ZMF Aegis Official Thread

[Hickory Deadglove]

Not an Aegis question, but do you all do anything in particular when it comes to gear and preventing ground loops or electrical noise? I seem particularly prone to this issue for some reason.

If you can use a network cable somewhere, you can use a FMC, explanation here.
I connect my NAS to my streamer with FMC and it is dead silent.

 

[Toonartist]

If you can use a network cable somewhere, you can use a FMC, explanation here.
I connect my NAS to my streamer with FMC and it is dead silent.

Yeah… same here. I keep my NAS and Mac mini M2 (Roon) at the other side of the house and connect to the VEGA via 10m of fibre optics with a FMC to convert to the final metre of Ethernet. The VEGA is then isolated (electrically) from the processing and then stores the music files on its internal memory storage before re-clocking it before it goes through the actual DAC.

 

[Schuie Driver]

Do like me some Infected Mushroom, but I also find this band to be an interesting listen.

 

[SunRa Fan]

Jane Remover revengeseekerz. Nice ride

 

[iamoneagain]

So just an update to the comparison between Mullard gz34 / kt90 vs RCA 5R4G / kt88. First I found nothing wrong with the RCA / kt88. It’s open sounding, lush, rich, dynamic. I really liked it. However, for my preference the gz34 / kt90 works better. It’s tighter, punchier, more precise. It could use a touch more richness but think once my fat base gz34 comes in, it will fix that.

What I like more about gz34 / kt90 is it has more of that foot tapping sound. It has more drive. Listening to Lucero - Can’t You Hear Them Howl and while the RCA combo still sounded great it just has a hair less PRaT than the gz34 combo. This is all with the Caldera Open. I could still see being completely happy the RCA combo and maybe I’ll look for NOS kt88 tubes at some point to have 2 really nice combos I can switch between depending on mood and genre.

Edit: reading that the GEC kt88 might have the punch of the kt90 while having a richer sound. So even if it stick with the gz34 f31 fat base, the GEC might be a great combo. The GEC is very pricey, so that can wait. Easy to see have can end going down rabbit hole.

 

[Isaacc7]

Is there a guide somewhere that may lead newbies like myself to general characteristics of a power tube or is it pretty much you have to try everything to get a better feel for I like a KT88 sound over something like a 6V6 sound?

I don’t really think there is a particular sound you can associate with tube type in amps like this. If there was a 6v6 “sound” there wouldn’t be much reason to roll between different versions. I have about 5 different 807(ish) tubes and they sound different from each other. In more typical amps you can’t really switch between extremes like 6v6 and KT88 at all. It isn’t clear to me how much more power you can actually get with a KT88 in this amp compared to a 6v6. What’s the spread of b+ voltages you can get with this amp?

 

[Toonartist]

The Philips 4654 Miniwatt Mesh Plates are still running in but sounding better all the time. Probably about 18hrs on them now. Still with the ECC35 and TA274b (DIY Aegis).

I like how they seem to place the stage centre slightly in front of you and have this great air and sense of being there. It’s like the sound isn’t coming from the headphones at all. They don’t match the dynamics of the Philips EL50 Miniwatt MB, energy or their attack but, they don’t need to. They have their own style and character. Sort of reminds me a little when going from RCA 5691 to the ECC35 with the way it changed the staging etc.Things become more real.

Listening to Giovanni Sollima: Al-Bunduqiyya - The Lost Concerot (DSD512) - Giovanni Sollima. This sounds amazing with this tube roll. Great album and excellent recording.

 

[betula]

The Philips 4654 Miniwatt Mesh Plates are still running in but sounding better all the time. Probably about 18hrs on them now. Still with the ECC35 and TA274b (DIY Aegis).

I like how they seem to place the stage centre slightly in front of you and have this great air and sense of being there. It’s like the sound isn’t coming from the headphones at all. They don’t match the dynamics of the Philips EL50 Miniwatt MB, energy or their attack but, they don’t need to. They have their own style and character. Sort of reminds me a little when going from RCA 5691 to the ECC35 with the way it changed the staging etc.Things become more real.

Listening to Giovanni Sollima: Al-Bunduqiyya - The Lost Concerot (DSD512) - Giovanni Sollima. This sounds amazing with this tube roll. Great album and excellent recording.

