[ilikepooters]

  New Lyr in hand for a few demo days to possibly replace the Asgard2. arrived with stock GE tubes which were only listed for a few hours.
Connecting via Uber BiFrost.  to USB MacBook Air, Audirvana.
HE-500 headphones w/ stock cable.  haven't hooked up HD600s to this set up yet.
 
then two Ediswan CV2492 tubes arrived this morning!  plugged them in, gave a few hours of bake time in the hot Lyr oven, and yah- love em so far with HE-500!
did some A/B back and forth with the Asgard2 on some 24/96 and 24/192 material, can notice various differences in bass, richer and wider with the Lyr but didn't feel much flab either.
some treble accuracy improvements, sections of fuzzy cymbals clanging "too close" together on the Asgard2  were cleaned up with the Lyr.
soundstage with Lyr+Ediswan wider but also "taller" when listening to various pieces, a very nice touch.  more enveloping, perhaps less bright/sparkly high treble than with the GE tubes or A2 which is fine by my ears.
 
may have found my end-game for a while.... now to sell the Asgard2, which I thought was amazing only 5 months ago. ha!  
well, the A2 is amazing,  but the Lyr and these tubes take HE-500 headphones a tad bit farther.
and I won't ever be using IEMs with this Lyr nuclear power plant either, heh.

 
IEM's are fine with Lyr, just avoid anything stupidly low impedence/sensitive/balanced armature or you'll be hearing a whole lot of buzzing/tube/background noise

 

[billerb1]

Have heard some very good things about those Ediswans.  Congrats on jumping up fairly high on the tube rolling totem pole right from the get-go.
Now you have a decent sense of what the Lyr will do for you instead of guessing for months while you play around with lesser tubes.
It can get better though, lol.

 

[jexby]

  Have heard some very good things about those Ediswans.  Congrats on jumping up fairly high on the tube rolling totem pole right from the get-go.
Now you have a decent sense of what the Lyr will do for you instead of guessing for months while you play around with lesser tubes.
It can get better though, lol.

 
Indeed I got some expert advice as I didn't want to spend months and $ going back n forth around tube rolling-land, being a tube noob and all.
that being said, if you've got those "better recommendations" especially for HE-500 pairing, do tell of course!
Nothing wrong with keeping our top10 lists of Tubes always updated for accuracy whenever the Lotto winnings come rolling in.
ha!
 
I expect you'll tell us to look into Siemens CCa and other similar rare but awesome tubes?
Let us know.

 

[soundeffect]

Okay reporting back, I think I have close to 10 hrs. now on the Orange globe A frame and thought I'm satisfied enough with them to put back the GE 6BZ7 to see the differences.  I just did a switch back and then forth between the GE 6BZ7 stock and well the Orange globe is definitely better and well worth the change.  The details are brought forward, more treble sparkles, sharper mids, a more 3D sound stage and imaging.  I'm glade I did it.  So what else is good or better with the HE500?

 

[rb2013]

I had good luck with the Voskhod 6n23p Rockets when I had the HE500s. The '70s are best. Good luck!

 

[Sanlitun]

I had good luck with the Voskhod 6n23p Rockets when I had the HE500s. The '70s are best. Good luck!

 
Curious what you prefer about the HD800 over the HE-500? Are those your current phones?

 

[ckc527]

   
Indeed I got some expert advice as I didn't want to spend months and $ going back n forth around tube rolling-land, being a tube noob and all.
that being said, if you've got those "better recommendations" especially for HE-500 pairing, do tell of course!
Nothing wrong with keeping our top10 lists of Tubes always updated for accuracy whenever the Lotto winnings come rolling in.
ha!
 
I expect you'll tell us to look into Siemens CCa and other similar rare but awesome tubes?
Let us know.

 
Hunt down some Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 3-Mica and be done with it. These were my end game tubes for the MB Air > Bifrost Uber > Lyr > HE-500 combo. If you search through the original thread, you'll see many references on these by veteran tube rollers.
 
ckc

 

[ilikepooters]

   
Hunt down some Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 3-Mica and be done with it. These were my end game tubes for the MB Air > Bifrost Uber > Lyr > HE-500 combo. If you search through the original thread, you'll see many references on these by veteran tube rollers.
 
ckc

 
Unfortunately they are rarer than rocking horse schitt, maybe once a year someone will be willing to part with a pair for stupid money.

