[ThurstonX]

  Ok, so who was it who dropped $650 on these? Come on now, own up....  

 
Someone with more money than sense? 

  Hope they're really NOS for the buyer's sake.  I like how the brand is "Telefunken".  Am I envious?  Maybe a little.

 

[Zuckfun]

Upgrading to HE500 in a few days. My current favorite tube is Amperex USN-CEP's. Wondering how these will play with the 500's- it seems the favorite tubes for these phones are Siemens or Telefunken. Maybe Mullard CV2493. I have a pair of Telefunken to roll in. Thinking about a getting a pair of Siemens or Mullards based on the reviews/synergy. Any thoughts?

 

[ThurstonX]

Given my heavily modded HE-500s, I'm loving the 1969 Siemens CCas I just got.  Admittedly they are tough to find, and expensive when you do (or get a great eBay deal, which I lucked into), but the soundstage and airy top end are a nice match.  They're not bass monsters, but that's well-established.  I'm not sure how much the Q701 pads (angled, more spacious than stock or homemade jergpads) help with the soundstage, but I suspect they do help.  Need to roll some other tubes to see how they differ.
 
Enjoy your HE-500s.  Just remember that HFM recommends 150 hours before they reach their potential.

 

[Brouken Air]

After some 30H burn-in, I was very satisfied by the standard tubes which came with my Lyr (GE . Despite some small problems, a very narrow sound-stage and a diffused halo-like effect (especillay noticeable on piano recordings), but nothing serious. I was fearing a decrease in deatils due to tube vs SS from my Zodiac, but in fact details are very present even more than on the Zodiac.
This setup was rendering very well chamber music especially on:
- César Franck Piano quintet played by Alice Ader on piano and the Ensemble Ader (Fuga Libera),
- Johannes Brahms Piano trio played by the Wanderer Trio (Harmonia Mundi),
- Robert Schumann Piano quintet played by Sviatoslav Richter and the Borodin Quartet.
It was rendering very well what I call the "russian spirit', detailing intricated violins, viola and piano and giving the necessary warmth where needed.
But it was less good on Cello (bass not present enough) or Violin (maybe a little lack of sweetness) Sonatas, or piano alone (halo effect).
Orchestral music was lacking a stage, though colours were quite ok (Strings - Woods - Brasses were equilibrated), as well for choral music.
 
Small baroque/renaissance ensemble were rendered quite well:
- Henry Lawes Songs by Ensemble la Rêveuse (Mirare),
- Johann Sebastian Bach Sonatas for Cembalo and Viola di Gamba by Lucile Boulanger (Alpha).
For Lieder (songs), this setup was ambiguous, because it rendered very well soprano (Fritz Wunderlich in Dichterliebe, Werner Gura in Winterreise), but bass and barytons came out a bit thin (lack of bass!).
 
All these remarks, are made on a very high level (globally the sound was better than expected).
 
Then I could not resist and I plugged the Siemens (CCA) tubes in what an unbelievable difference. Stage widened to such an extend. I was listnening to Bruckner's 9th symphony conducted by Gunter Wand and the NDR orchestra. I was in heaven, I had the impression acoustically speaking of flying over clouds (like in a plane) and having an infinite view of big blocks of clouds represented by blocks of strings, woods, brasses... a dream. Then I continued with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B flat played by Richter on piano and Karel Ancerl as conductor, a mono recording of 1954, despite the mono original version (digitally upgraded), I had still this wide stage, sound can not be at the level of today's recording or living stereo recordings... But the playing was quite forgiving concerning harshness and other artifacts. Inever had such an exquisite playback on headphones.
 
Sorry, to be so precise on music, but I think the music that you're listening, the way it was recorded has the most impact on the quality of what we're hearing. 
 
- 

 

[R Scott Ireland]

  Then I could not resist and I plugged the Siemens (CCA) tubes in what an unbelievable difference. Stage widened to such an extend. I was listnening to Bruckner's 9th symphony conducted by Gunter Wand and the NDR orchestra. I was in heaven, I had the impression acoustically speaking of flying over clouds (like in a plane) and having an infinite view of big blocks of clouds represented by blocks of strings, woods, brasses... a dream. 

 
Well, gee . . don't hold back . .  tell us what you really think 

 
Just kidding - glad you are enjoying your CCa's.  They are among the best tubes I've ever heard, so I am not surprised that they are doing so well for you.
 
Enjoy!

 

[ThurstonX]

  After some 30H burn-in, I was very satisfied by the standard tubes which came with my Lyr (GE . Despite some small problems, a very narrow sound-stage and a diffused halo-like effect (especillay noticeable on piano recordings), but nothing serious. I was fearing a decrease in deatils due to tube vs SS from my Zodiac, but in fact details are very present even more than on the Zodiac.
This setup was rendering very well chamber music especially on:
- César Franck Piano quintet played by Alice Ader on piano and the Ensemble Ader (Fuga Libera),
- Johannes Brahms Piano trio played by the Wanderer Trio (Harmonia Mundi),
- Robert Schumann Piano quintet played by Sviatoslav Richter and the Borodin Quartet.
It was rendering very well what I call the "russian spirit', detailing intricated violins, viola and piano and giving the necessary warmth where needed.
But it was less good on Cello (bass not present enough) or Violin (maybe a little lack of sweetness) Sonatas, or piano alone (halo effect).
Orchestral music was lacking a stage, though colours were quite ok (Strings - Woods - Brasses were equilibrated), as well for choral music.
 
