[luishi5000]

After having more time to listen to the QS with the Gold Lion tubes, I've noticed that it's a little "hot" up top - some highs are especially piercing on my ZMF Verite. Is this what is referred to as "tube glare"? Perhaps the Beryllium driver is especially sensitive to the harmonics generated up top. It's just distracting enough that it pulls me out of the experience. I assume my options are to keep trying different tubes or EQ the highs down a bit?

 

[jonathan c]

After having more time to listen to the QS with the Gold Lion tubes, I've noticed that it's a little "hot" up top - some highs are especially piercing on my ZMF Verite. Is this what is referred to as "tube glare"? Perhaps the Beryllium driver is especially sensitive to the harmonics generated up top. It's just distracting enough that it pulls me out of the experience. I assume my options are to keep trying different tubes or EQ the highs down a bit?

The FR graph in your post (#772) along with the quick transient ability / potential for ‘sheen’ of beryllium drivers suggest that the Verite is ‘sensitive to the harmonics’….

 

[infinity1]

Hey everyone, I've been reading the thread and I thought I would chime in and say I've been using this amp for a while now and I love it. Hard to find an upgrade from this.
I am using Hammond branded Holland Amperex EL84 and Vintage 1960s Tung-Sol 5751 tubes. I read on here that many people asked Mike if it was okay to use different types of 12AX7 and he said not to. I tried it anyway.... I love this tube type. There is a softness ( at first sounded strange) and punch to these tubes. I know the Dekoni Blue digs pretty deep but it sounded great with these tubes in the sub bass compared to the black plate RCA 12AX7 I have. The space is quite wide as well with maybe a little less detail than I'd like but it's still pretty good. Tried the combo using Dekoni Blue (super fun to use on this amp), HD6XX, LSA HP Diamond, AKG K501, and Australis. I have other but didn't bring them with me when I moved. Just thought I'd chime in.

DAC is a Balanced Pagoda using 6922 amperex tubes

 

[jonathan c]

Hey everyone, I've been reading the thread and I thought I would chime in and say I've been using this amp for a while now and I love it. Hard to find an upgrade from this.
I am using Hammond branded Holland Amperex EL84 and Vintage 1960s Tung-Sol 5751 tubes. I read on here that many people asked Mike if it was okay to use different types of 12AX7 and he said not to. I tried it anyway.... I love this tube type. There is a softness ( at first sounded strange) and punch to these tubes. I know the Dekoni Blue digs pretty deep but it sounded great with these tubes in the sub bass compared to the black plate RCA 12AX7 I have. The space is quite wide as well with maybe a little less detail than I'd like but it's still pretty good. Tried the combo using Dekoni Blue (super fun to use on this amp), HD6XX, LSA HP Diamond, AKG K501, and Australis. I have other but didn't bring them with me when I moved. Just thought I'd chime in.

DAC is a Balanced Pagoda using 6922 amperex tubes

Nice DAC / amp pairing!

 

[jonathan c]

Hey everyone, I've been reading the thread and I thought I would chime in and say I've been using this amp for a while now and I love it. Hard to find an upgrade from this.
I am using Hammond branded Holland Amperex EL84 and Vintage 1960s Tung-Sol 5751 tubes. I read on here that many people asked Mike if it was okay to use different types of 12AX7 and he said not to. I tried it anyway*** …I love this tube type. There is a softness ( at first sounded strange) and punch to these tubes. I know the Dekoni Blue digs pretty deep but it sounded great with these tubes in the sub bass compared to the black plate RCA 12AX7 I have. The space is quite wide as well with maybe a little less detail than I'd like but it's still pretty good. Tried the combo using Dekoni Blue (super fun to use on this amp), HD6XX, LSA HP Diamond, AKG K501, and Australis. I have other but didn't bring them with me when I moved. Just thought I'd chime in.

DAC is a Balanced Pagoda using 6922 amperex tubes

*** I especially enjoyed various 12AT7 (ECC81) tubes on the Quicksilver: Brimar CV455, RFT ECC81 (foil getter), Tungsram ECC 81 (foil disc getter)…

 

[rmsanger]

I'm not getting much spiciness up top with mine.. Paring with Holo Spring KTE Dac and a variety of headphones including OG Clears which will def squeal in a bright chain.

