Initial impressions: The
Silent One of Legend was kind enough to let me in on his 596 "martian" rectifier (complete with
glenn2359's adapter)'s world tour
First of all, it's an absolutely beautiful tube in person; the pics that have been published to date don't do it justice. The old glass seems thick, and almost looks hand-blown.
This won't be a full review by any means, but I will give a little background of my preferences before offering my impressions. I gravitate back and forth between vinyl, and ALAC out of a computer/DAC. I'm using the 596 in a WA22 with balanced ins and outs, so my experience could be different that those using it in the WA6/SE.
Generally, I stick with pretty sold-state sounding tubes in Woo's "most euphonic" amplifier. Along those same lines, when I build a listening rig, I like to mix solid state and tubed components for balance. If I have a sold state amp for example, I like to use a tubed DAC or phono stage, or have a tube stage in between. Conversely with the WA22 I use solid state sources, no tubes except for the amp.
I have tried just about every tube that I want to try in my WA22, with the glaring exceptions of GEC and Mullard. My current tube/headphone setup has been reviewed as (possibly) the "
Ultimate Headphone System", and I have been sticking with the tubes used in that review, for which I have backups except for the Princess. I have some great drivers in my collection but pretty much stick with the Treasures. I have two different EML rectifiers but have been sticking with the Princess, and have two great pairs of 5998s but stick with the 7236 power tubes. My headphone cable and source is different that those used in that review, but I am quite satisfied with my setup.
I also use the LCD-2, and initially what attracted me to this tube selection is that I felt it optimized both headphones without having to roll back and forth, which I was finding confusing and a bit frustrating as there are so many different combinations for this amp. Lately however, I have been using the HD 800 almost exclusively with the exception of some poorly-pressed vinyl, which I seem to have quite a bit of (common for 70's-80's pop/rock). The rev.1 really fills in that lower octave and cures the excess brightness of these albums. I have been shying away from the LCD-2 lately with digital though.
Back to the 596, in my system, keeping the other tubes constant. I listened to a pretty well-done record, an intimate acoustic series called the
Bridge School Concerts by Neil Young and quite a few of his friends. I really liked it with the HD 800, the 596 seems to be pretty holographic in its presentation and opened up the recording very nicely without sacrificing any detail. I didn't like it quite as much with the LCD-2, but wasn't bad at all really. I'll have to try a more "challenging" LP at some point to see if this preference changes.
My initial thoughts at this point is that the 596 seemed to offer the punchiness of the Princess, combined with the holographic soundstage of the EML 5U4G, kind of the best of both worlds but offering something of its own as well that I hadn't quite put my finger on yet. I probably still haven't as this is my first listening session with it.
Keeping the HD 800's on I went to the computer, where I have been listening to 194 Cowboy Junkies songs on random play lately and I am familiar with the material. Most of it is very well recorded, with fantastic range, vocals, and damn near subterranean bass so it's great for reference. The 596 surprised me once again. Frankly, the HD 800 with it turned out to be quite the sobering experience (not literally, as I don't do the St. Patrick's day thing anymore
). In a nutshell while it was fantastic with a few songs, I was getting quite fatigued with most of them. The highs seemed too aggressive, perhaps more extended as well and I couldn't take it anymore with these headphones
After that I switched back to the LCD-2 and bingo
! Magic, I'm telling ya. I have been at the point where I was not enthusiastic at all with the rev.1's and digital music out of this rig lately and the 596 changed that for me completely. The upper aggressiveness/extension is just the remedy for their "veil", and the soundstage is much improved with the 596's euphonic, holographic presentation. With the HD 800's the 596 didn't quite the have the low-end punch that the Princess offers (but it wasn't bad by any means in that department), and with the LCD-2 I don't notice any deficiency in this area at all. The 596 and LCD-2 rev.1 is truly a great combo, at least for me, with digital music and the rest of my setup.
So I'm back to having to roll tubes for the two headphones, but at least it's only the rectifiers. And as I said I was already there anyways, as I was getting disenchanted with the LCD-2 and digital with the Princess, while the HD 800 was sounding better and better with it. After I try a different vinyl album with the 596/LCD-2, I will start the process over and roll in the two EML rectifiers (274b mesh plate and 5U4G) for comparison purposes so there is definitely more listening to do!
I will also attempt an a three-way "Glenn2359" fixture photo shoot at some point; I will roll out the Treasures and put in my Tung-Sol 6F8Gs with his 6SN7 adapters. This has been posted here before but it's been awhile. I will also try a close up of the 596, just to try to capture its true essence as it's quite a beautiful vintage piece of glass.
Thanks again Silent One, if you ever decide to sell this guy I may want to call dibs if no one else has yet
It does seem to be in scarce supply, and it's due to this thread so big thanks to Glenn2359 as well for suggesting it to us
