LampizatOr Baltic 3

[Gjo]

Listening to Raytheon and Ken-Rad VT-231 that arrived today.

The KR are really fun. Deep bass. Holographic image. They get your attention from the first bar. I had a big smile. However, after 30 minutes or so, I found them to be slightly tizzy on cymbal crashes…and I actually started having a physical reaction when listening. A bit uncomfortable. Something phase-y about them. Can’t put my finger on it. Maybe this will change with burn-in.

The Raytheon are tonally more neutral. Bass isn't as pronounced as the KR VT-231, but it's better balanced. Maybe there's a touch more treble emphasis than the KR, but not significantly so.

 

[Kenc]

Greetings Everyone,

Baltic 3 engine eleven arrived yesterday !
Second day and Mr Elton sounds fantastic --so far

Now reading closely to so many choices of tube rolling,
Thank you Mark Coles, been reading and im on your steps with Westinghouse vu71, Brimar or eml274, specially price wise / performance.
I was also suggested for the EML rectifier, Ken Rad black glass nos 6sn7s and nos 12bh7a
and 1953 Soviet Military NOS MELZ 6H8C Metalbase inputs and the current Russian Mullard 12AU7/ECC82 outputs as well.

Is there a type of tubes for certain kind of music that suits better to each genre in your different experiences ?
I listen all type of music but Rock / Pop 70s, 80s and a few 90s and beyond, it is what i mostly enjoy and demand to sound their best.

Thanks Guys !
Miguel

Hi Miguel,

Please don't take what I say below to be condescending but it is just the way I express myself as I get older...

Many years ago, during my protracted post-graduate training, two other post-docs and I were invited to dinner at our supervising Professor's home. Lamb shanks were served as I recall! On receiving their food, the two other guys immediately dumped salt and pepper on their plates. I tasted my food first. The Prof tore into the other guys (in a joking fashion) and commended me on tasting before altering. ( I've always been a bit of a suck.) Anyhoo, what I'm trying to say is that it is not a bad idea to experience the B3 with its stock tubes for the first few weeks as it breaks in before spending money based on the thoughts and recommendations of others. This will allow you to get a baseline flavour of the dac in your system...then you can season to your tastes accordingly. Or maybe you were going to do this anyways

 

[Sablon Audio]

Hi Miguel, the Brimar rectifier is very punchy so that would be a good choice. Not many know about the e80cc tube type, possibly as it was only made by two european manufacturers, however the regular Tungsram with yellow or red label would also work very well and is pretty cheap.

FYI only. Comparison of Tungsram E80CC, Amperex E80CC, and Amperex 7316PQ - Jon L - Tubes Asylum

FYI only. Comparison of Tungsram E80CC, Amperex E80CC, and Amperex 7316PQ - Jon L - Tubes Asylum

www.audioasylum.com

 

[Gjo]

@Sablon Audio, how does one recognize tungsram a nickel plate / pw / d foil e80cc? Are there other distinguishing characteristics other than a pinched waist one could see in a photo versus "regular" red label tungsram e80cc? I assume "d" refers to d getter. Not sure where the foil is located in the tube structure...

What about non-pinched waist tungsram nickel plate / d foil e80cc?

 

[Sablon Audio]

Here you go @Gjo

E80cc comparison

I have to admit a long love affair with the e80cc tube. It’s always been a fave of mine, comfortably outperforming superior 12au7 options in circuits where the extra current draw can be accommodated. One tube dealer describes it as being like a Telefunken ecc802s on steroids and I couldn’t have...

whatsbestforum.com

 

[Gjo]

Here you go @Gjo

E80cc comparison

I have to admit a long love affair with the e80cc tube. It’s always been a fave of mine, comfortably outperforming superior 12au7 options in circuits where the extra current draw can be accommodated. One tube dealer describes it as being like a Telefunken ecc802s on steroids and I couldn’t have...

whatsbestforum.com

 

[Sablon Audio]

Before people get excited about the nickel plate iteration, I’ll warn you that they are pretty unobtainable and exceedingly expensive. I paid eur1200 for a pair. I was initially disappointed in the sound until @Blue58 had me swap out the Tak rectifier for the more transparent EML and then the performance delta became very clear. Not for everyone I would suggest.

