[TheR0v3r]

Already after 48 hours of burn-in I’ve found the Mullard ’70 Blackburn ECC88’s to be a really good match for the Pathos. My impressions of these tubes seem to be slightly different to people using these on non-hybrid amps. When reading about them almost always described as being ”warm”, maybe it isn’t as apperant when using a hybrid amp?

They aren’t as resolving in the bass at low levels as the Reflektor’s, and probably never will be regardless how many hours they burn-in. In ”Work Me” by Octo Octa I could hear some faint, deep bass at 00:25 with the Reflektor’s but with the Mullard’s I’d miss it if I didn’t already know that it’s there. On ”Walking with Elephants” by Ten Walls there is good bass impact/punch and also the same great sense of drive as with the Reflektor’s, but with a little less ”dynamic swing”. The treble is less smooth and feels slightly cruder, I’m hoping that this will improve with burn-in.

Switching to Anna von Hausswolff’s ”Dead Magic” the lesser resolution becomes more obvious. On this album she mainly plays on an organ in the ”Frederiks Kirke” in Copenhagen, Denmark. If I was mainly listening to technically demanding music across the ENTIRE frequency range I’m not sure that these tubes are the best choice, but this is of course only my opinion. Btw, this is a stunningly good album and highly recommended.

Two things are killer with these tubes: the holographic presentation and a wonderful midrange. The holographic presentation actually made me laugh out loud when listening to the alarm from the battlefiled on ”The Crusader Prelude” by Saxon - it was just such a cool experience! Both the holographic presentation and that wonderful midrange was on full display on ”Mirage (Live)” by Antonio Forcione. There is a greater sense of realness, of being there in front ot the stage that’s bordering on surreal. In comparison the Reflektor’s display the soundstage technically better in terms of width, depth and positioning but not as fun or engaging. I have the same experience with both ”Soothing (Live)” by Laura Marling and ”Litte Things” by Big Thief: technically not quite as good but with a brilliant sense of ”realness”.

As with many things there’s a compromise to be made between these two different tubes. The Reflektor’s are technically better, more resolving and more coherent, better balanced across the entire frequecy range but the Mullard’s are just such fun!

Lets see if, and how, my impressions change over the coming weeks.

One more thing, there seems to be ALOT of differently Mullard’s in the ECC88 family. In one thread I read that someone had identified as many as +70 different versions!

The version I’m using has the dimpled getter that was mostly used with A-frame models combined with the traditional splatter shield. I don’t have a clue if this has any importance at all when it comes to the sound but felt it worth mentioning.

 

[TheR0v3r]

Finally just some great songs that really highlight the quality of the Mullard’s with the Pathos. It sounds exceptional with female voices:

- ”Bedlam Boys” by Heidi Talbot
- ”Casticais” by Ive Mendes
- ”Cry Me a River” by Julie London
- ”Joy Ascension” by Macha Gharibian
- ”Temptation” by Diana Krall

Life is good

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Thank you for sharing! Searching and downloading...

 

[RHMMMM]

What other HP amps have people moved on to/ upgraded to from the InPol Ear?

 

[TheR0v3r]

This may be the quietest part of Head-Fi

Now it’s time to start trying some different tubes. My first attempt at tube rolling will be with a pair of Mullard Blackburn ECC88’s. It will be interesting to hear what changes the Mullard’s will bring to the sound vs the Voskhod '75 6N23P Gray Shield SWGP in use now.

After a week or two I’ll report back.

P.S. I actually also have a pair of Reflektor '74 6N23P SWGP Silver Shields but have never tried those, always thought they would be too similar to what I already have. They will have to stay in their box (at least for now).

Edit: Removed reference to my DAC.

Now I feel confident to report.

The Mullard Blackburn ’70 ECC88 is a very nice tube with a wonderful tone and timbre in the midrange. In comparison with the Voskhod ´75 6N23P Gray Shield SWGP they come up short in two areas: dynamics and resolution. The Voskhod’s are simple better in these areas and a better fit for me overall.

I’ll however be keeping the Mullards because I believe that their shortcomings (relative to the Voskhod’s) are accentuated by the hybrid construction of this amp. I’m looking at a few tube amps to complement the Pathos and then they will come in handy

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

If you can get hold of a Mullard E188CC (what i have on my Inpol now) its more or less E88CC on steroids. More dynamic, better bass, separation and depth, airy and sweet on the mids, full sounding. But again IMO, still not Voskhod ´75 6N23P HGs.

 

[TheR0v3r]

If you can get hold of a Mullard E188CC (what i have on my Inpol now) its more or less E88CC on steroids. More dynamic, better bass, separation and depth, airy and sweet on the mids, full sounding. But again IMO, still not Voskhod ´75 6N23P HGs.

