[ThurstonX]

  Those Telefunkens sound absolutely fantastic and to be just what I am looking for.
 
Is there any guide on how to swap the tubes? I am a n00b!!!!!

 
People use different methods.  If you're not willing to invest in socket savers (and not really necessary, but convenient if you switch tubes fairly often), then you could try this:

GENTLY rock the tubes back and forth to loosen them in the sockets.  That will raise them marginally.
If you can't pull them out directly, you could use a rubber jar opener, rubberized gloves, or tape.  Duct tape is pretty sticky, and should pull them out.  You can clean off the residue with some strong isopropyl alcohol (I use 99%; 91% should work fine) on a cotton swab, if that kind of thing bothers you.
 
Yes, you can buy special tools, etc., but they're not really necessary.

 

[jaywillin]

  Those Telefunkens sound absolutely fantastic and to be just what I am looking for.
 
Is there any guide on how to swap the tubes? I am a n00b!!!!!

just give them a pull, you may need to gently start moving them around in a circle as you pull outward on the tube
sometimes i have a hard time grasping the tube, so i have a little piece of rubber(a jar opener) to aid in gripping
i just found on ebay, but haven't recieved yet :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381032967221?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
these should be really good at tube extraction !

 

[J&J]

Really not hard to remove tubes from lyr just be patient and gently rock and pull, they will slowly loosen from the socket.
One thing to avoid is having the tube slip into amp. You will then hold Amp upside down and move tube to opening and ease it out . I do not believe the Amp is meant to be opened easily. Socket savers are sometimes more trouble then they are worth as they often come out with the tube defeating there purpose. I have to hold the SS in place with a wood chop stick when I pull a tube.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Really not hard to remove tubes from lyr just be patient and gently rock and pull, they will slowly loosen from the socket.
One thing to avoid is having the tube slip into amp. You will then hold Amp upside down and move tube to opening and ease it out . I do not believe the Amp is meant to be opened easily. Socket savers are sometimes more trouble then they are worth as they often come out with the tube defeating there purpose. I have to hold the SS in place with a wood chop stick when I pull a tube.

 
re: socket savers, like I said, they're great if you're rolling quite often.  As to keeping them in while removing the tubes, it's as simple as using a popsicle stick or something similar (wood or plastic are best; nothing metal) to hold them in place while very easily removing the tube.  The benefits far outweigh the slight inconvenience of having to use the stick.
 
I'd hate to go back to the pre-saver days when I first got the Lyr.

 

[DarrenLays]

Going back and forth between those rebrand tubes and the stock tubes, the stock tubes are definitely more neutral sounding.
 
I think I like them more than those fivre rebranded tubes.  The fivre seem to have a few extra DB or something in the ~1-3 khz range, when I was hearing things around the 1-3 khz range (was watching frequency spectrum in my media player when testing), it had a lot more "attack on my ears" than the stock tubes.  Not quite sure I enjoy that, it's sort of fatiguing, even at not very loud volumes.
 
I think the fivre may have slightly less bass than the stock tubes as well, hard to tell. I don't think I like them as much as the stock tubes because of that emphasis in the 1-3khz range.
I think when I get my HD800's I will continue to experiment with tubes, I will most likely get some orange globes to try out.
 
Usually when I experience pain from songs or discomfort, I rewind to see what frequency it was from, my ears seem to be overly sensitive around the 1-3 khz range, so I'm glad to be moving away from my LCD-2, my pair is basically flat from ~30 hz all the way to ~2.5khz, I think the slight roll-off after 1khz on the HD800 will help my ears out.  It doesn't seem like I'm sensitive to the rest of the treble frequencies, just mainly 1-3khz, so I think the rest of the HD800's treble will be alright with me.

 

[satwilson]

  Those Telefunkens sound absolutely fantastic and to be just what I am looking for.
 
Is there any guide on how to swap the tubes? I am a n00b!!!!!

+1 on the Telefunkens, rubber gloves, thin ones, work perfectly well, just ROCK gently back and forth while pulling up. Then ROLL !!!!

 

[m50man]

so you rock them gently back and forth while pulling up, and then they should just come out?  Is there any turning of the tubes necessary in a clockwise or counter clockwise motion?

 

[ejwiles]

You won't be able to turn the tubes as the pins on the bottom of the tube are in the socket on the amp. Just rock them a bit while pulling up, they aren't hard to remove.

 

[jaywillin]

  so you rock them gently back and forth while pulling up, and then they should just come out?  Is there any turning of the tubes necessary in a clockwise or counter clockwise motion?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

You won't be able to turn the tubes as the pins on the bottom of the tube are in the socket on the amp. Just rock them a bit while pulling up, they aren't hard to remove.

 
The second one is easy. The first is a PITA because you can't really get at it. 

 

[CrownMan]

When I got my Lyr in January, I read all of the posts and someone mentioned the Electro-Harmonix Tube Glove which I bought. This makes removing tubes super simple even when warm. Can be used on the triodes or larger tubes. You can find on Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Electro-Harmonix-EH-Tube-Glove/dp/B000UMCLIC .
 
As far as tubes go, I like the HG Reflectors as # 1, the Telefunken E88CCs as #2 and the 1966 Siemen Halskes as #3 (the HGs and Siemens I got from billerb1).

 

[ThurstonX]

Finally broke down and got a pair of Herbie's Tube Dampers.  Rolled my previously noisy 'D' getter Sylvania USN 6922s and am happy to report those things really work 

 

[DarrenLays]

  Finally broke down and got a pair of Herbie's Tube Dampers.  Rolled my previously noisy 'D' getter Sylvania USN 6922s and am happy to report those things really work 

 
seems kind of snake-oily to me

 

[Wildcatsare1]

^Lots of great advice, I cannot remember who posted them, but you can get "tube clamps" on EBay and Amazon, excellent for tubectomies. A cheap solution is shot liner, nice and grippy for tubes.

 

[ThurstonX]

  seems kind of snake-oily to me

 
Yeah, that's why I held off, but with more than a couple pairs of noisy tubes, I figured what the hell.  So far so good.  I was bummed about those 'D' getter 6922s, and the 1961 Valvos from Heerlen were a little wonky, too, but I love their sound.  Time will tell with the Herbie's but they do get good reviews.