 

[mourip]

Currently: Sophia Electric Aqua 274B, RCA 6F8G and Telefunken smooth plate 12AU7.

The adapters that I received from Poland seem very well made and look good. I used to have some from China but they would introduce a buzzing in the audio output whenever I turned on the incandescent light nearby. Probably the wire to the plate cap was not shielded or twisted...

 

[Sablon Audio]

@mourip - I’ve heard great things about the Sophia Aqua el34. Maybe you can share your thoughts about their rectifier and also what other models you have listened to?

 

[Miki70]

Hi Miguel,

Please don't take what I say below to be condescending but it is just the way I express myself as I get older...

Many years ago, during my protracted post-graduate training, two other post-docs and I were invited to dinner at our supervising Professor's home. Lamb shanks were served as I recall! On receiving their food, the two other guys immediately dumped salt and pepper on their plates. I tasted my food first. The Prof tore into the other guys (in a joking fashion) and commended me on tasting before altering. ( I've always been a bit of a suck.) Anyhoo, what I'm trying to say is that it is not a bad idea to experience the B3 with its stock tubes for the first few weeks as it breaks in before spending money based on the thoughts and recommendations of others. This will allow you to get a baseline flavour of the dac in your system...then you can season to your tastes accordingly. Or maybe you were going to do this anyways

Hello Kenc, I get you perfectly, i cook a lot and love kitchen too, you see ? this is my first adventure with tubes, Im 52 and have been using audio gear since i was 10, since the vintage Pioneer era were all we could got in Mexico by that time and it was our HI END gear both for home and car.

Im feeling kind of a child with the newest toy and im just trying to get and understand this new tech for me by reading all the folks here that have been using this for a while and their positive experiences, Im positive and 100% with you about letting the dish originally first and then try it with salt, pepper and even comino and cayenne.

These are definitely exciting times

I really appreciate your words.
Cheers !
Miguel

 

[Miki70]

Hi Miguel, the Brimar rectifier is very punchy so that would be a good choice. Not many know about the e80cc tube type, possibly as it was only made by two european manufacturers, however the regular Tungsram with yellow or red label would also work very well and is pretty cheap.

FYI only. Comparison of Tungsram E80CC, Amperex E80CC, and Amperex 7316PQ - Jon L - Tubes Asylum

FYI only. Comparison of Tungsram E80CC, Amperex E80CC, and Amperex 7316PQ - Jon L - Tubes Asylum

www.audioasylum.com

Hi Mark,

Thanks a bunch for your fedback

I have seen some of these 6sn7s with prices too low to believe, they come from Ukraine...except for the Brimar which yesterday was 35 and today is 40




Also found these:

 

[Sablon Audio]

Miguel, the real 1578 is shown in post #478 of this thread. metal base / drilled plates / large metal clips at top.

decent price on the tungsram, better imo and cheaper than the philips one.

Yitry is a good seller for Brimar but you can buy cheaper without sales tax via their langrex.co.uk website rather than through ebay

 

[Golum]

Question for rollers here - CV181 & 5687 can be used in B3?
I use them in H but I'm not sure for B3...

Thanks for the info.

 

[marty]

Listening to Raytheon and Ken-Rad VT-231 that arrived today.

The KR are really fun. Deep bass. Holographic image. They get your attention from the first bar. I had a big smile. However, after 30 minutes or so, I found them to be slightly tizzy on cymbal crashes…and I actually started having a physical reaction when listening. A bit uncomfortable. Something phase-y about them. Can’t put my finger on it. Maybe this will change with burn-in.

The Raytheon are tonally more neutral. Bass isn't as pronounced as the KR VT-231, but it's better balanced. Maybe there's a touch more treble emphasis than the KR, but not significantly so.

You might try the RCA grey glass from the 40's. It sounds like it could be the best of both? It always seems to be a favored tube historically in 6SN7 surveys.

