Kassandra II Ref E280F options

[acg]

I like to have spares for all my vacuum tubes and the last to source are for the Kassandra Ref II. Stavros, do you have any tips for purchasing E280F spares? Do you supply them? What should I look for when purchasing, measuring and matching? All incoming tubes are tested and traced on my eTracer so if there are any particular traits for qualification or matching for optimum sound I should be able to do it. The Kassandra is in my office/listening room and averages about 75 hours use per week so even long-life tubes will only take a couple of years before replacement.

Love the dac, by the way.

 

[Believe High Fidelity]

I think you have me confused for Stavros. Stavros's handle is Aries Cerat. But yes you can always get spares from the manufacturer. There are different sounds depending on manufacturer (RCA, Westinghouse, etc) so as long as they are matched it is up to you which ones you want to stock. Many are very hard to come by so best to go to Stavros for spares.

 

[acg]

I think you have me confused for Stavros.

You were not intentionally tagged into this conversation, but thanks for replying.

I've built from scratch all my electronics: six channel SET amps, hybrid DHT preamp, discrete LCR valve phono etc. There are 42 tubes currently in my playback and would be more if I did not use solid state rectification. For each of those tubes I know the operating parameters within the circuit and test and match tubes accordingly. This is information I do not know with the Kassandra dac and I do not really feel like probing around inside it with multimeters to determine operating points for the E280F.

As far as I can find there seems to be little discussion about Kassandra tubes in this forum or others apart from the odd reference saying that @Aries Cerat rates particular Siemens tubes as two or three out of ten, or that Mullards will never be as 'good' as the better Siemens, and so on. My question is about the parameters that qualify E280F more suitable for Kassandra. Audiophile end users like to mention brands, years of construction, valve internal construction etc. as parameters, and they may well be, but perhaps Stavros has more than a simple visual insight and has measured traits to add to the conversation. Personally, I am equipped to measure these traits in individual tubes and would really like to explore the possibilities for tuning the sound of my Kassandra to the needs of my system without it being a crap-shoot of trial and error tube rolling.

...so best to go to Stavros for spares.

Was not sure this was even an option.

 

[Aries Cerat]

Hello @acg

Where are you located? finding the best E280F is not as easy at searching for a particular brand. We do have a company internal rating system, but even at the lowest 1/10 rating, the tube sounds magnificent.

Reading above, i suspect you are a tube person(maybe understatement?) so what i would do , it something else.Here is a list of tubes you can search that work on your Kassandra.Which is better depends on the whole system,speakers etc and especially your ears.

List below is type, brand(usual ones but not all of them), recommended bias range(not necessarily hard limits ) and subjective range(depending on brand/batch)

E280F, Siemens, Mullard,Phillips, Tele -200/-280 1~10
E180F Mullard Phillips, -170/250 1~5
E810F Siemens, Phillips, Mullard -220/-330 1-8
6j11p Russian various -190/-300 1-8 !
D3A Siemens -180/-270 1-4


There are some more types, but these can keep you occupied for a lifetime

The E810F is now standard in the recent units going to US/Canada side. The E810F goes quite well with the Kass and the Ianus range.
The 6j11p you can get them in the dozens easily and easily last quite some years.
Do not underestimate the E280F's life time, i tell our users to not change it until it dies. This tube gets better as it ages.Do not change if it is working on. We had an amp playing 7.5 years (daily use) with the original tubes installed.Some dies earlier but we have a lot of units playing for many years with their original tubes.

Cheers

s

 

[acg]

@Aries Cerat , I am in Australia. Am sort of a tube person and will certainly use them where they get better results (almost everywhere!), but I had to use a little bit of sand in the preamp for it to be able to do the job it needed to do, and I do enjoy the sound of some SS gear too. Sure, there are a lot of tubes in my system but by no means am I a tube roller...just find the one that does the job properly, get some spares, and move on.

Thanks for the list of compatible tubes. Usually this is the first thing I look at when deciding the final tube compliment in a bit of gear but the marketing for Kassandra is about the E280F 'super tube' so I assumed that you sent out everything with that tube. I'd better open mine up to see exactly what tubes are there.

My discrete LCR phono uses E810F and D3a first and second stages so I already have stocks of those so perhaps I already have spares for Kass.

A few questions:

Do you have any tips for selecting Siemens E280F? Do you sell, for example, 10 rated tubes? Are they selected by listening or measurement or tube internals etc.?

What plate voltage does Kass run? Will help me to match tubes.

Many thanks for your reply.

Anthony

 

[Audio Addict]

Hello @acg

Where are you located? finding the best E280F is not as easy at searching for a particular brand. We do have a company internal rating system, but even at the lowest 1/10 rating, the tube sounds magnificent.

Reading above, i suspect you are a tube person(maybe understatement?) so what i would do , it something else.Here is a list of tubes you can search that work on your Kassandra.Which is better depends on the whole system,speakers etc and especially your ears.

List below is type, brand(usual ones but not all of them), recommended bias range(not necessarily hard limits ) and subjective range(depending on brand/batch)

E280F, Siemens, Mullard,Phillips, Tele -200/-280 1~10
E180F Mullard Phillips, -170/250 1~5
E810F Siemens, Phillips, Mullard -220/-330 1-8
6j11p Russian various -190/-300 1-8 !
D3A Siemens -180/-270 1-4


There are some more types, but these can keep you occupied for a lifetime

The E810F is now standard in the recent units going to US/Canada side. The E810F goes quite well with the Kass and the Ianus range.
The 6j11p you can get them in the dozens easily and easily last quite some years.
Do not underestimate the E280F's life time, i tell our users to not change it until it dies. This tube gets better as it ages.Do not change if it is working on. We had an amp playing 7.5 years (daily use) with the original tubes installed.Some dies earlier but we have a lot of units playing for many years with their original tubes.

