[sjoerd13]

Yes, the 12au7's are the Art series. There's a delay getting them shipped. I checked the tracking # and its still stuck in Hong Kong.

Yeah I have the same problem. But today the E 6sn7 arrived and just hooked up in my dac. Quality of the tubes are again stunning! Let's see what it does after some break in.. They going to fight the Nanking 6h8c (the best year "58, all other years are less quality of components sadly) and the Sylvania vt231, let's see how good the elite 6sn7 are..

 

[rajacat]

Wow! Those look great. I'm in the market for some tube cages for both MP-D2 and my SET.

 

[sjoerd13]

Wow! Those look great. I'm in the market for some tube cages for both MP-D2 and my SET.

Ah those tube cages, are just real ofc rings and the holes I made them bigger to 35mm with a spiral drill. The hole for the rectifier just changed it to with a 50mm copper ring. Nothing fancy but looks really good and better then I thought I did not glue it but put little blutack between them so that I can change to different colors maybe in future.. As for the tubes they have to break in for sure but I don't recognize much difference from the Nanking 6h8c and that's a big + for me. I searched a long time for the best 6sn7 as the new tubes brands like tungsol 6sn7 or are all OK but not great in sound. I also use a sun audio 2a3 smp with 6sn7 and much audio lovers are always searching for this 6sn7 nos tubes. Well maybe this is it and search no further..

Just talked to Garry also and he had a tip that I could remove the stock 6h6 because of the mk3 deluxe mobo doesn't need the other 2 tubes on my rca setup with 6sn7. Its should have less noise and he was right at that point. Every little things help..

Damn and they look sexy..

 

[aneep]

Yeah I have the same problem. But today the E 6sn7 arrived and just hooked up in my dac. Quality of the tubes are again stunning! Let's see what it does after some break in.. They going to fight the Nanking 6h8c (the best year "58, all other years are less quality of components sadly) and the Sylvania vt231, let's see how good the elite 6sn7 are..

Holy Cow!! @sjoerd13, the dac looks super sexy man! Makes me curious as to how the 6sn7 sound as compared to ECC88/6922's . Is the dac able to give enough juice for the 6sn7's?

 

[Psilonaught]

Holy Cow!! @sjoerd13, the dac looks super sexy man! Makes me curious as to how the 6sn7 sound as compared to ECC88/6922's . Is the dac able to give enough juice for the 6sn7's?

I have tried 6SN7 via adapter and the result was a big loss in "air", the sound was noticeably vailed. I was using decent NOS Sylvania tubes so I doubt that was the issue.

Reflektor 75/74 6n23p swgp silver shields are way better in my experience.

 

[aneep]

I have tried 6SN7 via adapter and the result was a big loss in "air", the sound was noticeably vailed. I was using decent NOS Sylvania tubes so I doubt that was the issue.

Reflektor 75/74 6n23p swgp silver shields are way better in my experience.

Agree with you on the reflectors. I have been switching between 75 silver shields and siemens ecc81's. While the siemens perhaps gives me a slightly denser tone ( they are probably a match on transperancy), the reflectors have a much deeper and wider soundstage and are more airy than the siemens. With the psvane we274b rectifier, I found the reflectors to be slightly warmer but with the Linlai 274b they are perfect. Gem of a tube for sure.

 

[sjoerd13]

I have tried 6SN7 via adapter and the result was a big loss in "air", the sound was noticeably vailed. I was using decent NOS Sylvania tubes so I doubt that was the issue.

Reflektor 75/74 6n23p swgp silver shields are way better in my experience.

Holy Cow!! @sjoerd13, the dac looks super sexy man! Makes me curious as to how the 6sn7 sound as compared to ECC88/6922's . Is the dac able to give enough juice for the 6sn7's?

The 6sn7 swap was for me the best step to" trying to find the best tubes for the dac". I came from stock 6h6 (which are the best bang for buck) to EH 6h30pi gold pin which are way to clear for me and after a while found a match with the 12bh7 full music tubes. The FM where really my taste, quite warmish and laid-back. Then I discussed with Garry to try the 6sn7, for me the 6sn7 is the best pre tube there is al ever made(use it also in my amplifier) and with the mk3 deluxe version motherboard upgrade it was very capable with the new gain and I tried those. I use a custom made adapter from the brand eizz and all I can say is that if you like the warmish side of sound. Like typical sun audio, horn speakers, 2a3 sound, you better have to test these out! I also have Sylvania vt231 and the Jan's rca vt231 nos but there not a match in the dac. Quite dull, nothing special.. But a friend of mine was giving me a recommendation about the nanking 6h8c from the 58 year and that 1 is still the best tube for in the dac. But because it's shortish stock and price is getting worse (read higher) is saw linlai came with the elite version of 6sn7. So now I'm testing this to see if it can beat this Nanking or at least close. And all in all I can say linlai does it again and it gives such a good natural quality to the music, very realistic. But again I don't like the ES Sabre, EH psvane dynamic sound where every "sshh, highhats or harsh and every detail is noticeable.. Want to put music on and listen for hours and hours without getting tired of it. It's all comes to your personal taste.. Cheers

 

[fishzoo]

Has anyone try the MP-D2 preamp mode?
Also, anyone here using a tube pre-amp by placing in between: MP-D2 -> preamp-> Integrated amp/power amp Vs without pre-amp.
I am curious if a MP-D2 feeding to a pre-amp will sound better.

