[San Raal]

 
Quote:

San Raal,
Your news is not encourageing as I sink more and more money into tubes.  Ugh.  So the avg. life is less than half of what it should be.  Is your amp the problem...or is it just false advertising on the part of the tube sellers?
 
Speaking of spending a lot for something that might fizzle, I have ordered the Chelmer variety of Mullard ECC32s for my modded Woo 6.  Jack at Woo told me they will work in the driver seat.  I know some of you think I won't get the full effect of these drivers from the Woo 6, and I understand the concern.  But seriously, the thing sounds so damn good now with the Mundorf Silver Oils replacing all the caps, that I think it is going to be killer.  I'm ordering mine from Brendan at Tube World... They are "kuhltubes," cryo'ed.  Based on others' posts, that means that they will last a little longer, with better sound.  If anybody has comments on the debate about cryo'ed tubes, please share. 
 
Will post observations later.  If they fizzle and gas up, you will hear me scream halfway around the world.  I can order another Princess rectifier rather painlessly, but a rare and expensive tube like the ECC32... I may just say heck with it if I find that it is a crap shoot.  I'll just stick with the semi-rare, medium-priced tubes.  Usually, however, it seems I get what I pay for.  The military grade Brimar CV1888s are rich, defined, meaty and spacious.  No complaints from them, and they didn't cost as much as a house payment.  ECC32 pairs ARE like a house payment!  This is...crazy.    

Hi Davidio,
 
I honestly don't know why my TSRP died when they did. I wouldn't want to speculate without concrete evidence. Please dont take that as an indication your Mullards will fail before their time!
 
It was an expensive month in Feb, I went on a 6SN7 spending spree and ended up with quite a few NOS, some JAN Ken Rad, Valvo and JAN NU black glass and the new prod Shugang Treasure. Settled on the Shugang CV181 over NOS for my Woo5 (Its electrically equiv to a 6SN7 not a true ECC32/CV181 like your purchasing) I'm sure that you'll be very happy with your ECC32 purchase, its an investment as the value of those tubes will only go up. One would also hope that the premium you pay at an online tube vendor over a private sale is peace of mind if they are DOA.
 
I had a pair of the Mullard ECC32 pass through 4/5 years ago for around $200 and couldnt use them as the heaters drew too much current for the 7812 regulator in my old amps supply. Wish I had kept hold of them too!
 
 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

just got my beyer t1 back, pics of all my new stuff to come!

 

[Silent One]

 

[Dubstep Girl]

really falling in love with my WA2....
 
if i just owned the T1 and HD 800 alone, its like perfect amp. 

 

[Rawrbington]

i actually just warmed up my 2 for the first time in what seems like weeks.
i keep thinking im moving away from headphones to speakers.  having found a soft spot in my heart and ears for this marantz 2245 paired with these fantastic ADS speakers.  im probably about to sell my 990s, and, the thought keeps crossing my mind that the 2 and its tubes is about a 1000$ of stuff getting no use.
 
anyways, just put on the 650s with the woo nicely warmed up.  what was i thinking?
 
i do think the beyers are on their way out, but not the woo and not the 650s or 770 pros.
 
if nothing else the deuce may become an awesome preamp for my speaker system.  the kind of pre amp that doubles as freaking magical headphone amp.
 
currently hearing Darkness at the Edge of Town, and man it sound sooooo darn gooooood

 

[2359glenn]

Quote:

 

Hi Davidio,
 
I honestly don't know why my TSRP died when they did. I wouldn't want to speculate without concrete evidence. Please dont take that as an indication your Mullards will fail before their time!
 
It was an expensive month in Feb, I went on a 6SN7 spending spree and ended up with quite a few NOS, some JAN Ken Rad, Valvo and JAN NU black glass and the new prod Shugang Treasure. Settled on the Shugang CV181 over NOS for my Woo5 (Its electrically equiv to a 6SN7 not a true ECC32/CV181 like your purchasing) I'm sure that you'll be very happy with your ECC32 purchase, its an investment as the value of those tubes will only go up. One would also hope that the premium you pay at an online tube vendor over a private sale is peace of mind if they are DOA.
 
