[ken6217]

I am very skeptical about a Siemens E80CC triple mica. E80CC were only produced by Philips and Tungsram, everything else is labeled. The variations should be std/gold/rhodium pins O- D- and Foil getter. Some early version are called pinched waist due to their construction, those can reach up to 1k$.

The E80CC is a nice tube and works well in our amps, but it draws double the current for the filament. Long term I‘d make sure to replace the 250mA fuse with a 315mA type.

Thanks.

 

[Cortazar]

I must admit I am a little bit confused about all the tube possibilities. I am waiting for my riviera aic 10. It will be coming 2-end half April. The Rest of the system will be Dave (with or without m scaler, the first hearing results are mixed, system energy/dynamics with m scaler seems to be less as Dave alone, maybe it is the cable, I must try better ones), and abyss Phi. I listen mostly to jazz and classic - piano, quartets etc. I am aware that I will have to try some tubes to find THE ONE but..
I would like to buy a decent one without spending 1k Euros for. Let's say 200-300 E. It should be a allrounder, should have a good dynamics (I hate unengaging sound) to have a good starting point for seeking the holy gral of the tube.
Any suggestions?

 

[Miller]

I must admit I am a little bit confused about all the tube possibilities. I am waiting for my riviera aic 10. It will be coming 2-end half April. The Rest of the system will be Dave (with or without m scaler, the first hearing results are mixed, system energy/dynamics with m scaler seems to be less as Dave alone, maybe it is the cable, I must try better ones), and abyss Phi. I listen mostly to jazz and classic - piano, quartets etc. I am aware that I will have to try some tubes to find THE ONE but..
I would like to buy a decent one without spending 1k Euros for. Let's say 200-300 E. It should be a allrounder, should have a good dynamics (I hate unengaging sound) to have a good starting point for seeking the holy gral of the tube.
Any suggestions?

I’d suggest starting with either a Tesla or Telefunken ECC802s. To me this is a very nice middle ground type of signature with very good quality. TFKs have gone up dramatically in price so if you can get a well balanced Tesla that would be a very good starting point. I saw that you are from Germany, I’d suggest getting in contact with JAC Music, he still has some readily available.

 

[ken6217]

I must admit I am a little bit confused about all the tube possibilities. I am waiting for my riviera aic 10. It will be coming 2-end half April. The Rest of the system will be Dave (with or without m scaler, the first hearing results are mixed, system energy/dynamics with m scaler seems to be less as Dave alone, maybe it is the cable, I must try better ones), and abyss Phi. I listen mostly to jazz and classic - piano, quartets etc. I am aware that I will have to try some tubes to find THE ONE but..
I would like to buy a decent one without spending 1k Euros for. Let's say 200-300 E. It should be a allrounder, should have a good dynamics (I hate unengaging sound) to have a good starting point for seeking the holy gral of the tube.
Any suggestions?

Have you listened to the AIC 10 demoed in your system?

I'm still waiting on mine. I placed the order on Jan 17. I think it's a week or so way. On the other hand, I think I've been saying that for a few weeks. LOL.

 

[Miller]

I'm still waiting on mine. I placed the order on Jan 17. I think it's a week or so way. On the other hand, I think I've been saying that for a few weeks. LOL.

You do have my fullest sympathy, I know exactly how that feels. Compensating the time with spending money on tubes is just making it even worse...

 

[Cortazar]

No I have not. But I have listened to abyss with a many speakers amplifiers and know that what they do need is a good tube amp. Besides I am about to completely "renew" my system. I did let go my Vivaldi day and Wavac ec 300B amp as it was (though high end gear) not engaging (enough) for me. I like the possibility to tune the sound with not "so" expensive tubes with riviera.