 

[nelamvr6]

  Okay reporting back, I think I have close to 10 hrs. now on the Orange globe A frame and thought I'm satisfied enough with them to put back the GE 6BZ7 to see the differences.  I just did a switch back and then forth between the GE 6BZ7 stock and well the Orange globe is definitely better and well worth the change.  The details are brought forward, more treble sparkles, sharper mids, a more 3D sound stage and imaging.  I'm glade I did it.  So what else is good or better with the HE500?

 
 
I haven't heard the A Frames, but I have read enough reviews to believe that the O getters are better.  According to some, significantly better.
 
I find it interesting that you described the mids as "sharper".  It's always great to get the perspective of others, especially on audio.  We're all different, we have different ears and different tastes.
 
Though I understand that the very subjective nature of our observations are exactly the thing that drives some people absolutely nuts!  

  

 

[nelamvr6]

It's been a while, I suppose it's about time we repost Joe's tube lore.  It's a good thing to repost every now and then, that way newbs can get the benefit without having to search too hard.
 
Be advised, this is a list of one man's opinions.  But these opinions have helped a lot of people find their end game.
 
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#6DJ8

 

[jaywillin]

  It's been a while, I suppose it's about time we repost Joe's tube lore.  It's a good thing to repost every now and then, that way newbs can get the benefit without having to search too hard.
 
Be advised, this is a list of one man's opinions.  But these opinions have helped a lot of people find their end game.
 
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#6DJ8

very, very cool !
i've been trying to get more familiar with the "6dj8" family of tubes
much appreciated !

 

[soundeffect]

I haven't heard the A Frames, but I have read enough reviews to believe that the O getters are better.  According to some, significantly better.

I find it interesting that you described the mids as "sharper".  It's always great to get the perspective of others, especially on audio.  We're all different, we have different ears and different tastes.

Though I understand that the very subjective nature of our observations are exactly the thing that drives some people absolutely nuts!     

I'm not sure which getter is better, but i do know that it's hard for me to believe it will be significantly better until I try them considering they are from the same branch within the same family.

Who knows maybe my choices of words arent the best, but I do believe overall the GE tube seems to soft up the overall sound making it less refined and therefore my wording choice of sharper. (as in not sharper as in piercing)

 

[GoldfishX]

I got my LCD-2 and HE-500 from the Cable Co yesterday. Impressions with various tubes to come, but it seems the LCD-2 has a fatal flaw already...They hurt my jaw after a very short period of time (about an hour). It's mostly the earpads, the headphone itself was lighter than I was expecting. It is a shame, they are a beautiful headphone (I rented the bamboo one).
 
The good news is I seem to prefer the sound of the HE-500 already anyway, so it might be a moot point. More open, more "OMG, the singer is here in the room with me". It's heavy and the earpads aren't big enough for my ears to fit into (so is slightly on-ear), but comfy once it gets settled.
 
Listening was done on an entry level Onkyo receiver (family room) and my KR-9400 (bedroom, although I think it is too warm with both).
 
Does the Lyr have enough juice to power the HE-6 optimally? I might be considering these next, now that I know the LCD's are likely a non-option.

 

[Zuckfun]

I got my LCD-2 and HE-500 from the Cable Co yesterday. Impressions with various tubes to come, but it seems the LCD-2 has a fatal flaw already...They hurt my jaw after a very short period of time (about an hour). It's mostly the earpads, the headphone itself was lighter than I was expecting. It is a shame, they are a beautiful headphone (I rented the bamboo one).

The good news is I seem to prefer the sound of the HE-500 already anyway, so it might be a moot point. More open, more "OMG, the singer is here in the room with me". It's heavy and the earpads aren't big enough for my ears to fit into (so is slightly on-ear), but comfy once it gets settled.

Listening was done on an entry level Onkyo receiver (family room) and my KR-9400 (bedroom, although I think it is too warm with both).

Does the Lyr have enough juice to power the HE-6 optimally? I might be considering these next, now that I know the LCD's are likely a non-option.

Lyr can't power HE-6...I've read great things about Lyr and the T1, although maybe you're set on Planars

 

[GoldfishX]

I'm open to anything, really. Beyers are generally well made (I have both the T1 and DT880 pegged as future rentals, along with the HD600/HD650...I probably won't bother with the LCD3 because of the fit and I can't power the HE-6 with my current equipment). My preference would be to find a perfect match ampwise or tubewise for the HD800, but that is appearing less and less likely. I'm also looking forward to upgrading my Mad Dogs to the Alpha Dog when the option is available.
 
My one concern about the T1 is it supposedly has recessed mids. It did come down in price recently, which is nice.