[OctavianH]

Sunday morning with a view.

Forgot to mention that this combo has no glow. Due to the coating both tube types leave nothing outside.

 

[OctavianH]

Yesterday was 20th of April 2024. 3 years ago I made this post marking the moment Eternity arrived in my home. A good moment to listen to Anathema - Eternity, the album which inspired me to propose the name of the amplifier to Tomas. Being close to Infinity, his major project at that time, was accepted. Other proposal was Chameleon because we wanted to make an amp to rule them all, manual grid bias on top of an amplifier where you will have no limit. Almost.

Happy birthday Eternity!

 

[triod750]

Sunday morning with a view.



Forgot to mention that this combo has no glow. Due to the coating both tube types leave nothing outside.

Stealth mode if you remove the double triode...

 

[OctavianH]

I've seen something really strage this morning on Ebay:

EL3(N)G? Octal base? Do not seem to be rebased because the coating goes also a little bit on top of the base. On the base you can see Philips Miniwatt Made In Australia. I have never seen something like this. Most probably it's an EL33.

PS. Another strange one, what's this? EL12N with side contact socket?

Later edit: It seems it exists. EL6E.

 

[OctavianH]

I think it is a good moment to say a few words about Philips EBC3 (52/KYL) and how it sounds. Until now I avoided to say too much because I wanted to spend more time with it. Now, after a week of listening to it in the select company of the Philips 4654 (yes, no change for a week) I think I am able to say more. Of course do not expect about very drastic or detailed remarks, I feel more and more that everything we do here is very subjective and everyone needs to find its own opinion.

I am used with 4654 in the company of EL3N or EBL1, so EBC3 will be compared to those. Compared to both types, which are close in style in my view (and it is normal since I use the pentode from EBL1 which is electrically equivalent to EL3N) and the only difference might be the house sound, and even that one is close for the red series and sometimes I start to think it does not really matter so much for these types, EBC3 is brighter sounding, more delicate and thin but in the same time very detailed. One thing I like at it is that it is very extended on high frequency area, more than many of the input tubes I use. Because of this it sounds very transparent, letting you hear more from the 4654 and in general the output tube you pair it with. This can be an advantage but also a disadvantage, because sometimes you want to compensate something. EBC3 does not compensate or add too much of its own signature and if the paired tube is not close to what you like, it might make you think it misses something. In my case, listening a lot to the 4654 in the last months, I started to understand also its defects, so many times when I was feeling that EBC3 is not a proper input I was realizing that basically the problem comes from output and 4654 can be sometimes dry or dull sounding depending on the recording. Here the WIRAG EL3N or RT EBL1 were adding something on top and changing a little bit the sound. Of course, 4654 can also shine and when it shines it cannot be beaten. Thinking about EBC3 always takes me to the EL32. Both are somehow thin, delicate but also very nice for vocals and acoustic instruments. If I think that EL32 is an EL2 with different base and then go back to the moment each tube type was released, well, I might imagine that EBC3 can be compared to an ancient EL32 with Philips Eindhoven flavor. Now imagine that and you will get an idea. Do I like it? Very much and I consider it very special, one of the best input tubes I have tried.

 

[OctavianH]

I wanted to take a break from the red series and return to the normal tubes. From time to time it's ok to see how you revisit some of your old combos and if indeed they sound as good as you remember they were. This one, Philips EL84 with Fivre 6SL7 was maked in my notes as "energetic and with good bass, wet sound".

First of all, this is what I call "extreme gain combo" because EL84 on output is around 20 while 6SL7 on input is around 70. A little bit at the limit and my volume knob is around 9AM, so 25% on low gain setting. So yeap, it's energetc, has good bass and it's also wet. I cannot contradict what I have said about it many months ago. A good one, if you want a more lush and musical signature. This is for me a tubey sound, but the problem of the tubey sound is the tubey sound itself. LOL And now I start to understand those solid state guys when they claim the tubey sound adds distortion, lacks some separation or makes everything more forgiving, rounded somehow but also masks detail. It somehow veils the music with a pleasant tone on top of the recording. Like a sepia filter, makes it somehow comfortable but you know in your mind that it's not the correct sound. Anyway, it's good to have this option from time to time.