Small baroque/renaissance ensemble were rendered quite well:
- Henry Lawes Songs by Ensemble la Rêveuse (Mirare),
- Johann Sebastian Bach Sonatas for Cembalo and Viola di Gamba by Lucile Boulanger (Alpha).
For Lieder (songs), this setup was ambiguous, because it rendered very well soprano (Fritz Wunderlich in Dichterliebe, Werner Gura in Winterreise), but bass and barytons came out a bit thin (lack of bass!).
 
All these remarks, are made on a very high level (globally the sound was better than expected).
 
Then I could not resist and I plugged the Siemens (CCA) tubes in what an unbelievable difference. Stage widened to such an extend. I was listnening to Bruckner's 9th symphony conducted by Gunter Wand and the NDR orchestra. I was in heaven, I had the impression acoustically speaking of flying over clouds (like in a plane) and having an infinite view of big blocks of clouds represented by blocks of strings, woods, brasses... a dream. Then I continued with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B flat played by Richter on piano and Karel Ancerl as conductor, a mono recording of 1954, despite the mono original version (digitally upgraded), I had still this wide stage, sound can not be at the level of today's recording or living stereo recordings... But the playing was quite forgiving concerning harshness and other artifacts. Inever had such an exquisite playback on headphones.
 
Sorry, to be so precise on music, but I think the music that you're listening, the way it was recorded has the most impact on the quality of what we're hearing.

 
Great review, thanks for sharing 

 
I agree that mentioning (in whatever amount of detail) the music used in "testing" is important, probably more so with classical.
 
Thanks for reviewing the GEs.  I've never bothered to listen to them.  Like you, I had tubes for the amp immediately, and after all the negative comments I'd read, plus the need for burn-in, I skipped right to better tubes.  But those Siemens CCas... beautiful description.  Makes me wish I had more classical.  I'll have to go through my collection to see.  I had a similar revelatory experience with my 1969 CCas on HE-500s.  Swept up and carried away.
 
Sounds like you didn't have many hours on your CCas when you heard them.  If so, that's a good sign.  Mine are nearing 100 hours, and listening just a little while ago, I'd say they're fully baked 

 
Keep enjoying, and do post further impressions.

 

[Amictus]

  After some 30H burn-in, I was very satisfied by the standard tubes which came with my Lyr (GE . Despite some small problems, a very narrow sound-stage and a diffused halo-like effect (especillay noticeable on piano recordings), but nothing serious. I was fearing a decrease in deatils due to tube vs SS from my Zodiac, but in fact details are very present even more than on the Zodiac.
This setup was rendering very well chamber music especially on:
- César Franck Piano quintet played by Alice Ader on piano and the Ensemble Ader (Fuga Libera),
- Johannes Brahms Piano trio played by the Wanderer Trio (Harmonia Mundi),
- Robert Schumann Piano quintet played by Sviatoslav Richter and the Borodin Quartet.
It was rendering very well what I call the "russian spirit', detailing intricated violins, viola and piano and giving the necessary warmth where needed.
But it was less good on Cello (bass not present enough) or Violin (maybe a little lack of sweetness) Sonatas, or piano alone (halo effect).
Orchestral music was lacking a stage, though colours were quite ok (Strings - Woods - Brasses were equilibrated), as well for choral music.
 
Small baroque/renaissance ensemble were rendered quite well:
- Henry Lawes Songs by Ensemble la Rêveuse (Mirare),
- Johann Sebastian Bach Sonatas for Cembalo and Viola di Gamba by Lucile Boulanger (Alpha).
For Lieder (songs), this setup was ambiguous, because it rendered very well soprano (Fritz Wunderlich in Dichterliebe, Werner Gura in Winterreise), but bass and barytons came out a bit thin (lack of bass!).
 
All these remarks, are made on a very high level (globally the sound was better than expected).
 
Then I could not resist and I plugged the Siemens (CCA) tubes in what an unbelievable difference. Stage widened to such an extend. I was listnening to Bruckner's 9th symphony conducted by Gunter Wand and the NDR orchestra. I was in heaven, I had the impression acoustically speaking of flying over clouds (like in a plane) and having an infinite view of big blocks of clouds represented by blocks of strings, woods, brasses... a dream. Then I continued with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B flat played by Richter on piano and Karel Ancerl as conductor, a mono recording of 1954, despite the mono original version (digitally upgraded), I had still this wide stage, sound can not be at the level of today's recording or living stereo recordings... But the playing was quite forgiving concerning harshness and other artifacts. Inever had such an exquisite playback on headphones.
 
Sorry, to be so precise on music, but I think the music that you're listening, the way it was recorded has the most impact on the quality of what we're hearing. 
 
