[bcowen]

Well, I ended up snagging a pair of Tung-Sol v1.2 tubes. Black plates, with a single top D getter and two D getters on the same side of the tube. I wasn't really in the market, but these popped up and they are difficult to find at both a good price and in good condition, so I felt compelled to go with them. I haven't received them yet, so we'll see, but based on the pics, the getter flashing looks really strong.

There's some serious getterin' goin' on there! Tubes with dual getters are not at all uncommon, but 3? I too am interested in what you think once you get them.

 

[AnyDave]

There's some serious getterin' goin' on there! Tubes with dual getters are not at all uncommon, but 3? I too am interested in what you think once you get them.

I think all of the Tung-Sol 6550s have 3 getters. The first variant had all three on top. The second variant (this one) had one on top and two on one side. The third and fourth variants had one on top and one on each side.

As you said, lots of getterin' goin' on.

 

[goldwerger]

lots of getterin' goin' on.

A new marketing slogan for the old 6550s...

 

[robyzfi]

Just bought these:

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/e34l-cz-tad-premium-matched

Wow, it seems that the music flows slower, and I'm able to hear better between the notes! Makes me remember the Guns N' Roses concert. Still have the testing Tung-Sol 6SL7, no fancy input tubes yet.

My amp is not 100% unfortunately... the right channel sounds differently (odd), like it is missing a frequency range.

The latest measurements look ok (with the PS Vane):

TP5: 243.8V
TP6: 242.3V
TP9: 233.1V
TP10: 233.1V
TP15: 11.14V
TP16: 11.15V
TP17: 2.43V
TP18: 2.50V

I will try again to swap output transformers and inputs to locate more precisely where the problem is. Meanwhile, since anyway I had to fix mistakes in the PCB and resoldered multiple times, I ordered the new ones v1.1 and the components. Let's see what happens.

 

[AnyDave]

Just bought these:

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/e34l-cz-tad-premium-matched

Wow, it seems that the music flows slower, and I'm able to hear better between the notes! Makes me remember the Guns N' Roses concert. Still have the testing Tung-Sol 6SL7, no fancy input tubes yet.

My amp is not 100% unfortunately... the right channel sounds differently (odd), like it is missing a frequency range.

The latest measurements look ok (with the PS Vane):

TP5: 243.8V
TP6: 242.3V
TP9: 233.1V
TP10: 233.1V
TP15: 11.14V
TP16: 11.15V
TP17: 2.43V
TP18: 2.50V

I will try again to swap output transformers and inputs to locate more precisely where the problem is. Meanwhile, since anyway I had to fix mistakes in the PCB and resoldered multiple times, I ordered the new ones v1.1 and the components. Let's see what happens.

I haven't heard those yet, but the TAD EL34 are supposed to be nice sounding. At sound point, I plan on getting a set to compare to my other EL34s.

 

[mchuckp]

Anyone using the HFM Arya or the Meze Empy OG with the Aegis? I’m wanting to play around with some other headphones besides my Atriums and these two intrigue me and can be had used at reasonable prices. I’ve owned the HFM Ananda and HE1000v2 in the past. Really liked both but they are on the lean side and the HE1000 could get a little bright for me at times. Thought maybe I could look at HFM again now that I could warm it up w some tube rolling. The Empy intrigues me because it supposedly has some good meat on the bones already.

Just tried some ZMF VCs and ready to let those go for something else so thinking through what would be good to try under roughly $1500 used.

Thanks.

 

[robyzfi]

Anyone using the HFM Arya or the Meze Empy OG with the Aegis? I’m wanting to play around with some other headphones besides my Atriums and these two intrigue me and can be had used at reasonable prices. I’ve owned the HFM Ananda and HE1000v2 in the past. Really liked both but they are on the lean side and the HE1000 could get a little bright for me at times. Thought maybe I could look at HFM again now that I could warm it up w some tube rolling. The Empy intrigues me because it supposedly has some good meat on the bones already.

Just tried some ZMF VCs and ready to let those go for something else so thinking through what would be good to try under roughly $1500 used.

Thanks.

I had Empyrean OG and Verite Open, but sold them before building the Aegis. Empyrean too warm for me, Verite better but still didn't like the timbre completely.

I'm currently on Audeze MM 500, which sound very well on Aegis. I would definitely try the Expanse or the E3 (closer to your budget). I also like Caldera much more than the Verite, even though I listened to it only at the Munich HighEnd.

 

[Phantaminum]

I haven't heard those yet, but the TAD EL34 are supposed to be nice sounding. At sound point, I plan on getting a set to compare to my other EL34s.

The TAD EL34 Red Base are really nice sounding. NOS Mullard EL34s extends lower and renders lower details better but the price of the TADs is much easier on the wallet. I keep the TADs in most of the day and pop in the Mullards on the weekends.

 

[AnyDave]

The TAD EL34 Red Base are really nice sounding. NOS Mullard EL34s extends lower and renders lower details better but the price of the TADs is much easier on the wallet. I keep the TADs in most of the day and pop in the Mullards on the weekends.

Cool, I'll probably get a set sometime in the relative near future.

 

[Deleeh]

The TAD EL34 Red Base are really nice sounding. NOS Mullard EL34s extends lower and renders lower details better but the price of the TADs is much easier on the wallet. I keep the TADs in most of the day and pop in the Mullards on the weekends.

Hello,
are these the ones you are talking about?

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/tad-el34-str-redbase-tad-premium-selected

 

[mattiastomas]

Anyone tried KT120s? The Tung-Sol KT120s look interesting

 

[Phantaminum]

Hello,
are these the ones you are talking about?

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/tad-el34-str-redbase-tad-premium-selected

Those are exactly the ones I purchased. Good sounding tubes.

I can't say much about tube longevity as I purchased them about 2 months ago but crossing my fingers they last for a good while.

 

[smodtactical]

Anyone compare Aegis (commercial or diy) to WA23, WA 33, Envy, nautilus or ha300 mk2 ?

 

[goldwerger]

Yeah, they are indeed very solid. Btw, please let us know how those PDFs work out. If they are good, I might buy a set as well.

So these PDFs are like a lexicon for all tubes of those models, with descriptions of the history, versions, physical characteristics with pictures, data specs and graphs, were available.

It is written by an enthusiast, as a long document compiled with love based on best-effort research. It it by no means complete, but it is as complete as his exhaustive research got him and when anything is missing he points it out.

Since his first language isn’t English, there are some grammatical errors which makes very little difference.

I do think it’s very worthwhile for any tube collector interested in these tubes. It’s trove of information, imperfect, and much better than anything I’d ever find on my own.

 

[AnyDave]

So these PDFs are like a lexicon for all tubes of those models, with descriptions of the history, versions, physical characteristics with pictures, data specs and graphs, were available.

It is written by an enthusiast, as a long document compiled with love based on best-effort research. It it by no means complete, but it is as complete as his exhaustive research got him and when anything is missing he points it out.

Since his first language isn’t English, there are some grammatical errors which makes very little difference.

I do think it’s very worthwhile for any tube collector interested in these tubes. It’s trove of information, imperfect, and much better than anything I’d ever find on my own.

Thanks for the follow-up. I think I may have to grab a set of the PDFs.