 

[ken6217]

Gotcha. I wasn’t asking in relation to the headphones, I was just curious if you heard the amp in your system. I have recently gone through similar situation where I sold my 1266 TC. After two years owning them as I decided to take a break from my hobby. I also used those headphones with quite a few high end solid state and tube amplifiers. However after about a week of selling some of my gear, I realized I missed it too much. So what did I do? I acted like any other irresponsible head fi’er. I bought another TC. Then I doubled down and bought the Riviera. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Lol.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

first hearing results are mixed, system energy/dynamics with m scaler seems to be less as Dave alone

I did let go my Vivaldi day and Wavac ec 300B amp as it was (though high end gear) not engaging (enough) for me.

Try Holo May if you get a chance to do this without buying it first. I had similar thoughts about my DAVE, Holo in NOS mode sounds to me much more engaging and energetic. And I had the same feeling that although HMS improves the sound, it takes away some energy/engagement.

 

[Spawn300Z]

That’s why I stuck with the TT2/MScaler combo. I find it real engaging. Also have no problem powering my other headphones off the TT2

 

[Miller]

I am listening at the moment to my Tube #25 Telefunken 6211 gold pins. I originally just bought it to have a comparison against the G73-R, but this is really a nice tube on its own. There is a lot of praise on the switching tubes for computer like the Amperex ECC186/7316, which I am still having on my list to audition. The 6211 is no exception, it does have a buttery smooth midrange and for a Germany based tube a very rich low end. If you remember the “Loudness” switch of the 80’s-90’s area it does have a bit of this, it is not as exaggerated though. A very nice tube for listening in to Jazz, it kind of paves the groove.

I switched to it from the G73-R to just a get a bit of a different flavor and have to say it does not disappoint.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

6211 is no exception, it does have a buttery smooth midrange and for a Germany based tube a very rich low end

What do you think about resolution and dynamics? G73-R has not only pleasant tonal balance. It is also has an outstanding level of detail and impressive dynamics even of quietest sounds. In other words, is 6211 on the same level technically?

 

[Miller]

The 6211 is different in terms of tonality, it does have way more body so not as linear as the G73_R. It is not as fast and resolving in the top end, I’d probably say a bit more tubey. It is of excellent technical qualities and shares all of the usual Telefunken assets, like no microphony, very silent etc. The 6211 was not designed for audio application, probably that is exactly what makes it a bit different.

I may have some time on th e weekend and compare it to the ECC186/7316 which does have a very similar design goal.

 

[Miller]

I must admit I am a little bit confused about all the tube possibilities. I am waiting for my riviera aic 10. It will be coming 2-end half April. The Rest of the system will be Dave (with or without m scaler, the first hearing results are mixed, system energy/dynamics with m scaler seems to be less as Dave alone, maybe it is the cable, I must try better ones), and abyss Phi. I listen mostly to jazz and classic - piano, quartets etc. I am aware that I will have to try some tubes to find THE ONE but..
I would like to buy a decent one without spending 1k Euros for. Let's say 200-300 E. It should be a allrounder, should have a good dynamics (I hate unengaging sound) to have a good starting point for seeking the holy gral of the tube.
Any suggestions?

Maybe to add to your question, you do have a very similar setup like simorag and he does prefer Mullards so this may be another route you may want to look at.

 

[decur]

I just found a tube that ticks off all my boxes
And is a significant step up from every tube i have heard so far.
After many hours research on 12au7
I ordered an rca cleartop nos from tubedepot.com
Huge soundstage,very quiet,holographic,has magic sound,organic,3d, musical,much much better than brimar(in a different league)
Deep bass
What is different about this tube,is that my abyss ab-1266tc completely disapear off my head with this tube(this is the magic) just pure music it just floats out there in space,with all instruments,voice/voices where they are supposed to be. I am completely satisfied
And in my opinion,i think the price is a real bargain!!
$99.95 tube
Add $4.00 low microphonics
Add $2.00 high gain

 

[Miller]

I am still listening with the TFK 6211 and I have started to really enjoy the more saturated nature of it. It is less precise and open sounding, specifically the lower end does have a bit more coloration. But it is super relaxed to listen to, and specifically with low volume a very nice presentation for Jazz recordings. Very tuneful and full bodied.