People love tube amps because in their mind they fix the problem of the solid state. It's true, but they fix it by creating another problem. The real sound is between these, taking advantages from both and fixing both kind of signatures. And here come in place the modern designs of tube amplifiers like UltraSonic and other started to manufacture. Those amplifiers are not sounding tubey but also not digital and flat. Neutral and sharp but not synthetic. Dynamic and also clean and low distorted. A good modern tube amp cannot be touched by classic tube amps and also not by solid state. It is above both of them.

 

[OctavianH]

But the Fivre 6SL7 on top of Philips WIRAG EL84 was only for a test, to make a reference point. The real combo is with EBC3 because I want to investigate how EBC3 scales and behaves with something with higher gain and which is warmer and more musical. A good try would be EL6 but I want to spare those to these tests at the moment.

Surprisingly, the sound became instantly more dry but also not so forced in the midrange. Less veil but the same congested soundstage and separation. A more "correct" sound but the lack of separation and resolution seems to be a problem of the EL84 and not the 6SL7. I have to say I am surprised, I was expecting to scale more the EL84 with EBC3. I was also expecting that EBC3 is less dry and the dryness was a problem of EL50, well it's a problem of both. Volume went now to 11PM, more towards what I am used to have.

 

[OctavianH]

And since we are here we need to do one more thing. EBC3 underperformed with EL84 and did not fix the problem I had with the reference combo with 6SL7. It was different, I called it more correct but it missed that kind of "wow" factor. But the "wow" factor came now, on something I was afraid to try because I had less expectation.

I put the Mullard ECH3 on input on top of the Philips EL84 to check if I use it with more gain on output if I can somehow fix the unexciting sound I got from it when I first tried it on top of EL50. Well, what I am hearing now surpasses both combos I tried earlier and it is the winner of the day. ECH3 now sounds very good on top of Philips EL84. It had not brought more detail but made everything thicker and more focused. This sound has authority and this is something we should not ignore because many combos lack it.
This combo will go to my notes, and I will let it more here. Note that I use the hexode triode strapped from the ECH3, not the triode. I explained my strange way of strapping it some posts earlier. Not the way it should be done but you know, we do what we can. People should buy dedicated adapters for this if they want to try it.

 

[triod750]

I think you mean the hexode, not heptode.

 

[OctavianH]

I think you mean the hexode, not heptode.

Yes, you are right. Thank you.

 

[OctavianH]

I am glad that I found an usage scenario for the Mullard ECH3 where I think it surpasses some of the previous tubes I have tried. While it will not necessarily change my preferences, it might have a strong point to say in my 3rd league of tubes if it will prove to be good with several other outputs. The problem is the gain, which is lower than what I usually prefer on input so it might limit my choices for output. We will see.

I like a lot to read and investigate these small low rating tubes which I plan to use in the input. I have a feeling this is a very interesting area with a lot of potential. Because the chavalry of the audiophiles has not be interested in these, they remained unknown and many of them cheap. No problem, I am here to decypher their mysteries. This new chapter I have started is somehow justified after I finished with the big pentodes and spent a lot of time with them. Now, we try to find proper inputs for those, with the same Philips pedigree and why not, maybe some other brands which were still good in the early stages. I look forward to try different types of ECF1, EBF2, ECH3 ST shaped and so on. Of course I will go for the pentodes/hexodes in these because the diodes are no use for me and triodes usually have lower ratings for my amplifier. I would love to try a Telefunken tube from the same era but well, Telefunken EBF2 are harder to find and an idea more expensive.

