[joespride]

Waiting on 6 tubes to show up, 2 rca, 2 1956 ge, and 2 raytheon windmill, also already bought amusical fidelity v-link192 for a great price so I will update all this when those arrive meanwhile the seller is being cool so if I find it is a tube issue etc...... I will update
 
It is weird at low volume with music playing it cannot be heard, stop the music and turn up the volume the hiss gets progressively louder in the right channel only, once the dac decides nothing is playing I get a click and silence (the last part I assume the dac auto disconnects with no signal after a few seconds) Soundwise I like it but noise with headphones is a killer. I actually find it very much like the centrance is SQ (no wow factor)

 

[redcat2]

   
Gotta say that's the first time I've heard that before, lol.  I do think the 6N3P-DR is underrated though and it is up there on my list.
 
I rotate b/w AEG, Bendix 6385, and Bendix 2c51 depending on music and mood.  AEG I think is the most well-defined with good tonal balance but a little thin by comparison, 6385 (overall favorite) big deep sound with great bass but not as rich and warm as 2c51, 2c51 richest but can be a little closed in by comparison with a little less detail than the other 2.
 
 

 
What is it about the 55 6385 that you like over the 64?  
 
 
Quote:
 
Try flipping L/R RCA outputs and see if the hiss moves to the left channel.
 
Can you test SPDIF or TOSlink interfaces for the same problem?
 
Do you have another tube you can try?

The difference between the 55 and the 64 is this, i found that the 64 sound a bit itchy in the vocals and overall sound where the 55 where just smooth, i all so found in close inspection of the tubes there was a difference in the build that appears in the positioning of the gator been lower down in the 55 years, i noticed this on the 6385 & 2c51 tubes. I will take some photos latter today if i have time.     

 

[joespride]

? regarding dating the WE396a
 
am I correct in assuming that the 4 number code stamped on the side would indicate year and week
 
IE.........5926 would =week 26 of 1959
 
 
If this is wrong please advise how I would date these b-4 purchasing 1
 
Thanks in advance

 

[joespride]

Regarding the noise issue on the right channel
 
New tubes and the noise remains
 
spdif noise remains
 
usb noise remains
 
different pc and cd/dvd player noise remains
 
different cables noise remains
 
So From reading I believe I have a chip issue, Does anyone know where I could source replacement chips ??

 

[joespride]

HA..........................swapped the chips and the issue moved to the left side.......................chips are available on ebay
 
SWEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kimchee411]

  HA..........................swapped the chips and the issue moved to the left side.......................chips are available on ebay
 
SWEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Good work!  You can buy the Malaysian K grade chips from Mouser:
 
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/PCM56P-K/?qs=wgAEGBTxy7kKv9XLkJKGqg%3D%3D
 
There have been several reports of Chinese fakes on eBay, I would avoid.  If you want the best sound, the Japanese K grade chips are where it's at.  I think the way to ensure authenticity is to buy an old CD player and pull them.

 

[joespride]

Thanks for the link, I will take a look..................I will also look for old cd player / players, I saw an ad about all the counterfit chips and I certainly dont want those

 

[joespride]

Setting here digging Patricia Barber, Modern Cool...................sounds great, no sibilance, great detail, I have noticed that it excells at what i will call inner detail, those little things in the music we are not supposed to hear, Listening to Bruce Springsteen We Shall Overcome, Oh Mary Dont you Weep. I could hear a conversation going on at the beginning of the song, Cymbals sound like cymbals as they decay (not static) voicing is very natural 
 
Bass is surprising for a tube dac very deep with impact although not the final word in tightness not what I would call muddy but maybe just barely sloppy
 
High end is very nice, not bright at all but nicely extended, cant speak to soundstage as I am using headphones but imagery seems nice with good seperation
 
Very Musical, though seems to be best with jazz, acoustic, folk, some milder rock

 

[joespride]

Replaced the chips and that solved the noise issue on the 1 ear but now I get tube hiss above a certain volume point, I have tried 7 different tubes and the hiss remains with all of them, I am thinking the replacement pcm56p chips (no grade J, K, L etc...) are my new PITA
 
MHDT will not respond to emails have tried emailing from various pc, with various email addess. apparently they are like most companies today start out good with customer service and once established forget all about the service portion of the business
 
I really hate to keep buying unknown quality chips as it can get quite expensive over time
 
anyone else experience tube hiss with havana ??

 

[joespride]

Tube hiss seems to be resolved, not sure if it was the chips burning / settling in but 1 of the raytheon windmill getter tubes I have has no Hiss,  Finally heard back from mhdt, messaged them through ebay and they answered...........supposed to be sending me replacement J chips, (that is what came in this less than 10 month old DAC
 
I feel like I may have found a happy place with my all tube set up now
 
 
running J-River to my musical fidelity v-link 192, to Havana with the raytheon windmill, to my Kenzie Headphone (Darling circuit) which is sporting a pair of 1943 Hytron D foil Getter 1626's and a 60's Raytheon 2c52........................to the HE500's,   SQ is Very nice now acoustic is intoxicating with a very healthy dash of Detail / Inner Detail, nice deep bass (surprising at times), The highs just shimmer through decay. Mids are sublime very organic, currently not noticing any harshness (before this tube combination I felt like some of the faster paced busy music would take on some grain)
 
I must admit although I have no desire to perform a full blown mod I am curious about the upgraded output cap mod and wonder if that would further improve upon the sense of grain with faster / busy music...........any thoughts on that ???

 

[levlhed]

loserica's monster in it's new home
 

 

[joespride]

any Impressions ??  What other dacs have you had ??

 

[levlhed]

I just put it into service tonight so it is still fresh on my ears.  And I actually have no other proper DAC to compare directly to as I'm coming from an upgraded ASUS Xonar STX doing to D to A duty.
I can say I've got lots of experience listening to different systems in all different sizes and configurations with sources and environments so I know when something sounds good.  This does!
I apologize that I can't give a "it is better than this but not as good as that" kind of opinion.  All I can say is that in my brief ear time right now that it lacks nothing and sometimes it is downright creepy how "real" it sounds.  But I must stress that I only just got it and I think it is impossible to grasp all the subtle stuff with out significant amounts of listening time.

 

[loserica]

  I just put it into service tonight so it is still fresh on my ears.  And I actually have no other proper DAC to compare directly to as I'm coming from an upgraded ASUS Xonar STX doing to D to A duty.
I can say I've got lots of experience listening to different systems in all different sizes and configurations with sources and environments so I know when something sounds good.  This does!
I apologize that I can't give a "it is better than this but not as good as that" kind of opinion.  All I can say is that in my brief ear time right now that it lacks nothing and sometimes it is downright creepy how "real" it sounds.  But I must stress that I only just got it and I think it is impossible to grasp all the subtle stuff with out significant amounts of listening time.

I think that you can enjoy this sound quality level for many years.

 

[s1rrah]

  loserica's monster in it's new home
 

 
Congrats!!!
 
I can't even count how many intoxicated moments I sat nearly pulling the trigger on that thing .,..
 
Enjoy it, man ... that sort of Havana doesn't come along often.