Primary tubes:
Amperex EL84
Japan Allied industrial 12AX7

Secondary tubes:
Hammond Halo G EL84
Mullard 12AX7

 

[infinity1]

I'm not getting much spiciness up top with mine.. Paring with Holo Spring KTE Dac and a variety of headphones including OG Clears which will def squeal in a bright chain.

Primary tubes:
Amperex EL84
Japan Allied industrial 12AX7

Secondary tubes:
Hammond Halo G EL84
Mullard 12AX7

I was the same way for a good while, I bought a lot of different tubes and I had a lot to work with. Have you tried the Amperex EL84 with the Mullards? Or any other different combinations? I used a friends pair of HD800S on my chain and all it really did was make things wider sounding lol. I wonder if I misunderstood the comment lol I'm sorry

 

[rmsanger]

I was the same way for a good while, I bought a lot of different tubes and I had a lot to work with. Have you tried the Amperex EL84 with the Mullards? Or any other different combinations? I used a friends pair of HD800S on my chain and all it really did was make things wider sounding lol. I wonder if I misunderstood the comment lol I'm sorry

My comment was a response to luishi5000 who said he was getting some treble hotness.

I have tried the Amperex with Mullard and Hammond with Allied but I found these both to synergize best as above.

I also liked the Tungsram EL84, JNJ EL84, and the default 12AX7 aren't bad. I'm going to try a few more options here around christmas including some GE and a few other tubes.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Thanks to @Wes S I have some more excellent EL84s to use in my Quicksilver. He actually sold me the pair I’ve been using for the last year or so, a pristine set of 1955 Mullard Disc Getters. Now I’ve got two more cream-of-the-crop options from him as well. I bought a pair of Tungsram Welded Plate Foil O Getters as well as a rare set of Funkwerk Erfurt (earliest version of RFT) Welded Plate Foil Disc Getters.

I’m not planning on switching from my favorite 12AX7s, a pair of 1954 Amperex Long Plates. They are amazing, not to mention expensive!

I’m really glad I went on a tube-rolling adventure over the last year or so. I learned a lot, and I’ve taken an already superb sounding amp to the next level with all these great tubes. On the other hand, if you’re still rocking the stock glass, you’re still getting 95% of the magic in my opinion. I couldn’t resist chasing that last 5%!

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I want to follow up with some impressions of the two EL84 pairs I received earlier this week from @Wes S. I’ve listened to both the Funkwerk Erfurts and Tungsrams for a couple of days each. I used my favorite long-plate Amperex 12AX7s with both EL84s during my evaluations.

The Funkwerk Erfurt welded plate EL84s were @Wes S’s favorite in his Pendent SE. I think we have slightly different preferences in our sound, but I can definitely see what he liked about these tubes. They have excellent extension in the bass and treble. Soundstage is expansive and mids are excellent (but not quite magical).

The Tungsram welded plate foil O getters were @Wes S’s #1 until he got the Funkwerks. I’m going to have to put these above the Funkwerks in my rankings. Again, I’m using a different amp, different headphones and pairing with different driver tubes. I also happen to have different ears! To me, these bring back the magic to the mids. I’m a sucker for vocals, and there is something special happening with the Amperex 12AX7/Tungsram EL84 combination. It’s not just the mids either, bass has great punch and texture. Highs are clear and refined, and the soundstage is wide and 3D. Can’t say enough about how great things sound.

I’m going to have to switch back to my old favorite EL84s, the 1955 Mullards, and see how they stack up against the Tungsrams. I think they share the same magic in their portrayal of human voices, but I think the Tungsrams may take everything up a notch overall.

At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m going to sell the Funkwerks since I’m so enamored with the Tungsrams. If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM and I’ll be happy to discuss.

 

[Amarquis]

I'm looking for a tube headphone amplifier using 6922 or 12ax7 tubes. Why ? Because I have a large inventory of those tubes. Why spend more on different tubes ! And most of them are NOS. My experience with 12ax7 and 5751 tubes was done with a VAC preamp. Mine was very loud playing at 9 o'clock on the volume dial. So not a large versatility tuning the sound level. It is then I was recommended using 5751s. They have less gain and were manufactured especially for mililitary purposes. Less microphonics. Ample comparative documentation exists on the net. 5751 tubes are largely known by the electric guitar community. Anyways, replacing 12ax7 with 5751s was a positive experience in my case as 5751 are cheap and were built under different brands. Tube rolling was a delight.