- 

Scary, the difference that tube-rolling makes. I have Orange Globes, Bugle Boys, Tungsrams (that came with the Lyr), Siemens E88CCs and Siemens E28CCs. Only the Orange Globes don't cut it for me, really. The others all have their strengths, although I entirely share your experience of the Siemens, which seem to get everything right. Expect a pm from me. Your choice of music is delightful to me, btw.

 

[OldSkool]

   
Sounds like you didn't have many hours on your CCas when you heard them.  If so, that's a good sign.  Mine are nearing 100 hours, and listening just a little while ago, I'd say they're fully baked 

 

So, when the tubes are finished burning in...they are baked? 

 
Wake and bake, boys.

 
 

 

[ThurstonX]

  So, when the tubes are finished burning in...they are baked? 

 
Wake and bake, boys.

 

 

• Yes.  Fully.
• Those days are long gone.
• Wrong emo for '2', but then ya gotta make do 
  

 
Oh, look at that!  It's wine o'clock.

 

[Brouken Air]

 
Scary, the difference that tube-rolling makes. I have Orange Globes, Bugle Boys, Tungsrams (that came with the Lyr), Siemens E88CCs and Siemens E28CCs. Only the Orange Globes don't cut it for me, really. The others all have their strengths, although I entirely share your experience of the Siemens, which seem to get everything right. Expect a pm from me. Your choice of music is delightful to me, btw.

The Siemens are ideal for orchestral music that's for sure. I am now listening to Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto conducted by Abbado and Violonist being Gil Shaham, as Claudio Abbado died 2 days ago (this really a sad news). This recording is one of my favourite concerning this concerto and request a lot of qualities from the playing system. Responsiveness, a lot of timing strength, huge dynamics and no harshness in the treble, but without being sirupy (the way Shaham plays is the one of an acrobat, quite warm but never falls in the too much). The Siemens tubes seems to me perfect for that music. But I don't think they will cope with every kind of music. I think (but i have to test this more in depth), bass might be a bit light for certain recordings (I have listened but not with all my attention focused, to the Cello Sonata from Brahms by Ax and Yo-Yo Ma and it seemed to me a bit bass lacking. Let's wait and see, but 2 days ago, I wouldn't have dream to listen Brahms at this level of quality on headphones (I must thank my wife 

 for that!). For the fun, the Brahms recording is a live recording and somebody (musician or spectator) is sniffing all the time in the double concerto, I have never noticed it previously!

 

[Zuckfun]

Given my heavily modded HE-500s, I'm loving the 1969 Siemens CCas I just got.  Admittedly they are tough to find, and expensive when you do (or get a great eBay deal, which I lucked into), but the soundstage and airy top end are a nice match.  They're not bass monsters, but that's well-established.  I'm not sure how much the Q701 pads (angled, more spacious than stock or homemade jergpads) help with the soundstage, but I suspect they do help.  Need to roll some other tubes to see how they differ.

Enjoy your HE-500s.  Just remember that HFM recommends 150 hours before they reach their potential.

Thanks for the insights...Siemens CCa: a holy grail tube

 

[ThurstonX]

Thanks for the insights...Siemens CCa: a holy grail tube

 
Sadly, they seem hard to find, or you can spend $400 at Upscale ("A" frame pictured there, so not even the most desirable, if that's accurate).  Trolling eBay and hoping for a good vendor seems the way.  I feel like I stole mine.  I dunno, maybe I'm missing something.

 

[Zuckfun]

Sadly, they seem hard to find, or you can spend $400 at Upscale ("A" frame pictured there, so not even the most desirable, if that's accurate).  Trolling eBay and hoping for a good vendor seems the way.  I feel like I stole mine.  I dunno, maybe I'm missing something.

I'm not comfortable spending this much at the moment, and having less than prominent bass is not ideal for me, otherwise this pair seems great:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/121256057059?nav=SEARCH&sbk=1

 

[ThurstonX]

I'm not comfortable spending this much at the moment, and having less than prominent bass is not ideal for me, otherwise this pair seems great:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/121256057059?nav=SEARCH&sbk=1

 
For late '50s, that's not bad.  I wonder about the 'O' getter.  Didn't know it was used so early (I'm no expert).  If mine had been that much, I'd have balked, but these are about on par, vintage for money wise.  Oh to be rich and foolish 

 

[NightFlight]

   
For late '50s, that's not bad.  I wonder about the 'O' getter.  Didn't know it was used so early (I'm no expert).  If mine had been that much, I'd have balked, but these are about on par, vintage for money wise.  Oh to be rich and foolish 

I think they started with the 'O' getter in '59. I could be wrong. The pleated getter stand you can see there helps mark them as genuine. Grab 'em. If I wasn't sitting on a pair like that guy, I'd buy them.  IMHO for the Lyr, they are the 'the' tube.  I listen to just about every genre except the ones that start with 'C'. The C in Rap is silent. Oh, and except for Classical.... .. there goes that rule. I think they master space, vocals, strings and keys. They don't really reach all the way down like some, but what they do grab is great.
 
... starting to miss my Lyr for the 6922's. Oh well....