I had a pair of the Mullard ECC32 pass through 4/5 years ago for around $200 and couldnt use them as the heaters drew too much current for the 7812 regulator in my old amps supply. Wish I had kept hold of them too!
 
 

Woo audio has the two 6SN7s in series running on 12 volts so if one burns out the outher will not light. You may only have
one bad tube.
 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I am surprised you haven't visited the EML Glass before now on the '22.' Looking forward to hear what you hear. Have you had a chance to hear the USAF-596?

So a few hours into the EML 5U4G Mesh Plate and so far I really like what I'm hearing. The sound staging is huge...very much like the Sophia Princess 274B Mesh Plate. Not sure which is better, but both are my current favourites. More to report later as this tube only has 4-6 hours on it.
 
Oh and the tube is massive. I've drank cola out of smaller bottles.

 

 

 

[grokit]

I am still in the process of evaluating the 596 rectifier tube in my WA22. My initial impression was that it really got me back into my rev.1 LCD-2, which had become somewhat lacking lately in comparison to the HD800. But in turn, the 596 fatigued me with the HD800 to the point where I have not been able to have more than a short listening session in the week or so since then.
 
Now that I am finally and fully re-immersed, I am finding that the 596 is not bright so much as it is revealing. I wasn't able to find that same harshness with the HD800 and vinyl material as I could with digital, so I was going with the assumption that some kind of digital glare had become more apparent with this tube than with the Sophia Princess which is my benchmark rectifier so far.
 
But even digital glare is oversimplifying things somewhat, because while the 596 had transformed the rev.1 into a much better bet with pretty much all forms of music, it has also seriously kicked the sonics up a notch with certain recordings out of the HD 800.
 
The 596 is almost as punchy as the Sophia, but the added soundstage and low level detail retrieval can be astounding with these songs, that I had never thought of as anything that special before. One of these is Yours is No Disgrace from the Classic Yes album, it totally reached another level for me with the 596 tube combined with the HD 800 headphone.
 
This experience also confirms for me my ongoing suspicion that not all Cowboy Junkies' albums are recorded equally as well, even if most are above average

 
The LCD-2 is still the preferable headphone overall with the 596 rectifier, but the HD 800 can take things up to a whole new level with the 596. This is very different than my experience with the Sophia Princess, which seems to make everything sound really good with the HD 800, but also can reduce the Audeze to a somewhat more pedestrian experience.
 
So many tubes, so little time...

I will need to roll in the EMLs for a bit to more properly evaluate the 596, so time to power down for a while.

 

[Zeruel the 14th]

The closest I've been able to find to 'ideal conditions' is 'typical operation' for some usages which shows on some datasheets, most simply list characteristics and maximum ratings. I've mostly been reading 6AS7 sheets, and most will often state an intention or suitability for, regulated power supply. Some will mention audio applications. I wonder though, does use in a headphone amplifier sit well within 'ideal conditions'? I would think so as a layperson, doesn't seem like it would be a particularly strenuous task on hardware. Even with convection, the bulb temps (and others if you want to use a IR thermometer through the glass) all fall well below the data sheets. I'll still keep using forced air cooling...because WA2 is my first valve amp...and I feel like babying it.
 
San Raal, You way you describe it sounds dramatic the arcing you got, The amp just shrugged the incident off? "Pfttt, is that all you GOT?!")
 
Question for you champs. How do you folks manage your valve stock? Aside from rolling for flavour, do you do much rotation or do you pretty much run them in to the dirt then swap? I'm flogging the crap out some Woo supplied tubes for the warranty period, but I was thinking of swapping the stock tubes back and grinding them down to nothing (or until intolerable, but I don't know what that sounds like)
 
 
Quote:

 

I think its neither. Tube life numbers are an average in ideal conditions. Much like a light bulbs advertised life. Tubes will last longer if they are driven lower than their rated maximum, and using them in an amp requires that they be turned on and off alot. Things like this don't like the constiant expansion and contraction of thermal cycling. It will lower their working life for sure.

