[Pharmaboy]

From context (and being familiar with your tastes) I'm guessing you mean that you're "...NOT talking about gooey, lush, detail obscuring tone in gear..."

Good catch, Jinxy. I'll fix that right now.

“Capable of inner warmth and beauty” that’s really lovely, and a really nice analogy!

I’ll tell you a secret…I strongly dislike the guitar music of Villa Lobos Aside from his Choros anyway. Albeniz is wonderful but so, so difficult to transcribe to the solo guitar accurately and effectively.

A guitarist at your skill level (which is to say, very high) will of course have personal favorites. I'm 100% with you on Bach. I couldn't live without hearing at least some Bach every day.

The thing about modernity in music (Villa Lobos was a most modern sounding composer) is that often, warmth & inner beauty are there, too. They just doesn't announce themselves in the usual consonant, cantabile ways. At least that's how I (w/zero skill on any instrument) hear it...

 

[Pharmaboy]

You’re just lucky the HP8 doesn’t take 12AU7’s

Also extremely lucky that the HP8 has only 3 tubes. One can only sell so many pints of his own blood to afford those big/bad NOS tubes.

 

[shwnwllms]

Speaking of some killer 12AU7/ECC82. . .

Check these out. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1338426534...VfNWCSSTQa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Having rolled through pretty much every 12AU7/ECC82 ever made in my Pendant SE days, the RFT Foil Disc Getters were some of my favs and they are ridiculously affordable for what they sound like.

And if you have the budget for the very best of the best, this is your Huckleberry. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1663413550...VfNWCSSTQa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The Telefunken G73R is the King.

The G73R sounds nothing like the typical Telefunken house sound, and has warmth and detail combined and sounds so hauntingly natural/lifelike it's insane. They have a super black background and sounds literally explode and pop out all around your head and way outside the cups. The bass is full, powerful, and tight and goes super deep with texture through the roof, the mids are open, airy and super detailed and never too forward or harsh and the highs soar yet still stay smooth as well. The G73-R lives up to hype and then some, and honestly it is such a revelation hearing how much better it is from all the rest, that words can't really describe how magical it is.

The bass, detail, and super open and holographic staging of the G73-R are to die for. This is going to sound a bit nuts, but most of us who have heard the G73-R, say the improvements in sound are so substantial, it's sounds as if a major component has been upgraded.

One last thing, they are ridiculously expensive, but they are "super tubes", and are built to last up to 40,000 hours (vs. the normal 4,000 - 6,000 hours of a pedestrian type tube). So, factor that into the price, and it's a little easier to swallow.

The beauty of the G73-R, is that it is so good, it works amazingly well with just about everything. Also, they keep their value, so if you do buy some and they don't work out for you, it's quite easy to get most of, if not all your money back.

Some tubes are just so exceptional, they break all the "traditional rules", and the G73-R is most definitely one of them. The G73R improves all aspects of the sound, and therefore pairs well with pretty much everything.

I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not. If I was using an amp with a circuit optimized for the 12AU7 like the 6A, I would no doubt be using the G73R.

Both @Wes S and @steve468 reflect my experience as well. I found the G73-R to just be the best. If any tube was worth a blind buy, it’s this one.

But on a side note, I also personally prefer the black label G73-R’s to the red labels Wes linked to (subtle difference, but the black labels are quieter, smoother, and richer), though I haven’t seen many for sale recently. The red label I own have the *smallest* bit of hiss on my Pendant SE from the high output (and for another Pendant SE owner as well), but the dynamics and explosiveness of sound of the red label, coupled with their timbre, detail, stage, and effortlessness of delivery, are simply worth the price IMO.

Of course I have known people to not fall in love with the G73-R sound, but they seem to be the exceptions.

@EtyDave

@Wes S is spot on about the G73-R. Even if you’ve tried Telefunken tubes and don’t like their house sound you have to remember these were not production tubes for use in audio. Black label G73-R’s were for military use in radar equipment, the later red labels were used in medical equipment. Telefunken also produced a killer ECC83 “select tube” (cloth label, yellow tip) for use in polygraph machines for Grass Instruments. None of these sound like the traditional Telefunken house sound and are worth every penny

At $500 a tube it seems steep for a G73-R but if you add up all the mid grade tubes you’ll end up buying along the way it’s actually a deal if it’s one of the last input tubes you’ll buy

@haasaaroni is absolutely right. Black label G73-R’s are king

With all that being said there are certainly limits to the “magic” of these tubes. I’m finding they aren’t a great match in my Agartha 2021 (300B) which is a damn shame because I love this tube and it was killer in my Pendant SE

 

[haasaaroni]

With all that being said there are certainly limits to the “magic” of these tubes. I’m finding they aren’t a great match in my Agartha 2021 (300B) which is a damn shame because I love this tube and it was killer in my Pendant SE

Yeah I had a feeling that might be the case. I’ve known others who have used adapters to put a G73-R in their amps that don’t natively take them to not fall in love with the sound. I think it was the Mogwai SE someone had that didn’t love the G73-R.

 

[shwnwllms]

Yeah I had a feeling that might be the case. I’ve known others who have used adapters to put a G73-R in their amps that don’t natively take them to not fall in love with the sound. I think it was the Mogwai SE someone had that didn’t love the G73-R.

It’s not so much the adapters per se. Rev 2 of the Agartha (model after mine) takes 12AX7 family natively. I think it’s a gain or current issue driving the 300B tubes. For instance the 12BH7 sounds impressive (and is a direct replacement for an ECC99 which was designed to drive 300Bs) 12AU7 seems lacking in dynamics comparatively. I’m curious as to how a 6SN7 would sound as well, I’ve got a bunch of 6SL7’s but those are generally too noisy on the higher taps. 6SN7s would have half the gain and twice the current so they might work as well.

