Yes, the 6SN7 is a good tube, though in truth it’s a bit more comfortable in the role of driver tube than in being asked to perform the role of power output tube 😉 Indeed, ALO is probably unlikely to casually release the Studio-Six circuit diagrams, but I’m sure many DIY enthusiasts would...

I do understand your concerns. Please also realize however, as of June 13 of this year, the Studio-Six will have been in continuous production for 10 years. This is an unusually long production run for *any* audiophile product. It is surely worth noting: the Studio-Six is very conservatively...

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Thank you indeed, for your kind regards, and for your questions. It would be extremely unlikely that ALO could find someone who can adequately fill the place left by Jim. I suspect it would/will take at least *two* very talented and productive people, to even come close to adequately...

I just now found your posts. I am sorry to hear of your difficulties. Unfortunately, Ken of ALO is just departing for an extended vacation stay in Asia. Also: Sadly, Jim, the primary service technician at ALO, recently died unexpectedly. Since Jim’s death, there has been a big vacancy at ALO...

The inclusion of a proper, good-quality hard plastic case with latches and a carry handle would be a nice change IMO :relaxed:

You should check carefully elsewhere in your system. What you are describing is a either a product of some particular recordings and/or ancillary equipment other than the HD800S. It is also possible you had/have one of your channels phase-inverted somewhere in the chain. The HD800S is known...

I’ve owned the HD800 since 2013 and the HD800S I purchased more recently. I very much like both, and will keep both. I design tube amplifiers and associated equipment professionally, and the 800 series is my top reference headphone. I do also have various other Flagship planar headphones for...

Very nice ensemble of gear :slight_smile: The LCD-5 is a beautiful headphone.

unfortunately I am personally unfamiliar with the characteristics of modified HD800 headphones. I would say that if you have an opportunity to try a pair of HD800S with the Studio-Six before buying, that might be a prudent approach. In my experience, an area of significant note with the HD800S...

I too particularly enjoy both the original HD800 and HD800S with the Studio-Six :slight_smile: The Sennheiser HD800 and HD800S share substantially similar core attributes, but do have significant differences in presentation. I have both types, and I would not want to have to choose to keep only...

Fortunately, there are many excellent DACs to choose from these days depending upon personal preferences, of which the excellent Chord products offer much that is noteworthy in terms of build quality and performance.

IMO, the black Chord Dac/amp looks quite nice paired with the Studio-Six.

Cool gear pic --and congratulations!

Indeed! Many (most?) of these old NOS 6SN7 tubes are probably going to be around longer than most of us —particularly given the way things have generally been going in the world lately :fearful:

On the 6SN7 family tubes: I find it’s quite difficult to best a good-quality NOS type. There are no currently manufactured 6SN7 among the many I’ve tried that I have found subjectively equal in performance to the better NOS variants. The caveat is, I have not yet tried any of the small number...

A 5AR4 produces less voltage drop than a 5U4. For example: at 225mA current, a 5U4 will drop the supply 44 Volts, whereas a 5AR4 will only drop only 17 Volts. *** EDITS Below *** Also: a 5AR4 draws 1.9 Amps of 5-Volt filament current, but a 5U4 draws 3 Amps, and 3 amps *could be* a somewhat...

Looking forward to hearing of your observations 😉

Thank you indeed everyone, for all of your many kind words and comments received in response to Jim’s passing —both those shared within this forum and the numerous regards expressed outside of this forum. —Thomas

Sad news from Portland. James Moore, ALO Chief Technician and Master Assembler, passed suddenly and unexpectedly last week at age 67 —too young. Jim had been a core member of ALO and Campfire Audio for over a decade. He was a multi-faceted multi-skilled individual, and served in multiple...

This is a very good question. Regarding whether mil-spec tubes such as JAN tubes etc sound better than commercial/civilian counterparts: There is no set rule which can be reliably used. Sometimes a particular type and variety of JAN tube will sound excellent, whereas in other instances there...

Tube voltage gain is generally a *relatively* stable parameter with tube aging, and so this is unlikely an issue. Of note: JJ 6V6 tubes are unusual in that they produce somewhat less gain in triode-mode as compared to any other current production or NOS tubes I have used. This is usually not...

The gain of the phono stage was designed so that a wide range of phono cartridge output voltages could be accommodated effectively with adequate volume being produced with most headphones. Its not a problem to use an additional preamp as you describe, although the input impedance of the added...

That’s a possibility. Unfortunately Ken the president of ALO has just now entered isolation due to Covid illness. :thermometer_face: Perhaps in a few weeks time contact Ken at ALO directly and inquire. If they have the time and bandwidth at present, they *might* be able to accommodate this...

EDIT: A further note on the stock Solen polypropylene/foil capacitors used in the Studio-Six and the matching phono stage: These are quite excellent quality capacitors technically speaking, and also in terms of sonic neutrality and transparency. These capacitors were carefully selected from...