I tried the Mullard EL50 mesh plate, RT 4654 solid plate (both red base) and the Tesla 4654 so far from the same tube family. They share some base characteristics (excellent spaciousness, imaging, depth, detail with nice tone), but all sound different. I cannot really choose a favourite at this point, once I had one of them in the Aegis for 2-3 weeks, I swap them for another pair and love them equally. The Mullard mesh plate for its rich tonality, the RT for clear dynamics and the Tesla for a clear and smooth, slightly more neutral take. They all sound spacious and very detailed, but the RT labelled (solid plate) is the most detailed, the Mullard has the richest and most pleasant tonality.
Based on my limited research all red base 4654/EL50 tubes are in fact Philips. And those with 4654 codes on them were made to tighter specs, so on paper should be more reliable than the EL50 siblings. That said, I had 4654 labelled tubes die on me and the EL50 mesh plates are going strong without any issue, so these are also just guidelines.

 

[JTbbb]

These are going in next, solid plates, when the adapters arrive. Have had the red base Philips mesh plate in for some weeks now. Probably get the same results as betula.

 

[Wes S]

The Philips 4654 Miniwatt Mesh Plates are still running in but sounding better all the time. Probably about 18hrs on them now. Still with the ECC35 and TA274b (DIY Aegis).

I like how they seem to place the stage centre slightly in front of you and have this great air and sense of being there. It’s like the sound isn’t coming from the headphones at all. They don’t match the dynamics of the Philips EL50 Miniwatt MB, energy or their attack but, they don’t need to. They have their own style and character. Sort of reminds me a little when going from RCA 5691 to the ECC35 with the way it changed the staging etc.Things become more real.

Listening to Giovanni Sollima: Al-Bunduqiyya - The Lost Concerot (DSD512) - Giovanni Sollima. This sounds amazing with this tube roll. Great album and excellent recording.

Right on man!

The staging is something special, and the tonality and timbre is spot on. This version is in a league of it's own . . .

 

[mattiastomas]

For 807 tubes. Any consensus on which Brand / types to look out for? I have a Fivre pair and I'm enjoying them so am thinking of trying a couple of different ones.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

For 807 tubes. Any consensus on which Brand / types to look out for? I have a Fivre pair and I'm enjoying them so am thinking of trying a couple of different ones.

A few popular choices around here are the GEC VT60, Cossor ATS25, and Mullard 807's. I also have a nice pair of RCA 807's from the 1940's.

 

[iamoneagain]

Ok, so I’m done tube rolling. My Mullard gz34 f31 fat base 1960 tube just arrived from Australia and it’s the upgrade I was looking for. It’s really just fine tuning the f32 version. Basically the same overall sound but better clarity and richness. Seems to give even better precision. So combined with the kt90, I get a very fast, very punchy sound along with nice rich mids and extended treble. It’s more of a solid state / tube sound since it’s so precise and controlled. It’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get out of the Caldera Open. I was very close before but this completes the picture.

 

[Toonartist]

Ok, so I’m done tube rolling. My Mullard gz34 f31 fat base 1960 tube just arrived from Australia and it’s the upgrade I was looking for. It’s really just fine tuning the f32 version. Basically the same overall sound but better clarity and richness. Seems to give even better precision. So combined with the kt90, I get a very fast, very punchy sound along with nice rich mids and extended treble. It’s more of a solid state / tube sound since it’s so precise and controlled. It’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get out of the Caldera Open. I was very close before but this completes the picture.

I thought you might like it. I didn't want to say too much when you mentioned you'd bought one. As you say, it adds some weight to the F32 GZ34, more refined smoother highs. I enjoy using it when listening to the cello as the texture, richness and clarity really bring it and double bass to life. Enjoy, it is one of the best rectifiers in my view.

Edit. Oh, and like other GZ34's, it'll last a long time as well

 

[iamoneagain]

I thought you might like it. I didn't want to say too much when you mentioned you'd bought one. As you say, it adds some weight to the F32 GZ34, more refined smoother highs. I enjoy using it when listening to the cello as the texture, richness and clarity really bring it and double bass to life. Enjoy, it is one of the best rectifiers in my view.

Edit. Oh, and like other GZ34's, it'll last a long time as well

There was a hint of muddiness in the f32 compared to the f31. The f31 has that extra clarity.

In Japan found amazing headphone shop and tried the Susavara, Meze Elite, and the Grado HP100se. I wish I could remember what the solid state setup was. But both my wife I and greatly preferred the Elite out of that setup. Sadly they didn’t have any ZMF but said they were popular in Japan. But my wife just listened to the ZMF Caldera Open out of my Aegis with same song and said thought it was better than what heard in Japan. Couldn’t find the right word but settled on clarity being the difference.

Just gave this track another listen: Ruined by Adrianne Lenker. Very emotional song and can clearly tell how the vocals improved with the f31. So life-like.