[Ripper2860]

Thought I was PM'ing. Move on, please. Nothing to see here.

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[Zachik]

Who’s going to jump on this before it disappears?!?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Standard-R...185441?hash=item4435f77321:g:MtwAAOSwWTZcZjzh

LOL!!

Not going to say "can't be worth it" as value is in the budget of the beholder, but my $5 Frankentubes might go on strike if I bought that.

Bill - we all know by now you're very rich, and tend to make very questionable decisions.... so.... I am not buying this "my $5 Frankentubes might go on strike" act
(not to mention I am starting to think that you paid $500 for those Frankentubes...)

 

[Deaj]

Cool beans! The ribbed plates are the best. Just be sure to give them plenty of break-in time before forming a final opinion. For whatever reason they go on a roller coaster ride between sounding good and bad until you get a minimum of 100 hours on them. The Melz too, although they don't seem to hit the extremes that the Fotons do.

I received the two ribbed plate Foton 6N8S tubes today. Unfortunately, one of them arrived with a bad triode (left channel dead silent at any output level). I have a request out to the seller to replace it but it looks like he's out of stock of the ribbed anode Foton's. perhaps the seller willing to put my purchase price toward a ribbed anode Melz.

Fortunately, the other arrived in good working order. For the first hour or so there was some unusual noise from both triodes but most evident in the right channel. 'Popping' is the best description for it. This noise was rather low in volume compared to the music playing but easily discerned. About 1 hour in and the 'popping' went away completely. I've been listening with it for about 3 hours since the noise went away and so far the Lyr 3 sounds fantastic with this tube! I'll keep my expectations in check until this tube has ~100 hours burn-in time. If what I'm hearing right now is indicative of how this tube will sound once it has been run for 100 hours then I'll be looking to pick up a few more at that time.

This is a bit of a different presentation compared to the 7N7 'frankentube', and I think my beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro headphone sounds a bit better with the Foton. It adds a bit of warmth that suits the DT 1990 well. Me likes!

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[Deaj]

Great you got at least one to listen to. Thanks for sharing your initial impressions!

Do you have a soldering iron? If so, you might try reheating and flowing a little more solder into the pins of the tube with the silent triode. Could be just a bad solder connection. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's common, but it's not unheard of in some of the early Russian tubes. If the tube is half-dead anyway, can't hurt much to try it.

I'll give this a try. Definitely worth a go!

 

[earnmyturns]

If I were rich, I wouldn't be hanging out in a thread centered around a $500 amp.

It's a very nice amp, which just happens to go for $500. It gets pretty close to my other, much pricier but rare as hen's teeth 6SN7-hybrid amp, with my particular DAC and headphones combo. If budget was not an issue, what would you get?

 

[ilikepooters]

If budget were no issue i'd get a Sennheiser HE1 system just for the willy waving.

 

[attmci]

It's a very nice amp, which just happens to go for $500. It gets pretty close to my other, much pricier but rare as hen's teeth 6SN7-hybrid amp, with my particular DAC and headphones combo. If budget was not an issue, what would you get?

Maybe this?

http://www.dnaudio.com/DNA-Stellaris-2A3-headphone-amplifier.html

 

[bcowen]

.

 

[m17xr2b]

http://www.dnaudio.com/DNA-Stellaris-2A3-headphone-amplifier.html

Oh yes, it's hard to believe how good it is.

 

[buonassi]

It's a very nice amp, which just happens to go for $500. It gets pretty close to my other, much pricier but rare as hen's teeth 6SN7-hybrid amp, with my particular DAC and headphones combo. If budget was not an issue, what would you get?

you mean lyr3 vs your Apex? I agreed with your post when you said the Lyr3 can sound outstanding with the right tube (like the PSVanes, etc) but I would have thought the Apex would wipe the floor with the Lyr. What are the differences specifically? Resolution? Control? Can you list off a few differences?

On another note, I've been listening to my rHead for the past few weeks and have gotten intrigued about 'next level' solid state. So I bought a used Lake People RS08 which should be here Friday.

 

[Deaj]

Great you got at least one to listen to. Thanks for sharing your initial impressions!

Do you have a soldering iron? If so, you might try reheating and flowing a little more solder into the pins of the tube with the silent triode. Could be just a bad solder connection. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's common, but it's not unheard of in some of the early Russian tubes. If the tube is half-dead anyway, can't hurt much to try it.

I haven't had an opportunity to try this yet (I've been sick all week). I did get ahold of the seller and he agreed to send out a replacement. I ordered another from him as shipping is being covered for the replacement and he offered to ship any additional tubes ordered for free with the replacement. More than I expected really, and quite generous!

I also found another two new and tested ribbed anode 50's Foton 6N8S tubes for ~$10 each, shipped. That makes five of the tubes. The one I'm currently running in on my Lyr 3 has remained very consistent so far and I really like what I'm hearing. Between the five Foton's, the two 7N7 'frankentubes', four 50's RCA 7N7's, two 50's RCA 6SN7GT's, a Sylvania tall bottle 'chrome dome 6SN7GTA, three 60's RCA 6SN7GTB's, and two re-issue Tung-Sol 6SN7GT's - all either new or tested to be as strong or stronger than new in box NOS - I have enough to keep the Lyr 3 (and Schiit Saga) running for quite a a while.

 

[attmci]

I haven't had an opportunity to try this yet (I've been sick all week). I did get ahold of the seller and he agreed to send out a replacement. I ordered another from him as shipping is being covered for the replacement and he offered to ship any additional tubes ordered for free with the replacement. More than I expected really, and quite generous!

I also found another two new and tested ribbed anode 50's Foton 6N8S tubes for ~$10 each, shipped. That makes five of the tubes. The one I'm currently running in on my Lyr 3 has remained very consistent so far and I really like what I'm hearing. Between the five Foton's, the two 7N7 'frankentubes', four 50's RCA 7N7's, two 50's RCA 6SN7GT's, a Sylvania tall bottle 'chrome dome 6SN7GTA, three 60's RCA 6SN7GTB's, and two re-issue Tung-Sol 6SN7GT's - all either new or tested to be as strong or stronger than new in box NOS - I have enough to keep the Lyr 3 (and Schiit Saga) running for quite a a while.

That's a lifetime supply if you plan to use all of them. Unfortunately, you may buy more tubes in the future, and most of the current purchase will just sit in the boxes.

Hope you will get will soon.

BTW, can you guys use 6sl7gt in Lyr 3? Too much gains?