[Sanlitun]

Quote:

 
Can't stress this enough on the Brimar 6BQ7A tubes... give them plenty of burn-in before passing judgement on the sound.   When I first bought these, I rolled them in and thought they were awful.   Other people have had the same experience.   After only 7-8 hours there was a noticeable difference in sound quality, and after a couple of days of use they really settled in well.   They are excellent sounding tubes once burned in.
 
   -Mike

 
They sounded very hot and distorted in the midrange initially but I think they are beginning to even out into something special. I had my doubts about these tubes as I had heard Brimar was often rebranding tubes, but for the price I paid they are a steal.
 
The vintage 6N1P's I got along with these are amazing as well. I think if you get lucky with a good pair of Russian tubes you could quite possibly endgame with your Lyr. 
 
I'm beginning to think I am close to the end of the road here.

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

How well does this stack up with the 650.
 

Like butter on bread.

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

 
At first I was underwhelmed.  I went to my benchmark track, Zeppelin, remastered, "Babe I'm gonna leave you", with great anticipation and thought "Where is my song."  I ordered a-la-mode and got a pop tart.  Still nice but the sound stage and the middle were lacking.  I could listen to this track four times in a row on the RTC's and want for nothing.  "Babe I'm gonna leave you" will expose any deficiencies in sound stage and mids.
 
Hendrix, "Watch tower" and "Hey Joe", same thing, but I hung in there and went to cut four, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, "Sally Mae".  What a turn around.  They did a splendid job.  Same thing with James Taylor "Fire and Rain".  Beatles Anthology album,"Something" and "Let it Be"  sounded incredible.  At totally different listening experience.
 
The detail in the Tiny Men is amazing, incredibly clear with a super top end and great percussion.  After listening more I either adapted to their sound or they started to open up, or both.  I did find them a bit fatiguing though. I think this will clear up when cooked longer.
 
I heard a lot of upside.  Because they are pleasurable I will give them more time and not immediately roll back to the RTC's.  They sound like two different types of valves that have their own strengths with different music genres. 

 
The "Tiny Men" will definitely need some burn in. The ones I tried previously sounded promising, but had noise issues...

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

 
They're a bit out of my reach. I saw some miniwatt pass by yesterday. I'm kinda broke right now. Gotta get out of debt and all that. Stop buying expensive.... anything. LOL. I likely shouldn't have let them go. They were super cheap: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/300919188693?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649  More likely they were just some simple Holland Amperex glass. *sigh*  I'm waiting for them to show up on ebay, listed by a seller who doesn't know what he has. *snicker*
 
But I did grab these! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/181157274201?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 
 
Sniped them for a buck over the highest bid.
 
 
Oh I know. But they are all the ones I have acquired recent months. A quick listen is enough to jog the memory. I did do the comparisons in haste while the family was out.
 
 
Hey thanks! I love to know what other audiophiles use for reference tracks. I'm currently amassing my FLAC collection and love new music.
Here's a related thread I started: http://www.head-fi.org/t/648733/hidden-gems-any-genre#post_9468936
 
 
Er, yes. I thought everyone just did that naturally, but I guess not. I clear my ears regularly when I have difficulty hearing something only realize everything open up greatly.  Happens all the time. I just have to shift my lower jaw to do this.  Kind of like yawning.  In fact that's what I pretend to do in company. Which... usually leads to actual yawning.  I don't blow, as that in my case blocks my ears badly.

 
 
It's also a really great idea to include tracks that are acoustically recorded.  My go to track is "Big Bug Shuffle" off of the album Skip, Hop and Wobble by Douglas, Barenberg and Meyer :http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Wobble-Douglas/dp/B000000F33/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371768248&sr=8-1&keywords=douglas%2C+barenberg+and+meyer

 

[rb2013]

NightFlight:
Nice get on those Siemens! 
 
I'm negotiating to get a group of tubes include are the SEL Lorenz PCC88s, along with some Voshkods.  You really like the SELs?
 
The ear clearing thing I learned years ago, when doing some critical listening the highs would just disappear from my system, other days it would sound fine.  I coughed once and it unplugged my ears - wow! 
 
So I do it as a matter of course.
 
I'll let you know how the SEL Lorenz sound if I get them.
 
 
nelamvr6:
I'll also check out the acoustically recorded tracks - thanks.
 
I also use some new age, classical and jazz  tracks for a different kind of listening comparison - more for sound stage width, instrument placement, etc...  But I really need vocals I'm very familiar with to ground my impressions...the human voice is so challenging to get just right.  Especially females - gives away any harshness or edginess right from the start.  I finish with some Classic Rock, Alt and Emo tracks to see if the tube doesn't just get overwhelmed, sounding "congested" when pushed to the extreme.
 

 

[sceleratus]

IT WORKS !!!!!

Music.

Beautiful music.