Yeah, an ECC88 on steroids is probably what I’m looking for, but…

It’s getting more and more expensive to buy tubes so my days of buying to “just” satisfy my curiosity are over

Even though I don’t have the HG’s I’m starting to think that what I have is good enough.

 

[TheR0v3r]

Yeah, an ECC88 on steroids is probably what I’m looking for, but…

It’s getting more and more expensive to buy tubes so my days of buying to “just” satisfy my curiosity are over

Even though I don’t have the HG’s I’m starting to think that what I have is good enough.

So it took me a day and I’m already reconsidering my own position.

Who am I fooling? I want those ECC88’s on steroids

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

https://www.laboratoriomusicale.net/it/e188cc-7308-mullard-uk-nos-griglia-tramata-piedini-dorati

Here are other nice tubes to consider...

https://www.audioantiquary.com/it/categorie/e88cc-6922-cca-e188cc/

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Seasons greetings Pathos users...So I am in my second day of running a new Inpol Remix Mk.II Integrated amp/DAC..The good folks in Italy who cooked up this madmans swiss army knife tell me the headphone circuit is a combination of the Aurium tweaked to mesh with the Inpol ckt.& although only spec'd @ 1.7w@32ohms it reliably makes over 2watt @32Ohms...
Already with my Sundara & iBasso SR-1's I am experiencing wider & deeper staging,WAYYY deeper bass(still a bit loose though)& much better very low level resolution.Highs are a bit sharp but I attribute that to the brand new EH 6922's..Which brings me to the point..Just how how far do you folks who have used the Pathos head products feel this amp can take me with a set of end game cans & what are your recommendations @ the $2500.00 level?
Also has anyone experimented with new production 6922's from Mullard or Gold Lion & what was your finding?Thanks very very much for any input offered & Merry Christmas to all....

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Man I'ld love to get some input going here....Listening the last 2 days I have found the SR-1's from this amp have such a wonderful,relaxed,organic tone..To me sounds like a 300B had a baby with a KT88...Wondering how Focal Clear MG or HE1000SE Stealth would sound..How about Senn 800S though not sure about driving 300 ohm load..Also if there were just a touch less shade on the SR-1 I probably wouldn't go anywhere else...There is just something I can't place my finger on about it's voice..IMO they better the Sundara in every aspect except that electrostatic like clarity the planars have...

 

[xtr4]

Man I'ld love to get some input going here....Listening the last 2 days I have found the SR-1's from this amp have such a wonderful,relaxed,organic tone..To me sounds like a 300B had a baby with a KT88...Wondering how Focal Clear MG or HE1000SE Stealth would sound..How about Senn 800S though not sure about driving 300 ohm load..Also if there were just a touch less shade on the SR-1 I probably wouldn't go anywhere else...There is just something I can't place my finger on about it's voice..IMO they better the Sundara in every aspect except that electrostatic like clarity the planars have...

My input as follows. My current stable consists of the following amps; Pathos InPol Ear, ampandsound Mogwai SE, bespoke SuSy Dynahi and beta22 powered by external sigma power supply. I've owned and sold SPL Phonitor XE, ECP DHSA-3F, Pathos Aurium, ALO Audio Studio Six, La Figaro 339.

Out of all the amps above, I still veer back towards the Pathos mainly due to the fact that it provides me with the best balance in terms of resolution, attack, decay whilst still providing a nice "lushness" to the sound. Of course this pairing is subjective to my own listening preferences as well as DAC pairing.

In terms of headphones, they are a great pairing for my Spirit Torino Valkyria's, Audeze LCD5 and Abyss 1266 Phi CC (with superconductor cable). I prefer my HE-6 v2 on the SuSy/beta22 while my HD6XX and THX-00 sounds best from the Mogwai SE.
I used to own the Final D8000, HE1000SE and Susvara and they sound great off the Pathos.

Caveat, I'm currently running Siemens 1960s tubes on the Pathos

 

[TheR0v3r]

Today given the opportunity to try two different power cords from Furutech: FP-TCS21 and DPS-4.1. These are in different price ranges but jumped on the chance to try something new with the Inpol.

To keep it short, the FP-TCS21 didn’t impress me at all with the Pathos. Maybe it’s burn-in, connectors or whatever but I just can’t see it improving enought to pique my interest. Probably not helped (at all!) by the fact that the DPS-4.1 is good, as in really good!

After first having used fancy power cords with the Pathos I decided to sell them and instead have been using a simple (but good) power cord ever since. Today is the first time I’ve again tried something more expensive and I’m very impressed! I’ll report back in a week.

Happy New Year!

 

[chaZZZy007]

I picked up a used Shunyata Denali 6000s V2 and WOW.

I'm glad to hear you made the jump to power conditioning and heard the improvement!

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Using Puritan PSM156 on mine.Just like you.