 

[aneep]

The 6sn7 swap was for me the best step to" trying to find the best tubes for the dac". I came from stock 6h6 (which are the best bang for buck) to EH 6h30pi gold pin which are way to clear for me and after a while found a match with the 12bh7 full music tubes. The FM where really my taste, quite warmish and laid-back. Then I discussed with Garry to try the 6sn7, for me the 6sn7 is the best pre tube there is al ever made(use it also in my amplifier) and with the mk3 deluxe version motherboard upgrade it was very capable with the new gain and I tried those. I use a custom made adapter from the brand eizz and all I can say is that if you like the warmish side of sound. Like typical sun audio, horn speakers, 2a3 sound, you better have to test these out! I also have Sylvania vt231 and the Jan's rca vt231 nos but there not a match in the dac. Quite dull, nothing special.. But a friend of mine was giving me a recommendation about the nanking 6h8c from the 58 year and that 1 is still the best tube for in the dac. But because it's shortish stock and price is getting worse (read higher) is saw linlai came with the elite version of 6sn7. So now I'm testing this to see if it can beat this Nanking or at least close. And all in all I can say linlai does it again and it gives such a good natural quality to the music, very realistic. But again I don't like the ES Sabre, EH psvane dynamic sound where every "sshh, highhats or harsh and every detail is noticeable.. Want to put music on and listen for hours and hours without getting tired of it. It's all comes to your personal taste.. Cheers

@sjoerd13 - thanks for the inputs. Definitely puts things in a much better perspective. You're right ofcourse - its all about tuning your system according to your ears. It took me a long time to realise but hopefully I am getting there ....

 

[aneep]

Has anyone try the MP-D2 preamp mode?
Also, anyone here using a tube pre-amp by placing in between: MP-D2 -> preamp-> Integrated amp/power amp Vs without pre-amp.
I am curious if a MP-D2 feeding to a pre-amp will sound better.

I have used the MK1 with my powered monitors and I have used the preamp out on my MK3 deluxe with a headphone amplifier. In my opinion the preamp out is a bit muddy compared to the rca/xlr outs. Not as transparent and everything is more closed in. Just not as good as the normal outputs is how I will put it.

 

[Psilonaught]

I've decided to try an Antelope OCX master clock with my M2-D2. I want to see if an oven-controlled OCXO will further improve things.

 

[rajacat]

Has anyone try the MP-D2 preamp mode?
Also, anyone here using a tube pre-amp by placing in between: MP-D2 -> preamp-> Integrated amp/power amp Vs without pre-amp.
I am curious if a MP-D2 feeding to a pre-amp will sound better.

You might not have enough gain without a pre or buffer. It's system dependent. There are 2 gain settings. High and low .Try the high setting . Switch on the backside.

 

[rajacat]

Yeah I have the same problem. But today the E 6sn7 arrived and just hooked up in my dac. Quality of the tubes are again stunning! Let's see what it does after some break in.. They going to fight the Nanking 6h8c (the best year "58, all other years are less quality of components sadly) and the Sylvania vt231, let's see how good the elite 6sn7 are..

All of my tubes arrived yesterday includng 2prs 6N23P silver shields from the Ukraine. I think my tube buying has ended for awhile. I have plenty to roll. Bullet proof packing on the Linlai's.

Will the 274b fit the Mp-d2 without extender or requiring enlarging the hole?

 

[Nimzerz]

Just got and installed the new V-Cap ODAM's in my DAC and here are my initial impressions:
- Bass is way more textured
- Less of a mid-bass hump, deeper sub-bass extension and definition. Tighter.
- Midrange more detailed, especially noticeable with things like reverb/decay
- Treble way more precise and crisp, slightly elevated compared to before but it sounds neutral, not too bright, but can be slightly harsh at times (hoping this will resolve itself with the break-in, as it sounds similar to how the 6H30pi sounded before they broke in) Edit: It has smoothed out wonderfully, did not take long at all (~20-30hrs at most)
- Soundstage and imaging as a result is also far better. Width and depth are both improved greatly. I got to admit, the descriptions about this are very accurate. It's a significant change. There is much more space around each instrument. Things are much easier to pinpoint and identify within a song.

I really look forward to seeing how these develop and change over the 200-400 hour break-in period. The description online about them sounding great from the beginning is true, though I can imagine there will be even more improvement/refinement with some time. This is in comparison to the stock Obbligato caps.

 

[rajacat]

The ODAMs will definitely get better and that slight treble harshness will become smoother.