will I compare Duelund with Mundorf because Duelund is brand new. But trust me, you can eat this setup for dinner.

 

[UntilThen]

I asked about 12AT7 because it's more or less the main configuration, at least for me.
Since I also have one there, I was more interested in it personally.

Ask and it shall be given. I'm using Philip Miniwatt 6BQ7A, Silverstone 6J5gt and Philips EL38 with Mullard GZ34. With Duelund !. Great tone ! You can have this for supper.

I too envy the other Matt because this is the ultimate Ultimate. It has everything.

 

[UntilThen]

Next to it is my own Super Gold Ultimate with RCA 6SN7gt smoke glass, GEC 807 ATS25 and Tesla EZ81. Using Miflex kpcu-01. It's as good as the Super Black Ultimate. Now I don't envy Matt so much because I know my own amp is just as good.

Once you get a Super Ultimate, you will be well catered for.

 

[UntilThen]

A couple days more with the Super Black Ultimate and the Super Gold Supreme. My job is not to enjoy them but to find fault with them. So far the only issue is with the 1/4" headphone output on the Ultimate. There are no issues with the Supreme apart from a very humming pair of 45 tubes but that is no fault of the amp.

This morning I started listening with my own Super Gold Ultimate with STC 5A/152M, GEC 807 ATS25 and Tesla EZ81 with Miflex kpcu-01. Beautiful tone as always. Switching over to the Black Ultimate with 2 x Silverstone 6J5gt, Philips EL38, Mullard GZ34 and VCAP cutf. Pretty ordinary setup apart from the highly regarded VCAP. Sounded brilliant. Listenable and definitely enjoyable. It's good to go. I'm using the xlr headphone out.

The difference between 5 volt Super Ultimate and the standard Super Ultimate with EZ81 - as I stated sometime ago, the 5 volt version sounded more wholesome. A little more full body with more rounded curves. Not much difference. The difference is subtle. In my opinion both are enjoyable. However if you already have a collection of 5 volt rectifiers, the choice is easy.

 

[UntilThen]

Eric has set up the 3 switches in a straight line vertically as follows:-

1) 1st switch closest to the front is the 12.6 and 6.3v switch with a red LED on for 12.6v.
2) 2nd switch behind the 6BQ7A tube is to select between 2 x 6J5 or 6SN7.
3) 3rd switch is to select VCAP or Duelund. VCAP is pointing backward and Duelund is pointing forward.

As you can see, there are now test points for both left and right power tubes.

 

[UntilThen]

Super Gold Supreme is back on the test bench. Using Telefunken c3gs as drivers and Psvane 300b as power tubes and 596 full wave direct rectifier. Going from Pentode as strapped triode amp to 300b is a remarkable change. The 300b tone is sooo good with vocals. I miss my 300b amp. A 300b amp must grace my rack again.

This setup with Jupiters caps selected is very good as it is - ie new and with the cheapest Psvane 300b tubes. I can imagine it getting better with time and Western Electric 300B tubes. For headphone listening, Supreme is perfect. All my headphones (Susvara, HD800 and Grado GH1) are super quiet with it. A black background.

Practise makes perfect. I think this Supreme is better than the 1st Supreme. In quietness and tone.

 

[UntilThen]

I have just switch from Telefunken c3gs to Mullard ECC35 as driver on the Supreme. It's sooooo good. Both c3g and ECC35. I leave it to Hai to find out his fav drivers for Supreme.

There's nothing more to add for this Supreme. You certainly don't need the 12v switch because you're not going to crap it out cheap with drivers when you're going 300b. Spend on good drivers and good 300b tubes and good rectifiers and you really don't need to tube roll.

What would be interesting is to hear Elrog 300b, WE 300b and Takatsuki 300b tubes on this Supreme. As a comparison.

 

[UntilThen]

This Super Gold Supreme is so quiet with Grado GH1, a very high sensitivity and low impedance headphone. I was shocked that it is also completely quiet with my Sennheiser Momentum earbud. Listening to a 300b amp with a earbud is the new black.

 

[UntilThen]

Last test using the buffer amp. The buffer amp has no amplification. Acts like a preamp with xlr and rca inputs and xlr and rca outputs. I connected Yggdrasil's xlr output to the buffer amp xlr input and the buffer amp xlr output to the Super Black Ultimate xlr input. It's singing loud and clear.

 

[Deleeh]

Is that the cute little Gem amplifier on the right?

 

[UntilThen]

Is that the cute little Gem amplifier on the right?

Eric modded it to become just a buffer amp. On the back are xlr and rca inputs and xlr and rca outputs. Works kind of like a preamp.

 

[UntilThen]

Breaking news.

Eric can make an amp that will run 300b and all the tubes in Super Ultimate. There will be 2 pairs of sockets for the power tubes - 300b and 6Y6. Need a deeper chassis like the one below. This is same chassis as a Super Ultimate but it is deeper. Front facia is the same. Fit and finish is the same. Driver tubes are the same as Super Ultimate or Supreme.

I propose to call this amp Godzilla.