[Lord Soth]

Good to hear. I have the Siemens and Halske E88CC already so can't wait to compare. Also excited about the E288CC because Lord Soth spoke very highly of them. Bugle Boys seem to have great 3-D so looking forward to those as well

The Amperex tubes (yes even the famed pinch waists) have one weakness.

Compared with other tubes, their soundstage is slightly smaller though I wouldn't label them as constrictive.

Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88s have one of the best , if not the best, soundstage.

After replacing my Lorenz PCC88s with the pinched waist, I still kinda missed the immense soundstage.

Enter the E288CC!.....

This is a bizarre tube in that it is technically not the same as the 6DJ8.
It is taller and although has the same tube pinouts, it has 2x the gain.
What I like about the E288CC is that it seems to create a very large soundstage without any sonic veil like a Siemens CCA but with mids from an Amperex.
This tube does everthing well and is one of my fav tubes.
Just need to turn down the volume a little.

On an Amazon customer review of the Schiit Lyr, someone also praised the E288CC highly.

I have a lot of differently labelled E288CCs, they appear to have been made by Siemens despite being labelled as Telefunken, Valvo, Philps... Etc.
The "correct" vintage of E288CC should have internals like the one in the following link
http://www.tubedepot.com/nos-8223.html

The newer " A frame " version currently sold by Upscale Audio does not sound as good.

 

[Chinafbi]

Hi, any very warm laid back tube for the Lyr?   I don't like bright sounds.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Hi, any very warm laid back tube for the Lyr?   I don't like bright sounds.

 
Not owning any, but having read a boatload about it, in a word: Mullards.

 

[Zuckfun]

Hi, any very warm laid back tube for the Lyr?   I don't like bright sounds.

It seems Siemens are the consensus for favorite tubes for the HE500's. For the HD800's- maybe Amperex USN-CEP's. Of course it depends on how much you're comfortable spending.

 

[Textfeud]

The Amperex tubes (yes even the famed pinch waists) have one weakness.

Compared with other tubes, their soundstage is slightly smaller though I wouldn't label them as constrictive.

Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88s have one of the best , if not the best, soundstage.

After replacing my Lorenz PCC88s with the pinched waist, I still kinda missed the immense soundstage.

Enter the E288CC!.....

This is a bizarre tube in that it is technically not the same as the 6DJ8.
It is taller and although has the same tube pinouts, it has 2x the gain.
What I like about the E288CC is that it seems to create a very large soundstage without any sonic veil like a Siemens CCA but with mids from an Amperex.
This tube does everthing well and is one of my fav tubes.
Just need to turn down the volume a little.

On an Amazon customer review of the Schiit Lyr, someone also praised the E288CC highly.

I have a lot of differently labelled E288CCs, they appear to have been made by Siemens despite being labelled as Telefunken, Valvo, Philps... Etc.
The "correct" vintage of E288CC should have internals like the one in the following link
http://www.tubedepot.com/nos-8223.html

The newer " A frame " version currently sold by Upscale Audio does not sound as good.

 
 
Got the E288CC now. Soundstage is pretty darn insane. Sounds so natural... I just miss the fast bass but that's because I've just come from Siemens E88CC. Defenitely keeping these!

 

[Amictus]

Siemens-Röhre E88CCs arrived in the post today. I went out to work convincing myself that I should wait for the socket savers to arrive before changing the tubes in my Lyr. Succeeded in understanding that that was the sensible thing to do. Came home and tube-rolled anyway. I have the discipline of a self-indulgent piglet. Pink noise is now coursing through them.
 
Here's a thing: I came home last night and listened to BPO and Karajan in the 1970s DG recording of Bruckner 4. I had turned the Lyr on only 15 minutes or so before listening. The sound seemed a bit veiled and diffuse to me, although full of tube insight, from time to time. My previous solid state Lovely Cube amp was really good with these recordings and the HD650, and I began to have A DOUBT. Later, finding that I couldn't sleep, I got up and discovered that I had left the amp on by mistake. So, at 3.00 a.m., I sat down and listend to the last movement again. Here, suddenly, was the sound that I had missed: punchy, definite, sharp, wide and sapid. You really do need to let the Lyr warm up.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Siemens-Röhre E88CCs arrived in the post today. I went out to work convincing myself that I should wait for the socket savers to arrive before changing the tubes in my Lyr. Succeeded in understanding that that was the sensible thing to do. Came home and tube-rolled anyway. I have the discipline of a self-indulgent piglet. Pink noise is now coursing through them.
 
