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Post by jandl100 on Feb 2, 2020 7:25:07 GMT
It's interesting reading MartinT's recent blog about DAC differences - "the trade-off is largely ESS for detail over texture/depth; AKM for texture/depth over detail" - that sums up the difference quite well between TAD el34 and 6l6 power valves; el34 to provide a little extra focus on detail and leading edges, 6l6 for texture and depth.
My fave lute sonata albums lose something of the el34's leading edge 'spang' of the plucked strings with 6l6, but orchestral textures are richer and weightier. Hmm - I want both in one valve! ... might try some KT120.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 2, 2020 7:43:17 GMT
When I was running a Croft Series 4 with Groove Tubes EL34s, it sounded outstanding with great overall presentation, perhaps slightly lush in the bass. Glenn Croft offered to upgrade it to a 4S with 6550 valves and, although more potent, it never sounded the same again, verging on the hard side of balanced. Since then, I have always thought the EL34 is a better valve.
I'm not sure if Groove Tubes still exist but they were similar to TAD, selecting and matching valves for performance.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 7, 2020 6:48:00 GMT
A recently purchased headphone amp by the sadly now defunct Epiphany Acoustics is working out very well.Epiphany Acoustics E-HP-O2 Lots of good reviews and awards won. The reviews are right; effortlessly powerful, bold, controlled and transparent, brimming with detail. It really is very good. Battery powered with 2 rechargeable PP3 - fresh ones inserted on arrival - intended as a portable device, all connections are on the front panel, which makes it a bit clumsy for desktop use where rear inputs would be tidier. Still, it sounds great.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 9, 2020 18:24:01 GMT
Ooo, look what's just arrived. Beyerdynamic T90 Open back, which I haven't tried for a while - actually, they don't seem to leak too badly. Very open and detailed, perhaps a little lean on first listen - but I suspect I need to adjust to the open back sound having been a closed devotee for the last little while since the Grado PS1000 were moved on. Cumfy, too.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 9, 2020 18:39:34 GMT
I like the simplicity of the looks, very tasteful.
They even look comfortable too!
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 9, 2020 22:54:05 GMT
4x 6550 valves have been featuring in my PrimaLuna Prologue 5 power amp for the last week or so, they do seem to provide more scale and a more authorative presentation than el34. I have a quartet of KT120 arriving tomorrow - high expectations of those!
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Post by John on Feb 10, 2020 4:55:21 GMT
The KT120 should be good to try out.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 10, 2020 7:33:57 GMT
The KT120 should be good to try out. Yep, looking forward to it - RM Special Delivery today. Comments and reviews indicate a kind of Super-6550. That should be fun. I've been advised against trying KT150 in my amp, though. - that might have been a Super-Dooper-6550.
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Post by ChrisB on Feb 10, 2020 7:38:48 GMT
Can I ask who's your preferred TAD valve merchant Jerry?
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 10, 2020 7:41:12 GMT
My goodness, the Beyerdynamic T90 headphones are sounding glorious this morning - they just seem to cope with anything from London Grammar (Wow!) to Bruckner's 3rd symphony (sounding somehow massively agile). Very open, very dynamic, very detailed. There's a purity to the sound which really lets the tonality of instruments come through - woodwinds are very woody I think there's a touch of treble emphasis, it's like Beyer know their Tesla driver provides a huge amount of treble detail, so they emphasise it just a bit to make it even more obvious. Or maybe I'm still acclimatising to the sound.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 10, 2020 7:43:16 GMT
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Post by petea on Feb 10, 2020 8:42:32 GMT
The Lab12 Suono uses KT150s. However, I have not tried any others and so have nothing to compare their sound against.
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Post by julesd68 on Feb 10, 2020 11:40:57 GMT
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 10, 2020 15:13:17 GMT
The KT120 are a success. - instant PFM advert for my previous 6550 valves. Just more of everything good, really. They are taller than the 6550, though, so the PrimaLuna valve cage has to be on tippy-toes of its banana plug sockets! TAD 6L6 valves are on eBay - I'll hang on to the TAD el34 as spares.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 10, 2020 15:16:46 GMT
That's good, Jerry.
I never liked the 6550 as much as the EL34 but that could well have been the Croft implementation. KT120 were just a dream back then.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 10, 2020 16:12:09 GMT
I've had 2 or 3 6550 amps and have liked them all - Croft 4SA, Lumley M120 ... something else? - in a way it's probably the most solid-state-like valve I have heard, less valvey than most, if that makes sense.
It does sound like your Croft mod wasn't done well, or simply wasn't really appropriate for the circuit? My old Croft 4SA had 4 6550 installed and sounded very good.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 10, 2020 21:55:41 GMT
Glenn Croft himself did the work, raising it from a 4 to a 4S. It may have needed to be a full 4SA to get the best from the 6550s.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 20, 2020 18:33:53 GMT
Arrived today. Sennheiser HD700. Curious dichotomy between the 'pro' and forum reviews. The pro reviews fairly consistently ecstatic, forum reviews are mixed with some quite vitriolic. I'm with the pros. I'm far from a bass freak but the first thing I noticed as distinctive was the control and tautness of the bass. But they are very good all-rounders. Not quite as open and spacious as the Philips Fidelio X2 which are exceptional in that respect, probably artificially so! But still very good. As detailed as my Beyer T90 Tesla, but a bit more relaxed in a natural kind of way. I think there are some treble peaks which occasionally get excited on some recordings, but overall a nicely rich tonality. Yup, these are fun. Keppers? Who knows, early days yet.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 21, 2020 10:02:52 GMT
Qobuz emailed this morning with a £14.99 a month offer for Studio Premier, so I signed up and will probably let TIDAL lapse.
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Post by MartinT on Feb 21, 2020 10:44:44 GMT
Don't forget to search for 'Chostakovich Symphonie' Actually, they've become a lot better of late.
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