Tube rolling thread | UltraSonic Studios

[OctavianH]

Good morning from the Solid States of Europe. I needed a good sleep to be able to check this small amp again and realize that I was not crazy yesterday. Indeed, more organic, natural and smoother. But of course, cannot compare to a good tube amp. It is also not in the same price rance. Anyway, cool little amp.

And that volume knob is a pleasure to turn on or off. Which reminds me about my Khozmo 48 steps attenuator I have on Eternity. I would never buy an amp if it is not properly equipped with a decent volume knob. And I look on several threads to people paying thousands on amp and tubes and ... never speak about the volume knob.

I will keep this V200, not sure what I will do with it but I'll keep it.

Enough, back to tubes.

 

[triod750]

You will need it eventually, during hot summer days and nights. It's a shame!

 

[OctavianH]

You will need it eventually, during hot summer days and nights. It's a shame!

Luckily both V200 and Eternity are quite cold during operation. So I have no problem with them in summer. My problems ended when I stopped using ZMF headphones. That headband was awful. Many praise it, but I was not able to use Verite Open in summer.

But regarding temps, EL42 and ECC40 are quite hot on Eternity at there operating points I am using. EL42 goes around 90C. This is a temp I almost forgot about with 807 or what I am using lately. In the Elise years it was normal. 5998 was the same. 6080 even hotter.

Eternity was a big step up in terms of heat management. Top mounted tube sockets, these pentodes or beam tetrodes going around 60C when used in it, different life. Things started to change with ECC40, EL42 or EL81 which go higher but well, sonic benefits were more than the heat dissipation disadvantage.

What to say, pros and cons, there is no perfect scenario.

 

[OctavianH]

Returning to Eternity after a few hours on the nice V200 I wanted to go towards a resolving and fast setup. I wanted to keep a decent neutral combo to check if I am missing something from the other side. And Philips 4654K + Fivre 6SL7 was a very good option.

But this combo, very resolving and nice, was not fun enough for me. So I went more towards a more fun combo with Valvo EL42.

And guess what? I am preferring this one towards 4654K. Not because it sounds better, on the technical side, but because is more relaxed and nice for a Saturday evening. What I am trying to say is that when you reach a level in sound quality you are not always going towards the most technical sound. You can loose 5% of detail towards a more natural or maybe more fun sound. And it is interesting that Valvo EL42 was able to stand against something I consider as reference.

ECC40, EL42, EL81 were the stars of the show in the last 6 months and honestly, brought this amp to a new level. Pricewise? Well you pay maximum 10 EUR for a piece. In my case I prefer to buy bulk stock of 8-10 pieces for 40-50 EUR and then pair them myself. It's fun also to measure or try. Like on the lottery. A good beer and a tube tester is what you need after a week of hard work to just have some fun. So I gathered here a decent stock of these. Some have no pair, so in the future I'll try to find pairs for them.

Next step is to try Mullard EL42. Then the EL42 saga is over. Excellent tubes. Nobody cares about them, but I started to love them.

Solid state amps are flat, that is basically the biggest problem. V200 is good, much better than all I have heard on the "dark side" but still cannot compete with a tube amp. Because a tube amp is alive, is natural, makes you feel the music. No solid state can do that. But what V200 is doing good is that it has no digital harshness. I stand behind what I've said that it is a nice product and Violectric is a brand I will follow from now on.

 

[OctavianH]

And I have forgot to tell more about Ultrasone Signature Pro. Well here we go.

These scaled a lot on Eternity. Its wide soundstage tried to compensate the "in your face" sound they had on V200. But of course, not enough for me to like them. The harshless presentation of a tube amp made these sound better, less digital. But what to say, these are not my cup of tea. I prefer a DT1770 or DT1990 from Beyerdynamic for home use. For travel? Well, what to say, I do not travel enough to consider these as an option.

On the earcup you have some glass, looks nice but well, it is a finger print magnet. And you always have to clean them.

 

[OctavianH]

Today I found by mistake a 6SK7 in one of the boxes with tubes. I had no idea I have one.

I also have some 6SJ7 -> 6J5 adapters so I was able to check the situation with this one. Unfortunately, I need around -19V for it to stay at 4mA so I cannot use it in input. I have no idea what was in my mind when I bought these adapters. No problem, maybe one day I will find something to do with it. Good that I found this in time.

 

[OctavianH]

During the last week I started to appreciate more and more the Valvo EL42 D-getters (mine have the M5P / DZ date codes), especially since I paired these with Fivre 6SL7. The high gain of this one added some missed energy and made it sound retro but still dynamic. If the Sittard pair was compared by me to an over exposed picture where you had a lot of contrast and vivid colors, this one is for me a sepia one. A retro very fluid and coherent sound which make almost every record sound good. Smoothens the sound, making it very enjoyable. It's excellent for long listening sessions, even if it does not sit on the podium on the technicalities. But as I say some days ago, while you reach a level in sound quality you are not running for the last drop of detail and start to appreciate tone, atmoshpere, the feeling you have while listening to your favourite music. And Valvo EL42 combined with Fivre 6SL7 is addictive.