 

My benchmark track  [size=small]Zeppelin, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"[/size]

[size=small]Is amazing.  Better than I could have expected.[/size]

 

So much different than my Schiit Lyr.

Rich.

Mids in Spades.

 

And these valves have only been cooked for and hour.

 

I have a slight static,   at all volume levels.  Almost like listening to vinyl.

Not unexpected because all the boards are bunched together.

 

[sceleratus]

I have the components necessary to support ECC88's......
 
 

 

[R Scott Ireland]

IT WORKS !!!!!
Music.
Beautiful music.

My benchmark track  Zeppelin, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"
Is amazing.  Better than I could have expected.

So much different than my Schiit Lyr.
Rich.
Mids in Spades.

And these valves have only been cooked for and hour.

I have a slight static,   at all volume levels.  Almost like listening to vinyl.
Not unexpected because all the boards are bunched together.

Awesome!! Congrats!

 

[HK_sends]

For those still looking out for Lorenz tubes, Tubemonger informed me there is a set of used grey-shield Stuttgart Lorenz PCC88s for auction on ebay here:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-PCC88-7DJ8-ECC88-6DJ8-SUBS-VINTAGE-LORENZ-STRONG-/190858455235?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2c700ce8c3
 
FWIW, the grey shield Lorenz are the best of the "two-mica" tubes and are almost as good as the 3-mica.
 
Disclaimer:  Neither TubeMonger nor I are associated with the seller in any way.
 
Cheers!

-HK sends

 

[HK_sends]

Quote:

IT WORKS !!!!!

Music.

Beautiful music.

 

My benchmark track  [size=small]Zeppelin, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You"[/size]

[size=small]Is amazing.  Better than I could have expected.[/size]

 

So much different than my Schiit Lyr.

Rich.

Mids in Spades.

 

And these valves have only been cooked for and hour.

 

I have a slight static,   at all volume levels.  Almost like listening to vinyl.

Not unexpected because all the boards are bunched together.

That's great!  Hopefully you will be able to resolve the static issue as well.
 
Cheers!

-HK sends

 

[sceleratus]

Quote:

That's great!  Hopefully you will be able to resolve the static issue as well.
 
Cheers!

-HK sends

I need to re-cable.  It's so tight I have High Voltage lines crossing output amplifier leads.  duh.
The transformers need better alignment too.
 
It appears to be the right channel .......  That'll make it easier to track.
 
The sound is very different from the Lyr.
Having 100% valve rather than half SS .... trying to define it..... tubey, I guess.
It's a lot more powerful.  Very big base.   Maybe less of a soundstage than the LYR.
Could be due to fresh glass.
 
I'll play it for a while then try the mods to support the ECC88..... Tiny Men

 

[NightFlight]

Quote:

 
It also helps if you recognize the Heerlen factory code ◿ visible in the photo.

 
Where?

 

[NightFlight]

Quote:

Nice get on those Siemens! 
 
I'm negotiating to get a group of tubes include are the SEL Lorenz PCC88s, along with some Voshkods.  You really like the SELs?
 
The ear clearing thing I learned years ago, when doing some critical listening the highs would just disappear from my system, other days it would sound fine.  I coughed once and it unplugged my ears - wow! 
 
So I do it as a matter of course.
 
I'll let you know how the SEL Lorenz sound if I get them.
 
I'll also check out the acoustically recorded tracks - thanks.
 
I also use some new age, classical and jazz  tracks for a different kind of listening comparison - more for sound stage width, instrument placement, etc...  But I really need vocals I'm very familiar with to ground my impressions...the human voice is so challenging to get just right.  Especially females - gives away any harshness or edginess right from the start.  I finish with some Classic Rock, Alt and Emo tracks to see if the tube doesn't just get overwhelmed, sounding "congested" when pushed to the extreme.
 
Good luck on the tube front.

 
I like the SELs. I grabbed them when they were going for around $40 a pair. They were the flavour of the week here in this thread at the time. If you go back you can find the recommendations from HK... I think it was. Their good, a hair wanting in the bottom end but otherwise very very clean. I think I gave them a 100hrs before a good listen.
 
I'll give the Voshkods another run after another hundred hours on them.  I'm going to solder together a dummy headphone load tonight so I can run the tubes without noise or potential headphone damage.  If the tube burn-in is tied to the output level (which no one has been able to confirm) I can crank the amp up more - so long as the 1/2 watt of resistance doesn't start to run away and bad things happen(TM).
 
Got some time before I head to to work tonight! Time to fire up the glass...

 

[rb2013]

Quote:

I have the components necessary to support ECC88's......
 
 

VERY COOL!  Is that a MOSFET sticking out of the board on the heatsink?

 

[sceleratus]

Quote:

VERY COOL!  Is that a MOSFET sticking out of the board on the heatsink?

Thanks,
 
Yes.  MOSFET