[Isaacc7]

Tomas use the same silver case for Citadel.

In the planning stage for Odyssey, I chose the name and Tomas proposed a wooden case for the old school amp. However I plan to use it mainly with the grey tubes EL11 and EL12 spez and ask Tomas if wood would clash with grey. He then said that he know just the case for it - the study silver case and grey will be a killer look. As it turned out, he was right. It’s still a beauty in my eyes.

I was so looking forward to another bigger silver casework for Telemachus but was disappointed it never eventuated. I am no longer disappointed because losing an amp is nothing compared to losing a friend.

Odyssey was supposed to be my last tube amp, the finale. Tomas ask me what’s my budget for it and I said I have no budget for it. Whatever the cost, so the eventual choice of Sowter over Lundahl transformers and Yamamoto sockets. It will remain a ‘treasure’ and mark not for sale.

Then I got a gold Ultimate to soothe the lost of Telemachus and together with the black Oblivion, I have reached the end of my tube amp journey. Finally nirvana with my trinity amps and time to put the feet up and enjoy the music.

I am pretty sure that I can sing ‘I did it my way’ better than Frank Sinatra now.

If I had any sense I would be happy with the two amps I have. Going back to the Dennis Had amp while my Odyssey is out of commission I find myself shaking my head. Any audiophile or music lover would be happy with this amp. And yet I still find myself fantasizing about another bespoke amp just for a particular range of tubes. Between how good this amp sounds and my Odyssey with the GU50 in particular I have no business thinking about another amp. What is wrong with me? Lol.

 

[UntilThen]

Nothing wrong with us. We’re just tube amp aficionados.

 

[OctavianH]

And yet I still find myself fantasizing about another bespoke amp just for a particular range of tubes.

I also went on the same way, thinking about some amps tuned for specific range of tubes.

 

[triod750]

If we were interested only in music a pretty simple amp would do. If we are interested in audio a solid state amp is sufficient. If we are interested in both audio and music there is no end to it and tube amps is the way to go.

 

[Isaacc7]

I recently had a tube go out on me and it seems to have taken out the regulator for one of the tubes in my Odyssey. Knew I needed a tube tech but was having trouble finding one so I asked over on AudioKarma for suggestions for my area. Someone gave me a number and a name. Figured he was probably a guitar amp guy. Talked to him a bit today and umm…

http://bwstube.com/

Lol, think I found my guy. He seems to known his way around a tube amp. He thinks it’s going to be a simple repair. Hopefully I’ll be up and running again before too long. Hope no one else here has to worry about repairs but realistically it’s not a bad idea to keep In mind. Do you have someone local that you’d trust?

 

[OctavianH]

I keep my fingers crossed that you'll manage to repair it.

 

[VanHai]

I recently had a tube go out on me and it seems to have taken out the regulator for one of the tubes in my Odyssey. Knew I needed a tube tech but was having trouble finding one so I asked over on AudioKarma for suggestions for my area. Someone gave me a number and a name. Figured he was probably a guitar amp guy. Talked to him a bit today and umm…

http://bwstube.com/

Lol, think I found my guy. He seems to known his way around a tube amp. He thinks it’s going to be a simple repair. Hopefully I’ll be up and running again before too long. Hope no one else here has to worry about repairs but realistically it’s not a bad idea to keep In mind. Do you have someone local that you’d trust?

Great information to know. thanks. It is a local business near where i live.

 

[Isaacc7]

Finally got the amp to the tech today. He called back about half an hour with the problem diagnosed. It was a blown fuse.

ARGGHHHH! I feel like an idiot. In my defense when I’ve blown fuses in the past the bias meter was just dead not acting funny. I deserve to pay his fee because of my idiocy. Sadly it isn’t the stupidest audio expenditure I’ve made. I’m bound to make more lol.

He did solve my white LED issue. Because of the tube the LED was mounted in and the glue he simply lowered the current to it and then painted it red! Says it’s a lovely red glow now. He also did a minor adjustment to my preamp so I guess it wasn’t all just wasted money. @VanHai I can recommend Bruce, he’s honest and up front. I was convinced that I had a problem with the regulator. A less scrupulous person could have agreed and charged a lot more.