But the same, or other, documentation wasn't to the same effect swapping 12ax7s with 12at7 nor 12au7.

I just fell on this discussion about the Quicksilver and i'm interested in it. There are obvious reasons a manufacturer will insist using the recommended tubes. I'm not getting into that. But I strongly advise reading more about the tubes.

 

[LanceSaintPaul]

Careful!
Reading more about tubes gets expensive in a hurry - especially for the curious.
Color me curious....
So your 12ax7's will find more use. Mine did.
Do you have a stash of 6BQ5/EL84's?
I did not. Sigh. $$$. I'm just about done with acquiring those....

 

[rmsanger]

I don't think it's unreasonable to spend $200 - $400 for tube rolling on this amp given it's quality. You can always roll and sell the ones you don't like used and probably lose ~20%. Going much higher than that you probably should consider stepping up to a higher level of amp.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I need some help from all you tube amp experts. Paging @jamato8 @jonathan c @L0rdGwyn @Wes S @Monsterzero

I turned on my Quicksilver tonight and one of my recently-acquired welded plate Tungsram EL84s started flashing wildly like there were fireworks inside the tube and a loud noise came from the headphones (Meze Elites) that were still in the case. I quickly turned off the amp and immediately noticed a burning smell.

For some context, I have been using these same tubes for the last couple weeks with no issues at all. I haven’t made any other changes to the setup since rolling in the tubes either. To be honest, these Tungsrams were quickly becoming my favorite EL84s.

I unplugged the Elites and swapped out both Tungsram EL84s to some Sylvania 6BQ5s. I plugged in some super-cheap headphones and turned on the amp. Both Sylvania tubes lit up and looked to be operating normally. I started playing a song and music only came from the right channel of the headphones. All I could hear from the left channel was some low level distortion/hum. I turned off the amp again.

Then I very nervously plugged my Elites into my SW51+ amp to make sure there was no damage to the drivers. Luckily the headphones appear to be ok.

My question is what happened? Did something happen with the amp that killed the tube or was it the reverse? Did the tube kill the left channel of the amp? I’m going to reach out to Mike at Quicksilver and see if I need to ship the amp to him to see what’s going on.

I appreciate any info you guys can provide. I’m pretty bummed at this point with a fried super-rare Tungsram EL84 that I literally just bought a few weeks ago and a broken amp.

 

[jamato8]

I need some help from all you tube amp experts. Paging @jamato8 @jonathan c @L0rdGwyn @Wes S @Monsterzero

I turned on my Quicksilver tonight and one of my recently-acquired welded plate Tungsram EL84s started flashing wildly like there were fireworks inside the tube and a loud noise came from the headphones (Meze Elites) that were still in the case. I quickly turned off the amp and immediately noticed a burning smell.

For some context, I have been using these same tubes for the last couple weeks with no issues at all. I haven’t made any other changes to the setup since rolling in the tubes either. To be honest, these Tungsrams were quickly becoming my favorite EL84s.

I unplugged the Elites and swapped out both Tungsram EL84s to some Sylvania 6BQ5s. I plugged in some super-cheap headphones and turned on the amp. Both Sylvania tubes lit up and looked to be operating normally. I started playing a song and music only came from the right channel of the headphones. All I could hear from the left channel was some low level distortion/hum. I turned off the amp again.

Then I very nervously plugged my Elites into my SW51+ amp to make sure there was no damage to the drivers. Luckily the headphones appear to be ok.

My question is what happened? Did something happen with the amp that killed the tube or was it the reverse? Did the tube kill the left channel of the amp? I’m going to reach out to Mike at Quicksilver and see if I need to ship the amp to him to see what’s going on.

I appreciate any info you guys can provide. I’m pretty bummed at this point with a fried super-rare Tungsram EL84 that I literally just bought a few weeks ago and a broken amp.

The tube went bad, pulled too much current and blew a resistor.