Cheers

s

Are the tubes interchangeable? If you have a Kassandra using the E280F, could I swap in a pair of the E810F and improve the sound?

 

[Aries Cerat]

Are the tubes interchangeable? If you have a Kassandra using the E280F, could I swap in a pair of the E810F and improve the sound?

Yes the above are drop in, you just readjust the bias and you are set.

The 810 are not improvement nor downgrading. It is sidestep. In some aspects the E280F has the edge , in some other aspects the E810F is better , what
you prefer is a matter of taste and system.

Imagine the E810F as more dense/full bottom E280F , also has different bass presentation as well.

Cheers
Stavros

 

[Willgolf]

@Aries Cerat , I am in Australia. Am sort of a tube person and will certainly use them where they get better results (almost everywhere!), but I had to use a little bit of sand in the preamp for it to be able to do the job it needed to do, and I do enjoy the sound of some SS gear too. Sure, there are a lot of tubes in my system but by no means am I a tube roller...just find the one that does the job properly, get some spares, and move on.

Thanks for the list of compatible tubes. Usually this is the first thing I look at when deciding the final tube compliment in a bit of gear but the marketing for Kassandra is about the E280F 'super tube' so I assumed that you sent out everything with that tube. I'd better open mine up to see exactly what tubes are there.

My discrete LCR phono uses E810F and D3a first and second stages so I already have stocks of those so perhaps I already have spares for Kass.

A few questions:

Do you have any tips for selecting Siemens E280F? Do you sell, for example, 10 rated tubes? Are they selected by listening or measurement or tube internals etc.?

What plate voltage does Kass run? Will help me to match tubes.

Many thanks for your reply.

Anthony

Anthony
Did you ever decide on which tube complement for the Kassandra best suited your system? What tubes did you test and what did you like about each?

 

[acg]

@Willgolf no, I've not bothered to trial different tubes just yet. This whole question started because I like to have spare tubes, and it turns out that the E810F I have here will suffice in case of emergency (not that one is expected). One day I will have the spare time to start experimenting but to be honest there are much bigger fish to fry in the meantime.

 

[elrod]

Quick question for Starvos,

I realize this thread is on the old side, but does the tube list in Post #4 apply for the Helene also?

TY

 

[Aries Cerat]

Quick question for Starvos,

I realize this thread is on the old side, but does the tube list in Post #4 apply for the Helene also?

TY

Yes, same apply.

Best
S

 

[Willgolf]

Does anyone have any updates on tube rolling with Kassandra? Any tube that really love?

 

[nonesup]

I have tried three types of NOS tubes: Siemens, Mullard and Philips, I prefer the Siemens. Unfortunately, these Siemens tubes are becoming more and more difficult to find and the price is going up a lot.

 

[Zappadaddy]

I like E810f better. I totaly agree with Stavros, it has fuller sound and more bottom. But I did not burn these E280F as Stavros is suggesting. Nevertheless I like Siemens E180F better right from the start.

 

[Argonaut]

I like E810f better. I totaly agree with Stavros, *** it has fuller sound and more bottom*** . But I did not burn these E280F as Stavros is suggesting. Nevertheless I like Siemens E180F better right from the start.

In that case give a pair of Valvo E280F’s a roll

 

[Zappadaddy]

In that case give a pair of Valvo E280F a roll

I will do that. Thank you

 

[Willgolf]

In that case give a pair of Valvo E280F’s a roll

What are the tonality differences between the Valvo E280F and others that you have tried?

 

[morricab]

What are the tonality differences between the Valvo E280F and others that you have tried?

maybe I am mistaken, but I thought all E280Fs were made by Siemens. Any other "brand" is just rebranded Siemens.

 

[Argonaut]

What are the tonality differences between the Valvo E280F and others that you have tried?

My apologies Will , I entirely missed this somehow , For my part I found one pair of Valvo’s *that were nicely run in* approx 600 hours, to sound a touch weightier in tone and texture in the lower and upper mids altho a tad less airy in the upper registers when compared with a pair of Siemens with less than 60 hours on the clock , therefore not quite a definitive A / B could be drawn at that time. Both valve pairs measuring above spec on an AVO VCM 163 .

 

[morricab]

Hello @acg

Where are you located? finding the best E280F is not as easy at searching for a particular brand. We do have a company internal rating system, but even at the lowest 1/10 rating, the tube sounds magnificent.

Reading above, i suspect you are a tube person(maybe understatement?) so what i would do , it something else.Here is a list of tubes you can search that work on your Kassandra.Which is better depends on the whole system,speakers etc and especially your ears.

List below is type, brand(usual ones but not all of them), recommended bias range(not necessarily hard limits ) and subjective range(depending on brand/batch)

E280F, Siemens, Mullard,Phillips, Tele -200/-280 1~10
E180F Mullard Phillips, -170/250 1~5
E810F Siemens, Phillips, Mullard -220/-330 1-8
6j11p Russian various -190/-300 1-8 !
D3A Siemens -180/-270 1-4


There are some more types, but these can keep you occupied for a lifetime

The E810F is now standard in the recent units going to US/Canada side. The E810F goes quite well with the Kass and the Ianus range.
The 6j11p you can get them in the dozens easily and easily last quite some years.
Do not underestimate the E280F's life time, i tell our users to not change it until it dies. This tube gets better as it ages.Do not change if it is working on. We had an amp playing 7.5 years (daily use) with the original tubes installed.Some dies earlier but we have a lot of units playing for many years with their original tubes.

Cheers

s

6J11Ps work in Incito? Might have to give that a try....