[Thaddy]

Well, my custom Odyssey is 6-7 months out, but at least I have some NOS GEC KT66's, Mullard xf2 EL34's, and Tungsol 6550's showing up today. I've never owned any of the nicer British tubes for my WA22, although I do have a NOS Mullard 5AR4 that is pretty nice. This will be my first set of GEC's, pretty excited to finally get a pair.

 

[UntilThen]

Well, my custom Odyssey is 6-7 months out, but at least I have some NOS GEC KT66's, Mullard xf2 EL34's, and Tungsol 6550's showing up today. I've never owned any of the nicer British tubes for my WA22, although I do have a NOS Mullard 5AR4 that is pretty nice. This will be my first set of GEC's, pretty excited to finally get a pair.

All 3 pairs are pretty special, Thaddy. They are amongst my A listed tubes. Tung Sol 6550 is even more special than Tung Sol 5998.

 

[Thaddy]

All 3 pairs are pretty special, Thaddy. They are amongst my A listed tubes. Tung Sol 6550 is even more special than Tung Sol 5998.

I'm fortunate enough to own two pairs of 5998's, bottom and top getters. They're excellent, and honestly I haven't heard a NOS Tung-Sol tube that I didn't like. Their black glass 6SL7's are excellent as well, and will probably be the first set of drivers that I put in the Odyssey.

 

[UntilThen]

Besides the Tung Sol NOS, step into the world of exotic EL34. They are as special as 300b. Mullard, Philips Miniwatt, Telefunken EL34 all entice whether they be metal base, brown base or black base.

When you're done with that, round up with dessert with GEC KT66, KT77 and KT88. Sorry for your wallet.

Don't forget to get some 807s. Cossor or GEC 807 are the cream but even Radiotron 807 are pretty marvelous. 807s are more wallet friendly than the above mentioned tubes.

 

[UntilThen]

Getting up at 1am, my room is totally silent in between songs. That's how quiet my gears are. It's a pleasure to listen to music at this time of the day. That's why I use headphones.

 

[UntilThen]

Swapping HiFiMan's flagships of Susvara and He1000se between Oblivion and Odyssey and the time pass quickly. What an incredible pairing between these 4 units. It's too good but at some point I need to tear myself away and go back to sleep.

 

[Thaddy]

Besides the Tung Sol NOS, step into the world of exotic EL34. They are as special as 300b. Mullard, Philips Miniwatt, Telefunken EL34 all entice whether they be metal base, brown base or black base.

When you're done with that, round up with dessert with GEC KT66, KT77 and KT88. Sorry for your wallet.

Don't forget to get some 807s. Cossor or GEC 807 are the cream but even Radiotron 807 are pretty marvelous. 807s are more wallet friendly than the above mentioned tubes.

The tubes arrived and it turns out the 6550's and EL34's have matching date codes, very excited to listen to them. I'll look into 807's as well, thanks for the recommendation.

 

[DecentLevi]

EMERGENCY MEETING ​

Today I decided to try hi-fi rubber dampening feet under my 'Finyssey' amp. Gave a few well recorded reference tracks a listen beforehand, and with these RCA 6J5 metal input tubes with EL39 I was thinking OK this has fantastic hard hitting slam, definition, clarity, good soundstage, what more could you want?... finished putting these babies underneath and gave it another listen. At this point I am struggling to CLING TO MY SANITY... jaw dropping open and a big smile. HOW CAN THIS EVEN BE THE SAME AMP? Now I'm catapulted into a holier land where things are no longer just GOOD, they're ENORMOUS and EXTRAVAGANT. Now I'm getting that extra transient response snap to the drums, sense of air, improved soundstage and even more organic experience. And I'm losing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Something like this was expected in fact, because these same hi-fi feet had made an improvement on 3 previous amps as well both tube and solid states. And what's more is these seem to have reduced the hum by some degree as well.

Before you consider getting these, hold on a few days while I do some research. I have to find which ones these were and get a bigger one for this amp. As you can see, these are under capacity for the amps weight. Another thing I had done was to combine these dampening feet with a cutout piece of a sorbothane sheet which is also a special rubber-like material. On previous amps I believe stacking these two together this was adding a certain magic sauce to the sound, and it seems that benefit carries over here as well.

SURPRISE #2:
A few days ago while troubleshooting a hum with my amp I added ferrite chokes (removable ferrite clamps) on wires inside the amp. Tomas gave me his blessing to do this and won't let me share photos of the inside, but what I had done was to follow the AC signal path and placed various types (depending on wire thickness) before and after the transformers and on several wires leading to the main ground signal section. In all I used 16 chokes and I loved the result so much I just decided to leave it and never look back! Besides I don't want to dislodge something internally by experimenting around too much, but I nailed it on my idea of putting it on the AC signal path only. Here was a copy of my original notes:

Next is when things get interesting. I decided to go a bit crazy with ferrite chokes on just about every major initial flow of AC power before the audio signal, now with 16 chokes. I thought I'd start some music just in case 'maybe'it sounds different. Well it did, ABSOLUTELY!!! And for the BETTER! I had actually just used 3 random sizes with 3 varying ratings (around 190 -320ohm noise rejection) according to which wires they fit on. Now I am getting:

• slightly improved soundstage (maybe) and more coherent imaging
• better defined PRaT
• slightly darker (desirable as it was modestly bright) and without any detail loss
• somewhat more vivid, rich sound

These work by yielding a reduction in the high frequency noise which is outside our range of hearing, causing a trickle down effect into the audible spectrum in a similar way to what power conditioning does.