Pinwise nothing special, all should work fine in the EL2 adapters and I'll decide later which types will be chosen to buy maybe 1-2 spare pairs of dedicated adapters. Of course for the ones which have a G2 I need to put the 6V6->6J5 adapter under the EL2->KT88 but it's no problem. As you can see, Pin 1->4 are the same, Grid 1 on top with anode on pin 8 and G2 where existing on pin 7. Pin 5->6 are usually different but those do not really matter because are usually used by the secondary component in these multi component types. The pentode is more or less using the standard pins.

 

[OctavianH]

The battle for supremacy in my 3rd league of tubes. 1st league are the old Philips red series and metal base, 2nd league are the rimlocks and here we are in the 3rd league, what I consider the best of the "common" tubes. These are not bad at all and you can easily live with them, the problem is that if you have listened to the others, well you will never be able to put these on a higher position.

I tried the Mullard ECH3 with Philips PE06/40N and it was not a good pairing. Then I realized that these sound good with a fat decently sweet tube with good bass, so I went for STC 5B/254M. This is a very musical tube, it has slam, bass, well, a good one. Many consider it an 807 equivalent but for me it is an idea different, sounds more powerful and has the british sweetness of STC. Good sound.

And again, Mullard ECH3 sounds good in this combination. So I start to understand how to pair this, unfortunately the biggest problem of the Mullard ECH3 is the Mullard house sound. It is a veiled tube, smooth but decreases transparency of the combo. Anyway, veiled or not, it is much better than other Mullard tubes. And the story with the veil is also different for each other, because if you headphone line is using a soft forgiving DAC and your tube amplifier is the classic tubey sound you will not hear this veil as I do, this veil comes into place in a headphone line tuned neutral where all the coloration comes from the tubes. It has also to do with personal preference, for me D8000 Pro are a warm headphone while others consider it neutral. So well, everyone sees things differently. This is why some consider british tubes the best in the world. In short, if your headphone line is veiled, you will just increase the veil and might not detect it, if your headphone line is neutral and transparent you will immediately hear the veil.

 

[OctavianH]

I took a one week holiday but still followed different threads around here. I see the Aegis community rises a lot and since Aegis uses 6V6 compatible tubes and 6SL7 on input, it will definitely rise a lot the prices on these areas. But now I have time for a beer, when I was buying 6SL7 everyone was hunting 6SN7. Now I have 17 types of 6SL7 so I am fine. Anyway, Aegis seems a really good amplifier and I love to read more and more about it. Excellent stuff. Since ZMF promotes this amplifier and Cayin builds it, it will definitely become soon a standard. Now the time of SET amps has come and I read less and less about OTL. I was foreseeing this, even if I would still buy a nice OTL from Eufonika, for example. For sure, I would not buy a mainstream OTL anymore. The 1M$ question would be: what would the market do next? Well, hard to say, because superior to these designs are only the old european pentodes or rimlock tubes but I doubt the mainsteam market would follow these paths. For 6V6 or 6SL7 you still have some new production tubes to provide but on those areas you have no chance.

Anyway, interesting times on head-fi. For me, time for a beer, while the others stuggle to find 6SL7 and provide more and more information.

What is interesting is that many hear some 6SL7 I tried a lot very differently than me, for sure this shows more about how subjective is this hobby.

By the way, nice photo of Lemmy.

PS: I think the essence of Aegis is explained here.

Most people haven't heard a fixed bias amp, it is the best way to design a SET output stage. Aegis is cathode bias, but given it is a cathode follower power stage, gets many of the same benefits of fixed bias, i.e., no bypass capacitor necessary. That's why it sounds good. And without the headaches of a fixed bias circuit.

And some more details here.

When a tube is wired as a cathode follower (which is much more common in OTL output stages), it has no voltage gain. So essentially the overall gain of the amplifier (i.e., where in the volume dial you reach appropriate listening volume with a given headphone) is going to be unchanged no matter what output tube is being used, they all operate at a voltage gain a little less than 1. Another advantage of this output topology is there are no signal capacitors in the output stage, it is just a tube and a transformer, that's it.

No gain change from output stage? So you need to keep high gain tubes on input stage.