[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayt999 yes, so far... mine hasn't been made yet so that comment is true. once I get the details on the amp I will post it. I'm waiting for Mikhail to get a quote from Lockheed on oversized (~18x12x10 inch) Maestro cases.

The line for these cases forms behind me.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolifant What are the better 6SN7s that you hunt down? How can you replace the cable for the R-10. Its not like there is a plug like the Senn 650s. You would have to rewire it. Frankly, I am not convinced you need to go balanced anyway. My R-10s sound so good with single ended sources and amps. I don't own a balanced source now. BTW, I got the fully modded Sony 555ES (SACDmods.com). What a source! Hmmm....makes you wonder. Spend $3K on a SDS or buy a pair of Qualias. I wonder what Tom's SDS will cost...$4-5K? Now we are talking real money .

When my amp gets here I will be able to tell you the advantages between SE and balanced SDS amps. I will use the same cables and phones and run two pr. of HD650/Zu and Zu-XLR cables with my Cary 306/200.
I just talked to Mikhail and I guess he prefers real money, I was hoping monopoly money would work,but not in this lifetime.

Congrats on a great new source!!

 

[dolifant]

Help me Tom. What headphone jacks will this SDS-T have? I don't quite understand why you need two Zu cables. Will there be seperate jacks for R and L? Are the Zu cabler normal headphone plugs?I understand you will be using XLR interconnects from the Cary to the SDS, right?

 

[Schrieks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hirsch ...6SN7's are the usual suspects:... Sylvania 6SN7GT (VT-231 or 6SN7GT up through 1952 or so) Sylvania 6SN7A (metal base) Sylvania 6SN7W (metal or black base) Tung Sol VT-231 (6SN7GT) round plate version (many brand names of this tube are the same tube) ...

Hirsch,
In some thread, I believe I saw that you felt the best tube (at the time) was the round plate TungSol. Is this still the case? (Was I mistaken?)

I have seen some "oval plate" Tung Sols for sale. Do those sound the same as the circular plate ones?
circular: http://gon4.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1094526801.jpg
oval: http://gon4.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1094526802.jpg

I can get Sylvania VT-231 (Tall bottles make any difference?) for much cheaper than either TungSol variety, but I am putting so much into my rig upgrade that I don't want to skimp out on the last $100 if that last $100 will make the whole rig noticably better.

(New rig: MF TriVista 21 DAC > Nitrogen cables > Supra with Option 1 mods + Solen Stage 3 > My trusty w2002)

Recommendations?

 

[Rob N]

The plates on both of these are round.One has oval micas the other has round.The round mica ones are rarer but IMO they both sound more or less the same.

 

[Len]

Those are my tubes you're referencing

I agree with Rob; they sound more or less the same IME, but others (I think including Hirsch) say the round mica is better. I know my ears aren't as discriminate to small differences as some, so it very well could be my shortcoming. Either round or oval mica TS RP are my favorite 6SN7 by far, and I think a lot of people concur

The TS RP and Sylvania VT-231 are very different sounding tubes. I think the VT-231 - being quite transparent but lacking in bass - are great in certain applications and terrific to pass signal through (e.g. driver or output spots) but the TS RP is the better gain tube.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolifant Help me Tom. What headphone jacks will this SDS-T have? I don't quite understand why you need two Zu cables. Will there be seperate jacks for R and L? Are the Zu cabler normal headphone plugs?I understand you will be using XLR interconnects from the Cary to the SDS, right?

Here is a picture of the Zu Mobius that will be used with the SDS-XLR amp. It has a separate XLR connector for each channel. The amp box will have two complete SDS amps inside it. It will use six of the 6sn7 tubes. I'm sure you could have the cable terminated in two 1/4 inch jacks though. You can also have a regular jack for using the amp with normal terminated phones, it will not be balanced in this mode. I need two Zu cables because the one terminated with 1/4 headphone jack will be used with the SE SDS. Yes I will be using the balanced outs from the Cary to the SDS-XLR. Hope this picture clears things up some.

 

[Len]

A good way to think about balanced amps is two amps in one

That might clear the air a bit. Tom is going to have one beast of a headamp!

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schrieks Hirsch, In some thread, I believe I saw that you felt the best tube (at the time) was the round plate TungSol. Is this still the case? (Was I mistaken?) I have seen some "oval plate" Tung Sols for sale. Do those sound the same as the circular plate ones? circular: http://gon4.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1094526801.jpg oval: http://gon4.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1094526802.jpg I can get Sylvania VT-231 (Tall bottles make any difference?) for much cheaper than either TungSol variety, but I am putting so much into my rig upgrade that I don't want to skimp out on the last $100 if that last $100 will make the whole rig noticably better. Recommendations?

Both sets have round plates. The top set has round mica's while the bottom set has oval mica's. The plates are vertical between the mica's, or spacers. These are a very smooth and refined gain tube, but possibly overkill as an output tube. One of those in front of a pair of Sylvania VT-231's or 1951/52 Syl 6SN7GT's as output will give you a very nice sound indeed. I do tend to vaccilate at times on which tube is my favorite gain tube. Sometimes it's Tung Sol, sometimes Ken-Rad, sometimes National Union. Right now it's gray glass National Union, but, after all, tomorrow is another day...

 

[dolifant]

So, Tom, why are you keeping the SE SDS? BTW, I have dibs on it once you consider it obsolete.

So you will have a dual mono balanced headphone amp witha seperate power supply. And your favorite cans are the Senn 850s

Sounds like you are screaming for Qualias or an R-10 to really reap the benefits of that amp. I bet that beast weighs more than my 6 channel home theatre amp.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolifant So, Tom, why are you keeping the SE SDS? BTW, I have dibs on it once you consider it obsolete. So you will have a dual mono balanced headphone amp witha seperate power supply. And your favorite cans are the Senn 850s Sounds like you are screaming for Qualias or an R-10 to really reap the benefits of that amp. I bet that beast weighs more than my 6 channel home theatre amp.

I doubt the SDS will become obsolete to me. I just got my new turntable yesterday and it is setup with the SDS in a second vinyl system.

Now all I need is one more to go along with the Sony 999ES with the Modwright ultimate truth tube mods I want for SACD and I'll be done.

 

[mxs1030]

My god, the price for the tubes alone in Tom's SDS exceeds the price of my entire setup . ( assuming you're going all-out with 6 TS roundplates )

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mxs1030 My god, the price for the tubes alone in Tom's SDS exceeds the price of my entire setup . ( assuming you're going all-out with 6 TS roundplates )

I'll try it with the six TungSols, but think two of them with four Sylvania VT231's will probably be what I go with in the amp. This has been one of my favorite combos so far.

 

[tom hankins]

Hirsch, any updates? Also hows the HD650 and original Supra going? Still sounding good?

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins The amp box will have two complete SDS amps inside it.

Dear Lord, that's going to be one sweet amp! You'll have to post pic's of your setup when you get it all together.