I actually don't want to get too deep into experimenting or rolling with what type of chokes and where to place them, because for one thing I could end up breaking a connection and for another there's frankly too many options - infinite combinations really. So for now I'm just leaving them like this because I don't want to change a thing with the sound. It's DEFINITELY not taking anything away, that I can assure you!

Yup folks, the combination of both ferrite chokes internally, and elevating the amp with special dampening feet underneath is elevating the performance to a level that is unmistakably superior to beforehand! This is something you would NOT KNOW YOU NEED until after trying it. It's really an impressive experience now, and for me, just think I'm still using an entry-level DAC and RCA cable I've got temporarily. For anyone who's interested I'll get back with more specific type details in a few days.

PS- with the way this sounds I am pleased to say there is no need to remove the original feet, as they work well together IMO.

 

[UntilThen]

Omg DecentLevi, you have not change one tiny bit since the days of Elise and Euforia. Ferrite choke and 16 of them ? Seriously?

Does anyone else do this to their amp?

 

[Thaddy]

It's totally ridiculous, but if it sounds good to his ears, who cares?

 

[baronbeehive]

EMERGENCY MEETING ​

Today I decided to try hi-fi rubber dampening feet under my 'Finyssey' amp. Gave a few well recorded reference tracks a listen beforehand, and with these RCA 6J5 metal input tubes with EL39 I was thinking OK this has fantastic hard hitting slam, definition, clarity, good soundstage, what more could you want?... finished putting these babies underneath and gave it another listen. At this point I am struggling to CLING TO MY SANITY... jaw dropping open and a big smile. HOW CAN THIS EVEN BE THE SAME AMP? Now I'm catapulted into a holier land where things are no longer just GOOD, they're ENORMOUS and EXTRAVAGANT. Now I'm getting that extra transient response snap to the drums, sense of air, improved soundstage and even more organic experience. And I'm losing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Something like this was expected in fact, because these same hi-fi feet had made an improvement on 3 previous amps as well both tube and solid states. And what's more is these seem to have reduced the hum by some degree as well.

Before you consider getting these, hold on a few days while I do some research. I have to find which ones these were and get a bigger one for this amp. As you can see, these are under capacity for the amps weight. Another thing I had done was to combine these dampening feet with a cutout piece of a sorbothane sheet which is also a special rubber-like material. On previous amps I believe stacking these two together this was adding a certain magic sauce to the sound, and it seems that benefit carries over here as well.

SURPRISE #2:
A few days ago while troubleshooting a hum with my amp I added ferrite chokes (removable ferrite clamps) on wires inside the amp. Tomas gave me his blessing to do this and won't let me share photos of the inside, but what I had done was to follow the AC signal path and placed various types (depending on wire thickness) before and after the transformers and on several wires leading to the main ground signal section. In all I used 16 chokes and I loved the result so much I just decided to leave it and never look back! Besides I don't want to dislodge something internally by experimenting around too much, but I nailed it on my idea of putting it on the AC signal path only. Here was a copy of my original notes:

Next is when things get interesting. I decided to go a bit crazy with ferrite chokes on just about every major initial flow of AC power before the audio signal, now with 16 chokes. I thought I'd start some music just in case 'maybe'it sounds different. Well it did, ABSOLUTELY!!! And for the BETTER! I had actually just used 3 random sizes with 3 varying ratings (around 190 -320ohm noise rejection) according to which wires they fit on. Now I am getting:

• slightly improved soundstage (maybe) and more coherent imaging
• better defined PRaT
• slightly darker (desirable as it was modestly bright) and without any detail loss
• somewhat more vivid, rich sound

These work by yielding a reduction in the high frequency noise which is outside our range of hearing, causing a trickle down effect into the audible spectrum in a similar way to what power conditioning does.

I actually don't want to get too deep into experimenting or rolling with what type of chokes and where to place them, because for one thing I could end up breaking a connection and for another there's frankly too many options - infinite combinations really. So for now I'm just leaving them like this because I don't want to change a thing with the sound. It's DEFINITELY not taking anything away, that I can assure you!


Yup folks, the combination of both ferrite chokes internally, and elevating the amp with special dampening feet underneath is elevating the performance to a level that is unmistakably superior to beforehand! This is something you would NOT KNOW YOU NEED until after trying it. It's really an impressive experience now, and for me, just think I'm still using an entry-level DAC and RCA cable I've got temporarily. For anyone who's interested I'll get back with more specific type details in a few days.

PS- with the way this sounds I am pleased to say there is no need to remove the original feet, as they work well together IMO.