RCA 6SN7GT JAN USN 1943 Gray Glass NIB/NOS Military Tubes PLATINUM MATCH AT1000 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for RCA 6SN7GT JAN USN 1943 Gray Glass NIB/NOS Military Tubes PLATINUM MATCH AT1000 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[mourip]

The Melz 6N8S 1578 with hole plates is considered to be one of the best 6SN7 variants by many but they are rare and trying to buy one on Ebay can be daunting. I have never owned one.

I have been following the 6SN7 thread in Head-Fi for years. There are some great posts regarding what to look for.

BTW. There is also a long thread on HF for 5v rectifiers.

Has anyone tried a 12BH7 in the 12AU7 position?

 

[mourip]

@mourip - I’ve heard great things about the Sophia Aqua el34. Maybe you can share your thoughts about their rectifier and also what other models you have listened to?

I will need to look through my stash and remember which ones I tried out. Although I did find the Sophia to be the best so far I did not really give the stock Russian tube much time to break in. My other tubes are old NOS 4 and 8 pin classic 5v rectifiers, several with the hanging filaments.

 

[Gjo]

Although I did find the Sophia to be the best so far I did not really give the stock Russian tube much time to break in.

After installing a RCA 5U4G, I decided to re-install the Russian rectifier. It sounds really good. In fact, I've left the Russian tube installed, and put the RCA 5U4G back in my drawer.

The factory supplied rectifier sounds quite good.

 

[Bbock]

After installing a RCA 5U4G, I decided to re-install the Russian rectifier. It sounds really good. In fact, I've left the Russian tube installed, and put the RCA 5U4G back in my drawer.

The factory supplied rectifier sounds quite good.

Curious as to why you didn’t like the RCA? I tried one too and whereas the bass was exceptional, it was a little to thick in the lower midrange and didn’t have quite the treble extension(a little laid back). I don’t have the Baltic, so results may differ.

 

[Gjo]

Curious as to why you didn’t like the RCA?

It's not that I didn't like the RCA 5U4G, it's more that it sounded so similar to the Russian rectifier that I figured I might as well keep the Russian installed and save the RCA. The Russian might have a touch more organic sound.

If I was subjected to a double blind listening test, I don't know if I'd be able to identify which rectifier was installed.

 

[Miki70]

Miguel, the real 1578 is shown in post #478 of this thread. metal base / drilled plates / large metal clips at top.

decent price on the tungsram, better imo and cheaper than the philips one.

Yitry is a good seller for Brimar but you can buy cheaper without sales tax via their langrex.co.uk website rather than through ebay

Mark,

These all 4 choices for example are "NEW" Melz 6N8S/1578/6SN7/ECC32 but the price difference is big between number one and two to the rest three and four, as someone new on this, it comes to mind if some are original and the other not so much.

Any hints how to avoid scam on getting tubes either used or new and which ones to choose among these offers ?

1.- https://www.ebay.es/itm/284728448819

2.- https://www.ebay.com/itm/1657122402...YIndsbttH%2Fnw%3D%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675

3.- https://www.ebay.com/itm/254779019594

4.- https://www.ebay.es/itm/304444110675

Regards !

The Melz 6N8S 1578 with hole plates is considered to be one of the best 6SN7 variants by many but they are rare and trying to buy one on Ebay can be daunting. I have never owned one.

I have been following the 6SN7 thread in Head-Fi for years. There are some great posts regarding what to look for.

BTW. There is also a long thread on HF for 5v rectifiers.

Has anyone tried a 12BH7 in the 12AU7 position?

Mourip,

Is this the one you are looking for ?

1x VINTAGE RARE MELZ HOLE PLATE 6N8S / 1578 / 6SN7 / ECC32 METAL BASE | eBay

Las mejores ofertas para 1x VINTAGE RARE MELZ HOLE PLATE 6N8S / 1578 / 6SN7 / ECC32 METAL BASE están en eBay â Compara precios y caracterÃsticas de productos nuevos y usados â Muchos artÃculos con envÃo gratis!

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