 

[robo24]

Telefunken also produced a killer ECC83 “select tube” (cloth label, yellow tip) for use in polygraph machines for Grass Instruments.

I'm of course picturing polygraph tube rolling...."Well sir I can tell you're lying, but as least you're doing it in a warm, romantic way and with authority!"

 

[LongSong]

FYI Violectric V222 up on Drop for $949 My order just went in. Says shipping will be about 9th November. Woohoo!

 

[goldwerger]

I'm of course picturing polygraph tube rolling...."Well sir I can tell you're lying, but as least you're doing it in a warm, romantic way and with authority!"

Good one..

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'm of course picturing polygraph tube rolling...."Well sir I can tell you're lying, but as least you're doing it in a warm, romantic way and with authority!"

Excerpt/Sentencing Recommendation: "He is the most euphonic felon this office ever encountered."

 

[shwnwllms]

It’s not so much the adapters per se. Rev 2 of the Agartha (model after mine) takes 12AX7 family natively. I think it’s a gain or current issue driving the 300B tubes. For instance the 12BH7 sounds impressive (and is a direct replacement for an ECC99 which was designed to drive 300Bs) 12AU7 seems lacking in dynamics comparatively. I’m curious as to how a 6SN7 would sound as well, I’ve got a bunch of 6SL7’s but those are generally too noisy on the higher taps. 6SN7s would have half the gain and twice the current so they might work as well.

@haasaaroni update on this, after a bunch of tube rolling tonight (rectifiers and inputs) with the WE 300B's and VO on 300 Ohm tap, I came back to the G73-R. I'm going to revise my statement. The G73-R does work quite well with the WE 300B's. I did feel it was lacking something with the Elrogs, might be a synergy thing, so I'll have to revisit that.

The black label G73-R is my preferred input tube with the WE 300B + VO on High Z, with the Brimar 12BH7A coming in a close second (slightly better dynamics, but with a higher noise floor). I'd be willing to take a polygraph to attest to this. I think we are going to need more than the 2 Grass Instruments ECC83's I have however to get this thing to work though. (There is a cottage industry scrapping these things and pulling the tubes to sell for $300 a pop)

 

[OnlySoMany]

Good idea, time to update the list, and also move it forward to page 144 so more recent viewers can benefit from it.

Added Beyerdynamic A20, updated the Ampandsound models to current Rev 2, and added the new Decware/ZMF OTL.

Original list updated:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...r-zmf-headphones.965309/page-33#post-17215696

And reposted here below to help recent folks final it faster:

---

Here is the summary of current results in this thread to this survey:

“If you could get any amp whatsoever to pair with you ZMF headphones - no budget, access, or time constraints of any kind - what would be your ultimate dream amp?”

Replies are listed alphabetically. In hope that this will be a fun (and useful?) list for any future reader of this thread. I may go back and update this post from time-to-time if more replies or ideas come up here that intend by their nature to answer the question. Keep your ideas coming.... Here goes:

• 1101 Audio Blue Halo+
• Ampandsound Nautilus Rev 2
• Ampandsound Red October Rev 2 (Elrog tubes)
• Beyerdynamic A20
• Cayin HA-300MK2
• Decware // Reference ZMF OTL
• DNA Stellaris Special
• DNA Stratus
• ECP Audio DSHA-3F
• Eddie Current Studio Tribute
• Eddie Current Studio B (300B version)
• Eddie Current Zana Deux Super
• Feliks Audio Envy
• Glenn OTL
• Linear Tube Audio MZ3
• Ray Samuels, Emmeline, "The Apache"
• Woo Audio WA33 Elite Edition

Last edited: 9/2/2023

I'm a huge fan of the Stratus for any high impedance ZMF. It's just nails it.

Not as much for low impedance, as I feel like they like more power.

WA33 is superb. I think it should be higher on this list. Not as romantic as Stratus, but omg the power. It's effortless and clean.

Looking forward to receiving my Viva egoista 845 after the voltage conversion. I expect good things.

 

[AudioDuck]

FYI Violectric V222 up on Drop for $949 My order just went in. Says shipping will be about 9th November. Woohoo!

Congrats! Vios are awesome.

 

[AudioDuck]

Yeah I had a feeling that might be the case. I’ve known others who have used adapters to put a G73-R in their amps that don’t natively take them to not fall in love with the sound. I think it was the Mogwai SE someone had that didn’t love the G73-R.

Picturing someone who went through the trouble and cost to get G73-Rs and finding they don’t mesh sonically with their amp or other tubes…

 

[AudioDuck]

At $500 a tube it seems steep for a G73-R but if you add up all the mid grade tubes you’ll end up buying along the way it’s actually a deal if it’s one of the last input tubes you’ll buy

As much as I dislike typing this, $500/unit for an NOS matched pair of G73Rs is the lowest I’ve seen when looking.

Thankfully (with gratitude to Shawn and Brent Jessee) I’m extremely happy with my Grass Valley Instrument select Mullard tubes ($200/unit for a matched NOS pair)…

I was also fortunate enough to stumble over near-NOS red tip select Amperexes (with a bonus/legit Bugle Boy pair from Brent J) for a song a while ago, so I’m set… (a fellow on USAM was getting rid of 12AU7s from his Rogue Audio preamp that only had 200-250 hours on them- what a bargain)

But I have no doubt that G73R pair is worth it for someone with an amp built for 12AU7s…

 

[goldwerger]

WA33 is superb. I think it should be higher on this list.

The list is alphabetized..

Looking forward to receiving my Viva egoista 845

That one is a beast! Heard it fews times, really awesome. Looking forward to your report..