With an avatar like yours, I knew your comments were worthy of attention. I gave a Voshkod/Reflector 6N3P-E a try last night, and was quite frankly surprised at how good it is. Perhaps it's the intellectual disconnect equating inexpensive with good, but I wasn't expecting it. I still haven't found anything (yet) that sounds better in my rig to my ears than the Hytron 5692, but out of the 20 or so tubes I've tried so far, the Voshkod leapfrogs some rather pricey NOS contenders into 3rd place (with 2nd place going to the Telefunken 6DJ8). When you consider the Voshkods can still be had for a bit over $1 a tube in small quantities (including shipping), their price/performance ratio is off the charts.
Plugged mine in a few days ago. I dunno… I find the mid-range is kind of awash with a staticky sound. Some would claim that it doesn't make a difference with metal - it all sounds like that, but it just felt too thin with no bite to me. Could just be the tube needs more break in time though
Plugged mine in a few days ago. I dunno… I find the mid-range is kind of awash with a staticky sound. Some would claim that it doesn't make a difference with metal - it all sounds like that, but it just felt too thin with no bite to me. Could just be the tube needs more break in time though
Definitely give it some more time. Mine sounded similar when I first plugged it in. Well, didn't have anything that I'd describe as static-ey, but it was definitely lacking any warmth and bloom. Threadbare, sterile...kinda Audio-Research-ey if you will. I let it play on Tidal for abut 4 hours and listened again, and very nice improvement. Then let it play all night and listened again this morning, and much better again. The harmonics are there, and the mids have more warmth and tonal color. The bass was good right at the start, but now has more heft and slam. And I probably don't even have enough time on mine at this point. Gonna give it 100 hours before a final verdict.
Perhaps "staticky" a bit misleading. I was referring to an slight out of tune FM radio station quality. The electric guitars had more of a white noise-ish quality as opposed to big distortion. It is almost the opposite impression of the GE 5670 I have. I do expect thing to change as time goes on, I probably only have ~20 hrs. max on it so far
Perhaps "staticky" a bit misleading. I was referring to an slight out of tune FM radio station quality. The electric guitars had more of a white noise-ish quality as opposed to big distortion. It is almost the opposite impression of the GE 5670 I have. I do expect thing to change as time goes on, I probably only have ~20 hrs. max on it so far
What kind of metal are we talking about. I swap between the ge 5670 and find the ge to be thinner and far less fuller on the bass for some reason. Love that the glow is more and would like to compare it more to your music. I am comparing now to everything from Tool to Disturbed, but could use what you are using to get an idea of what you are hearing. I am also using the Audeze Lcd2 classic as my headphones.
What kind of metal are we talking about. I swap between the ge 5670 and find the ge to be thinner and far less fuller on the bass for some reason. Love that the glow is more and would like to compare it more to your music. I am comparing now to everything from Tool to Disturbed, but could use what you are using to get an idea of what you are hearing. I am also using the Audeze Lcd2 classic as my headphones.
Lol see that's not normal for me and that's why I asked. Normal for me is like Korn, Godsmack, Karnivool, maybe throw in some Nightwish, Within Temptation, Delinght, and September Mourning.
For today’s rolling, I am going to talk four (ok... five, ) tubes, two of which you can find in my previous post.
First up is a RCA ECC189 (Mullard Blackburn Made). Tested above new benchmarks.This was a $20ish eBay find. Certain types of music the low end is really huge. Particularly on Tool's 46&2. From the first listen is seemed a little narrow and lacking in sound stage. It definitely is not as hot on the high end as the Heerlen Holland made tubes, some nice softening of highs, but I am wondering if it needs some more break-in time, as it just lacks some of the magic of the other tubes I have. Speaking of Heerlen made tubes, how about some Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8? I bought these from Brent Jessee a few years back for my Lyr 2. I currently have a Heerlen made set of Dario ECC88's in the Lyr 2. I have to say, these tubes sound good. Again, like the other Heerlen tubes I have they can be a little harsh in the high end on my M1060's. Interestingly enough, compared to my RTC ECC88 (A-Frame Heerlen made) they are very close, but there is something that is just a little special about the RTC A-Frame. Just a little more sparkle. Which takes me to the fourth tube, the Philips E188CC (French Made). Another step up compared to the two previous tubes, and can be harsh on the highs, but when I compared to the RCA... in particular on 46&2... it just seemed a little thin in the mids. Maybe my ears are playing tricks on me... or maybe now I need a second Vali 2 so I can A/B.
Lol see that's not normal for me and that's why I asked. Normal for me is like Korn, Godsmack, Karnivool, maybe throw in some Nightwish, Within Temptation, Delinght, and September Mourning.
You and Mr Trev are making me feel pretty old right about now. Haven't heard of even one of the bands mentioned. Of course, I did grow up when most of the tubes we're talking about weren't 'NOS', they were just New.
You and Mr Trev are making me feel pretty old right about now. Haven't heard of even one of the bands mentioned. Of course, I did grow up when most of the tubes we're talking about weren't 'NOS', they were just New.
Well i do listen to Jazz , Blues, and Classical far more than i listen to this music. It was not really till high school in the mid 90s that i kistened to anything other than classical. My family listened to other music as i grew up, but my choice was classical.
Lol see that's not normal for me and that's why I asked. Normal for me is like Korn, Godsmack, Karnivool, maybe throw in some Nightwish, Within Temptation, Delinght, and September Mourning.
You and Mr Trev are making me feel pretty old right about now. Haven't heard of even one of the bands mentioned. Of course, I did grow up when most of the tubes we're talking about weren't 'NOS', they were just New.
Sometimes I need some black metal to balance out the ambient I listen to Speaking of ambient, I'll still have to say the Yugo-funken is tops for that genre
Hey, Sigur Ros. Haven't listened them for quite a while. What 6H8C you running? I picked up a late '50s Foton with my 6n3p-e. I haven't listened to it yet, but it does have a very similar construction to my Mouse Ear - T plates, mica spacers in the top corners.
I grabbed two awhile ago from a seller who was local all NOS. Very tempted to take a 'risk' on a metal base 1578 Melz, can get one for a decent price, tests ok but you never know!
Real 15 78 and 15 79 tubes have 2 pairs of curcular metal stabilising bars. My 15 79s were made in Saratov (reflector) and have carbolite bases. They are great, matched (2.21 and 2.21ma, 2.10, 2.11)ma); however, they only have 50 hours of guaranteed work life. Mine has around 1k hours in vali2 with no signs of wear.
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I gave a Voshkod/Reflector 6N3P-E a try last night, and was quite frankly surprised at how good it is. Perhaps it's the intellectual disconnect equating inexpensive with good, but I wasn't expecting it. I still haven't found anything (yet) that sounds better in my rig to my ears than the Hytron 5692, but out of the 20 or so tubes I've tried so far, the Voshkod leapfrogs some rather pricey NOS contenders into 3rd place (with 2nd place going to the Telefunken 6DJ8). When you consider the Voshkods can still be had for a bit over $1 a tube in small quantities (including shipping), their price/performance ratio is off the charts.
Speaking of ambient, I'll still have to say the Yugo-funken is tops for that genre