Fantastic results! I am interested in what you say about the rubber feet. I was uncertain about what to use on mine and settled for brass spikes but I've heard different things about brass vs rubber.

 

[paradoxper]

It's totally ridiculous, but if it sounds good to his ears, who cares?

It's total delusion, but it's his personal delusion. To him.

 

[DecentLevi]

Our universe is filled with numerous examples where there are things we can't see that either make a difference in our lives or directly effect us. How do we know gravity exists? The answer is obvious. Why do we think one metal inside a radio tube yields better sound than another? For a more practical example, why do so many people, including some of the most highly respected members of our community (Rob Watts of Chord electronics) herald the difference from a WAVE BNC cable? In that instance, it's a RCA coax data cable that uses 20 specific ferrite chokes on a single cable. People say it reduces HF interference and provides a more rich sound.

There was one person who disagrees with the sound of that specific cable, and that was actually me - an opinion I had after about 10 days with it and numerous trials. I thought it used too many ferrite chokes and my preference pointed to a specific BNC cable using a series of 3 specific ferrite chokes of premium quality type that work on lower frequencies, similar to the one center middle of this photo:

Over the last 2 years I have done many dozens of A/B trials throughout my system on the benefits of ferrite chokes. I am highly pleased that it worked on:

• headphone cables
• AC power chords
• DC wires
• USB data cable
• coax data cables
• (and now) internally in devices

I was a skeptic at first, especially with USB data cable, really not expecting to hear anything because in my former mind it shouldn't because there was just 1s and 0s. Turns out this was the biggest difference to my system and I've never looked back - this seems to work by reducing jitter and/or HF / RF from the DC signal inside the data cable. It was described as reducing a noisefloor modulation which is something which was inaudible but the after effect was a noticeable improvement. The only cable that didn't benefit was shielded power cables - because these already have a shield. Which brings me back to power conditioning and shielded cables. In these circles you can see many examples of practical applications for shielded cables to make an improvement in audio quality, as well as isolated mains power. The effect is somewhat similar, and you can read more on the technical reasons here.

There's a reason my entire system has specifically chosen ferrite chokes. Countless trials have pointed to varying differences of warmer / darker sound, improved dynamics, blacker background, more true-to-life organic characteristic, depending on the type used and how many. I hear an unwavering and repeatable difference every time they are removed, and returned again. One good thing is they are completely non-destructive and removable.

@Thaddy and @UntilThen and @paradoxper raised questions about practicality and amounts. In fact I approached this concept with my Ultrasonic Studious amp as a way to reduce a background hum I was hearing. I started with 4 ferrite chokes inside, and after noticing no reduction I decided to go all in with what became 16 in total. It may seem like a lot but it's just 1 on each of over a dozen wires inside, and I could have gone bigger. I tried this larger amount just to see if it makes a difference with hum, after which I would start removing them by a process of elimination - thus saving countless times getting back into my amp and closing it back up. Not noticing a difference in the area I was expecting, I thought I'd give it a listen with music playing 'just in case anything has changed'. And much to my surprise, I was immersed into quite a different experience that before. Just as with many previous trials using ferrite chokes, I was not expecting anything! But I absolutely did, and it was incredibly pleasing - so much that I decided from then on I will just leave it, having chosen the lucky placement internally on the AC (and DC?) power signal path - leaving the audio signal unaltered so I don't alter the benefits of tube rolling. In this way, the effect is more like a power conditioner or isolated power supply, which some ultra hi-fi devices use such as a DDC (digital interface). Those who are open to the unknown can reap the benefits. Yes it sounds better to my ears, but it could also sound better to yours if you were to try it, and if done right.

As you may gather there was ZERO expectation bias, not expecting anything and in fact this positive outcome was the coincidental result of actually trying to solve another problem. I don't go into these projects half cocked, but rely on a methodical process of A/B comparisons using high quality headphones and reference test songs with good mastering that I've hears 100's of times and listen for nuance details in the recordings. Furthermore I've been around the hobby for quite some years and many people trust my opinions on various pieces of equipment.

A precaution I would like to give however for anyone interested in trying this: Use extra caution to not dislodge or break any connections inside the amp and only insert a ferrite clamp if there is enough room for it - do not bend or force anything and only do this if you are have steady hands for fine movements. And regarding ferrite choke types, I used a combination of the cheap Chinese black type and the premium white type made by a company called STAR-TEC (these cost about $4 each and come with a lock & key).

 

[baronbeehive]

I agree with you about USB cable effects because there are several factors involved not just zeros and ones. Also shielding has obvious benefits as you have found. I don't know anything about ferrite chokes but as you have approached it in an experimental way I think there could well be benefits there. I have found similar effects with my approaches using different types of internal parts and so long as I stay objective I am confident in the effects that I have noted. So I wouldn't dismiss your findings at all, although you have to remain objective at all times IMO. The experimental approach is key.

 

[UntilThen]

I have zero ferrite choke. My amp is totally silent and sound amazing. I don't need any experimentations.