EL42 was a nice discovery, a relaxed tone with an idea less detail but with overal smooth and coherent presentation. If you want sepia or amoled, it depends. Sepia will be good on every type of recording while the other might be harsh on some. In my case, I like and want both. Excellent tubes. I'll complete the triarchy with the Mullards soon, and then I am done.

 

[OctavianH]

Picture of the day: Valvo EL42. This could be a nice thread, tube picture of the day, I hope someone makes it.

 

[OctavianH]

A small break from EL42? Not, but a little bit of research to date some Sylvania 6L6GAY dated A2M. This one:

I guess these A2M are January 1952. But while reading and searching I found a very intersting link I want to share. Enjoy.
To make you curious, they discuss about tube testers and calibration, and I found out that it was done via some "calibration tubes".

Then they discuss about some date codes. Interesting! I'll have to study this later. And maarc.org is "Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club". I'll definitely spend some time here.

 

[Isaacc7]

I have switched to using the Brimar 13d1 input tubes with the 7c5 outputs in triode mode. They are finally giving me the “rightness” I got in my SE amp. Sounds a bit different of course but this combo is a great all around presentation. Will continue with this probably through Sunday. I think I will tackle the 6bg6ga output tubes next. GE, RCA, and Sylvania.

 

[OctavianH]

I have switched to using the Brimar 13d1 input tubes with the 7c5 outputs in triode mode. They are finally giving me the “rightness” I got in my SE amp. Sounds a bit different of course but this combo is a great all around presentation. Will continue with this probably through Sunday. I think I will tackle the 6bg6ga output tubes next. GE, RCA, and Sylvania.

So triode mode was the solution for you? More musical than the ultra linear? I never tried both modes, maybe in the future I'll see what's all about.

And here we are, at the end of the EL42 journey: Mullard EL42 (M51 / B1M and M51 / B1H). Since it has to be FYM I guess it's 1951 July and October. Same revision. All good.

Ugly ducklings these ones, you cannot see almost anything inside. But soundwise, well I was surprised to find these brighter than the Valvo. With that kind of Mullard veil all tubes have, which is for me somehow annoying but well, all love it. Not bad sounding at all. You cannot go wrong with EL42 and my last week proved me that. These 2 measured very strong and are almost perfect paired, I'll have them for many years from now on.

Later edit: I will not delete what I said but after more time Mullard was not brighter than Valvo. I find Valvo tighter and more transparent and in your face while Mullard is more euphonic and mellow. This is maybe the reason I had the impression of Mullard being brighter. It's not, plenty of bass from both types.

 

[OctavianH]

Does anyone have experience with old Sylvania "green leaf" era date codes? (3 characters vertical)

I'm trying to date these, I expect are 1939 and 1940 and N / T being a month or something. Not clear what R means, read somewhere it's "replacement not OEM". On the second one the third character seems deleted.

 

[triod750]

According to Wikipedia, MR on tubes means 'maintenance and repair'. I found this information in an article about Tung Sol. But this is MR together, not a separate R.

https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...rg&txt=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung-Sol

 

[gibosi]

Does anyone have experience with old Sylvania "green leaf" era date codes? (3 characters vertical)



I'm trying to date these, I expect are 1939 and 1940 and N / T being a month or something. Not clear what R means, read somewhere it's "replacement not OEM". On the second one the third character seems deleted.

Your "guess" is very close.

Z - V - T - N reference quarters of the year. This dating scheme went into effect in 1939. And R indicates that the tube was a "Replacement" not "OEM". So N9 indicates Feb 1 - May 1, 1939. And T0 indicates Nov 1, 1939 - Feb 1, 1940.

These are shipment dates, and therefore, the actual date of manufacture cannot be precisely determined.

 

[Isaacc7]

So triode mode was the solution for you? More musical than the ultra linear? I never tried both modes, maybe in the future I'll see what's all about.

And here we are, at the end of the EL42 journey: Mullard EL42 (M51 / B1M and M51 / B1H). Since it has to be FYM I guess it's 1951 July and October. Same revision. All good.



Ugly ducklings these ones, you cannot see almost anything inside. But soundwise, well I was surprised to find these brighter than the Valvo. With that kind of Mullard veil all tubes have, which is for me somehow annoying but well, all love it. Not bad sounding at all. You cannot go wrong with EL42 and my last week proved me that. These 2 measured very strong and are almost perfect paired, I'll have them for many years from now on.

I had been using them in triode before but at different operating points and different input tubes. I feel like I’ve finally dialed them in. Ultralinear sometimes helps to clear up the midrange but I have to be careful which tubes I use in that mode. Not all tubes can handle the voltage on the screen grids.