Here's a thing: I came home last night and listened to BPO and Karajan in the 1970s DG recording of Bruckner 4. I had turned the Lyr on only 15 minutes or so before listening. The sound seemed a bit veiled and diffuse to me, although full of tube insight, from time to time. My previous solid state Lovely Cube amp was really good with these recordings and the HD650, and I began to have A DOUBT. Later, finding that I couldn't sleep, I got up and discovered that I had left the amp on by mistake. So, at 3.00 a.m., I sat down and listend to the last movement again. Here, suddenly, was the sound that I had missed: punchy, definite, sharp, wide and sapid. You really do need to let the Lyr warm up.

 
"self-indulgent piglet" ... hehehe.  I'm sure no one herein can relate to that.
 
Warm up, sure, but burn-in for the tubes, don'tcha think?  I mean, after two weeks without it, I'm beginning to forget my Lyr (Mon. or Tues.! finally), but should it really need to be warmed up that long?  Well, I reckon I'll have to test out that aspect, too.
 
Glad your tubes and HD 650s are "rockin'".  I just ordered those cans and hardly wait to hear how the Lyr + various tubes can drive them.  I'm thinking 1966 RTC E188CCs ought to remove any "veils".
 
Cheers 

 

[NinjaHamster]

Give it an hour of warm up.  Also you'll need to "break it in" if it's new.

 

[Textfeud]

Anybody who has Telefunken E88CC/E188CC or RTC 1966 they want to trade for Siemens CCa matched pair with 200 hours tops on them?

 

[Austin Morrow]

I don't really want to go through the whole thread, I'm getting a Lyr very soon. What are the best tubes available, money not a problem.

 

[Alexnova]

  Give it an hour of warm up.  Also you'll need to "break it in" if it's new.

Just pink noise?

 

[NinjaHamster]

  Just pink noise?

That would be fine ... I usually just play ordinary music through it - though I do have a "burn in track" with white noise and frequency sweeps which I can set to repeat, ordinary music works fine.
 
The pink/white noise and the special burn-in track are probably faster, so use them if you have them - but ordinary music will get the job done ...  

 

[Textfeud]

  I don't really want to go through the whole thread, I'm getting a Lyr very soon. What are the best tubes available, money not a problem.

The thing is that some great tubes are ungettable You have to patience to get them. Like the Lorenz, RTC1966 and Dario Miniwatt.
 
I have Siemens CCa, Siemens E88CC, Siemens E288CC, Amperex Bugle Boys and Amperex Orange Globes. Like them all, but I'm only keeping two: E88CC and E288CC. Love them both. Rest I'm either selling or trading.
 
It all depends on what kind of sound you like. I want a wide soundstage so the E88CC (with insane bass) is great. E288CC has an even wider soundstage but less punch. So it depens on my mood which tube I'm going to use. Also looking for Telefunken E188CC or E88CC to check them out
 
Fearless1 has tested over 200 tubes so you should really pick his brain, I did too and I'm very happy with the E88CC I picked because of that. 

 

[Lord Soth]

I don't really want to go through the whole thread, I'm getting a Lyr very soon. What are the best tubes available, money not a problem.

If money is not a problem, then a pair of Amperex Pinched Waist 6922s is the best.
The normal market price is US$600 per matched pair.

What is unusual in this hobby is that they still show up regularly on Ebay.
They can also be bought from Brent Jesse Audio.

It only loses out to the Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 and Siemens E288CC by having a narrower soundstage.

For every other sonic attribute, it normally exceeds the standard set by any other tube out there.

 

[Audiofanboy]

If money is not a problem, then a pair of Amperex Pinched Waist 6922s is the best.
The normal market price is US$600 per matched pair.

What is unusual in this hobby is that they still show up regularly on Ebay.
They can also be bought from Brent Jesse Audio.

It only loses out to the Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 and Siemens E288CC by having a narrower soundstage.

For every other sonic attribute, it normally exceeds the standard set by any other tube out there.

 
They do - oddly enough - show up about every week on ebay, despite being pretty rare... Price are just silly for pairs though...
 
Btw, has anyone tried different revisions or batches of the Holland Pinched Waist E88CC (or Amperex 6922 made in Holland, same thing)? There seems to be quite a difference between the almost prototype-like 1956 7L0 and 7L1 batches (usually made in Eindhoven), and the later more common - though ultra rare - 7L2 and 7L3 revisions, more typically made in Heerlen between late '56 and 58.
 
The 7L0 and 7L1 batches are pretty elusive, and I've actually yet to even find one of those anywhere, but I'd be curious to hear if there's a difference between the two later and still available batches.
 
Then again, I don't expect many here to have found, bought and tried like four different $600 pairs of Pinched Waists lol...
 
Edit: I have also yet to even find a US-made pair of Amperex 6922 Pinched Waists, and would be really curious to see how they compare to the different batches of Holland PW.