 

[VanHai]

Finally got the amp to the tech today. He called back about half an hour with the problem diagnosed. It was a blown fuse.

ARGGHHHH! I feel like an idiot. In my defense when I’ve blown fuses in the past the bias meter was just dead not acting funny. I deserve to pay his fee because of my idiocy. Sadly it isn’t the stupidest audio expenditure I’ve made. I’m bound to make more lol.

He did solve my white LED issue. Because of the tube the LED was mounted in and the glue he simply lowered the current to it and then painted it red! Says it’s a lovely red glow now. He also did a minor adjustment to my preamp so I guess it wasn’t all just wasted money. @VanHai I can recommend Bruce, he’s honest and up front. I was convinced that I had a problem with the regulator. A less scrupulous person could have agreed and charged a lot more.

@Isaacc7 We have a local meet. If your schedule allows, come and join us and sample some new gear.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dc-...ing Meet At Burke Centre Library On 2/17/2024

 

[Isaacc7]

@Isaacc7 We have a local meet. If your schedule allows, come and join us and sample some new gear.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dc-va-md-areas-head-fi-up-coming-meet-at-burke-centre-library-on-2-17-2024.971209/#:~:text=DC, VA, MD Areas Head-Fi Up Coming Meet At Burke Centre Library On 2/17/2024

Gah, I’ll be out of town! I’d be terrified at the prospect of seeing/hearing new gear in any case. Between the synth bug that has bitten me and some imminent Apple purchases the last thing I need is new audio gear to lust over lol. Thanks though.

 

[UntilThen]

Finally got the amp to the tech today. He called back about half an hour with the problem diagnosed. It was a blown fuse.

ARGGHHHH! I feel like an idiot. In my defense when I’ve blown fuses in the past the bias meter was just dead not acting funny. I deserve to pay his fee because of my idiocy. Sadly it isn’t the stupidest audio expenditure I’ve made. I’m bound to make more lol.

He did solve my white LED issue. Because of the tube the LED was mounted in and the glue he simply lowered the current to it and then painted it red! Says it’s a lovely red glow now. He also did a minor adjustment to my preamp so I guess it wasn’t all just wasted money. @VanHai I can recommend Bruce, he’s honest and up front. I was convinced that I had a problem with the regulator. A less scrupulous person could have agreed and charged a lot more.

I made the same rookie mistake with my Redgum RGi125enr amp. A blown fuse and I thought it’s dead.

Send it all the way to Melbourne but the builder was so happy that I still had the amp, he gave another remote control and a red velvet Redgum amp cover.

A 265w into 4 ohms amp driving my Axis Voicebox S. It’s the only solid state I kept amongst my other tube amps.

 

[UntilThen]

There it is driving Susvara with Ultimate doing preamp duty.

 

[Isaacc7]

The tech had mentioned that he had a lot of tubes. Against my better judgement I asked if he had a quad of RCA blackplate 6l6gc. He said no and I was relieved. Once again I have been saved from myself. I am feeling the urge to buy more tubes less and less since I already have so many combos I haven’t tried. He casually mentioned that I should get a quad of Bendix 6384 instead. Those are actually easy to resist because I don’t want to pay the price lol.

 

[OctavianH]

Finally got the amp to the tech today. He called back about half an hour with the problem diagnosed. It was a blown fuse.

This shows how reliable is your amp built. Mine also survived a few times when I am sure other amps would have needed to be repaired.

 

[LoryWiv]

The tech had mentioned that he had a lot of tubes. Against my better judgement I asked if he had a quad of RCA blackplate 6l6gc. He said no and I was relieved. Once again I have been saved from myself. I am feeling the urge to buy more tubes less and less since I already have so many combos I haven’t tried. He casually mentioned that I should get a quad of Bendix 6384 instead. Those are actually easy to resist because I don’t want to pay the price lol.

Is Bendix 6384 a direct, drop-in compatible replacement for 6L6GC? If so, tempting to consider a pair as powers for UltimatE but man, those prices!!!