 

 

[SixthFall]

Quote:

The closest I've been able to find to 'ideal conditions' is 'typical operation' for some usages which shows on some datasheets, most simply list characteristics and maximum ratings. I've mostly been reading 6AS7 sheets, and most will often state an intention or suitability for, regulated power supply. Some will mention audio applications. I wonder though, does use in a headphone amplifier sit well within 'ideal conditions'? I would think so as a layperson, doesn't seem like it would be a particularly strenuous task on hardware. Even with convection, the bulb temps (and others if you want to use a IR thermometer through the glass) all fall well below the data sheets. I'll still keep using forced air cooling...because WA2 is my first valve amp...and I feel like babying it.
 
San Raal, You way you describe it sounds dramatic the arcing you got, The amp just shrugged the incident off? "Pfttt, is that all you GOT?!")
 
Question for you champs. How do you folks manage your valve stock? Aside from rolling for flavour, do you do much rotation or do you pretty much run them in to the dirt then swap? I'm flogging the crap out some Woo supplied tubes for the warranty period, but I was thinking of swapping the stock tubes back and grinding them down to nothing (or until intolerable, but I don't know what that sounds like)
 
 


 

I run mine into the dirt

 
 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I am still in the process of to evaluating the 596 rectifier tube in my WA22. My initial impression was that it really got me back into my rev.1 LCD-2, which had become somewhat lacking lately in comparison to the HD800. But in turn, the 596 fatigued me with the HD800 to the point where I have not been able to have more than a short listening session in the week or so since then.
 
Now that I am finally and fully re-immersed, I am finding that the 596 is not bright so much as it is revealing. I wasn't able to find that same harshness with the HD800 and vinyl material as I could with digital, so I was going with the assumption that some kind of digital glare had become more apparent with this tube than with the Sophia Princess which is my benchmark.
 
But even digital glare is oversimplifying things somewhat, because while the 596 had transformed the rev.1 into a much better bet with pretty much all forms of music, it has also seriously kicked the sonics up a notch with certain recordings out of the HD 800.
 
It's almost as punchy as the Sophia, but the added soundstage and low level detail retrieval can be astounding with these songs, that I had never thought of as anything that special before. One of these is Yours is No Disgrace from the Classic Yes album, it totally reached another level for me.
 
The LCD-2 is still the preferable headphone overall with the 596 rectifier, but with the 596 the HD 800 can take things up to a whole new level. This is very different than my experience with the Sophia Princess, which seems to make everything sound good with the HD 800, but also seems to reduce the Audeze to a somewhat more pedestrian experience.
 
So many tubes, so little time...

I will need to roll in the EMLs for a bit to more properly evaluate the 596, so time to power down for a while.

Ah, powering down is the perfect time to grab a drink... while giving your inner ears a break!

 

 

[Rawrbington]

my tube usage is unorganized.
but
i typically use the best tubes i got.  and plan to use those tubes until they need to be changed.
im speculative that theres really anything i can buy that will make it sound better than it does.
dead silent matched 5998s, dead silent matched amprex bugle boy 6DJ8s and the stock rectifiers.
 
i could maybe upgrade the 6922/6DJ8 socket tubes, but at what cost and to what end?
maybe some mullards will sound slightly better, maybe.  and theyll probably set me back 200$
thats too much $$$ for a maybe.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

So a few hours into the EML 5U4G Mesh Plate and so far I really like what I'm hearing. The sound staging is huge...very much like the Sophia Princess 274B Mesh Plate. Not sure which is better, but both are my current favourites. More to report later as this tube only has 4-6 hours on it.
 
Oh and the tube is massive. I've drank cola out of smaller bottles.

 

 

The EML Glass is gorgeous own its own. Here, you've got it flanked quite nicely.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

The EML Glass is gorgeous own its own. Here, you've got it flanked quite nicely.

The Shuguang Treasures do look quite dapper next to the EML.

 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

really falling in love with my WA2....
 
if i just owned the T1 and HD 800 alone, its like perfect amp. 

With your cans excelling with one Woo or another, which phone does double-duty best (WA6SE/WA2)?