The all new Continental Dual Mono
ShaolinGrump
100+ Head-Fier
How best to use the OEM charger for CDM…
Should I leave it plugged in mostly? Or cycle the battery down more before plugging in the wall power?
Should I leave it plugged in mostly? Or cycle the battery down more before plugging in the wall power?
Amadeo Nospherathu
Headphoneus Supremus
New PCBs received and some new tubes added to my collection.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
So, any good or Great pair?New PCBs received and some new tubes added to my collection.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
I saw you have CV5 in the other thread. What is the unit under CV5?New PCBs received and some new tubes added to my collection.
Amadeo Nospherathu
Headphoneus Supremus
Yes of course. I don't regret buying any of the tubes in the photo.
Some of them are additions to the collection. I listened to them before, then sold them, but then regretted it. So I bought a couple of tubes and they were waiting for the PCB. For example, National 6021, UE 6BF7, G.T.C. 6111, Sylvania 6021 Green and 5718A.
What really impressed me was the Sonotone JOZ-6021.
I have a JOZ-6111 in my collection and can tell that the 6021 separates the planes better and sounds more natural, giving more deep scene with better positioning and definition of the instruments. I have been looking for this particular tube for a very long time and I do not regret either the time or the price - although, of course, I could not have known that this would be the case.
These are now some of the best tubes I've heard.
5718 sound more transparent and airy. They are also cleaner and more detailed than the popular 5719.
A cleaner but still warm whole and smooth sound - 5840. Pentodes in triode connection. Few seem to have used pentodes or anything other than triodes in CDM at all. The few I've tried so far have sounded good though.
They are quite difficult to adapt for PCB, but it is worth it.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the UE 6BF7 - after their long absence, I realized how much I missed this full-bodied emotional sound with a distinct punch of low frequencies.
Traditionally, tubes made for the Air force, Navy and other types of armed forces show themselves well. Let's say some of my favorites are the General Electric AF-6111A and AF-6112A. While the AF-6111A have been my favorites so far, as for the 6112, I only had the chance to try the regular civilian version and thought it was nothing interesting. However, the AF-6112A sounds noticeably better than the civilian version. A clearer and more realistic sound that does not lose weight, but gives more integrity and weight compared to the AF-6111A.
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Amadeo Nospherathu
Headphoneus Supremus
I think I will continue to search in this direction. It's hard to integrate for CDM, but for now I see the point in it.
Probably, the reason is that pentodes are technically better than triodes and working in a triode connection, they are cleaner and faster, have less background noise, and sometimes even higher gain. The same goes for tetrodes. I haven't seen anyone try to use them for CDM at all, and I can understand why - they're even harder to integrate than pentodes.
Now that I've soldered some of the new tubes, I'm totally in them, and the Sonotone 6021 is really a top sound. I was able to find out that an important part of this brand was making products for sound, so it's not surprising that it sounds amazing.
I'd really like to try other tubes from the brand, as I currently have a Sonotone AF-COZ 5902 in my unit. These are pentodes and they have a larger tube size, so it's not as easy to install them, but it has a great result. I haven't been able to tear myself away from them for a few days now.
But of course, great sound is not limited to one brand. I recently received a vintage Sylvania 6021 Green Brand-they have a different font, so they were made before Philips owned the company-and I was very impressed. According to the boxes, I can assume that they were made in Canada for Westinghouse, another well-known company of the time.
Another interesting pair are vintage Philips 6021s made by Amperex. They have a more focused and technically superior sound than the regular Philips you can find.
I've also mentioned General Electric - I'm focusing on military versions here. The 6021, 6112 and especially the 6111 were a very pleasant discovery for me. I often come back to 6112 or 6111. For my headphones, it's a great tube. For me, its sound is reminiscent of multibit - in the best sense.
What disappoints me mostly is Raytheon tubes. Not all of them are bad, the 8096 is a relatively new addition to the collection. They are better than the usual 6021. However, you should pay attention to the letters before the labeling, years, etc.
There are tubes with the same labeling that sound significantly different.
Probably, the reason is that pentodes are technically better than triodes and working in a triode connection, they are cleaner and faster, have less background noise, and sometimes even higher gain. The same goes for tetrodes. I haven't seen anyone try to use them for CDM at all, and I can understand why - they're even harder to integrate than pentodes.
Now that I've soldered some of the new tubes, I'm totally in them, and the Sonotone 6021 is really a top sound. I was able to find out that an important part of this brand was making products for sound, so it's not surprising that it sounds amazing.
I'd really like to try other tubes from the brand, as I currently have a Sonotone AF-COZ 5902 in my unit. These are pentodes and they have a larger tube size, so it's not as easy to install them, but it has a great result. I haven't been able to tear myself away from them for a few days now.
But of course, great sound is not limited to one brand. I recently received a vintage Sylvania 6021 Green Brand-they have a different font, so they were made before Philips owned the company-and I was very impressed. According to the boxes, I can assume that they were made in Canada for Westinghouse, another well-known company of the time.
Another interesting pair are vintage Philips 6021s made by Amperex. They have a more focused and technically superior sound than the regular Philips you can find.
I've also mentioned General Electric - I'm focusing on military versions here. The 6021, 6112 and especially the 6111 were a very pleasant discovery for me. I often come back to 6112 or 6111. For my headphones, it's a great tube. For me, its sound is reminiscent of multibit - in the best sense.
What disappoints me mostly is Raytheon tubes. Not all of them are bad, the 8096 is a relatively new addition to the collection. They are better than the usual 6021. However, you should pay attention to the letters before the labeling, years, etc.
There are tubes with the same labeling that sound significantly different.
Amadeo Nospherathu
Headphoneus Supremus
Yes, I recently received a CV5. It's a great compact device. I didn't do a lot of lamp selection for it, because most of my time is spent on CDM. I compared maybe 15 pieces. Now it has a General Electric AF-6112A. Before that, there was a Sonotone JOZ-6021 and a Sylvania 6111 Gold Brand.
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