[UntilThen]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sho...e-no-old-pictures-please.529140/post-17718015

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sho...e-no-old-pictures-please.529140/post-17719378

There's some love for Ultimates that I posted.

Let's see how many the gold one gets.

 

[UntilThen]

The new owner of Destiny has commissioned Eric to upgrade the amp to use EMS 300b-xls.

 

[UntilThen]

On the 3rd day of burn-in, I'm playing AC/DC for accelerated burn-in. Miflex today since it's even day - Thursday.

6s2s and 6y6g burning in as well. I am resuming testing the makeshift xlr input balance transformers because I'm not convinced the slight glitch I heard yesterday is the transformer's problem. Could be a hiccup in the song. Will let it run for several hours and playing a variety of songs from Tidal. So far it's smooth as butter and works like a swiss watch.

 

[crakers7]

On the 3rd day of burn-in, I'm playing AC/DC for accelerated burn-in. Miflex today since it's even day - Thursday.

6s2s and 6y6g burning in as well. I am resuming testing the makeshift xlr input balance transformers because I'm not convinced the slight glitch I heard yesterday is the transformer's problem. Could be a hiccup in the song. Will let it run for several hours and playing a variety of songs from Tidal. So far it's smooth as butter and works like a swiss watch.

How does the 6y6g sound? Who made it ? I see they are still relatively cheap tubes

 

[triod750]

I have one Raytheon branded 6Y6G here (without EIA code). It has the code FE4.

 

[UntilThen]

How does the 6y6g sound? Who made it ? I see they are still relatively cheap tubes

Many brands - GE, Ken Rad, Marconi, Philco are one I've come across. Tonally GE is brighter than Ken Rad and the latter... well sound like Ken Rad. So I doubt they are rebrand.

Bad news on the xlr input balance transformers again. That pair cannot be used. Flabby bass is heard again and the drivers of the headphone sound like flapping. On switching back to my own build in xlr input transformers on the Ultimate, bass is tight and controlled and beautiful again.

Part of the woes of testing for me is hearing such issues. I have to wash my ears and brain now. Get rid of what I heard. Get rid of the flabbiness floating in the air. Kill those flabby electrons. Just kidding. As soon as I hear my own Ultimate, everything is back to normal and normal for me is perfection. Perfection for my ears means precision and incisiveness of musical notes and perfect timbre.

 

[Deleeh]

@UntilThen

Just enjoying the beautiful Gec KT66 + Brimar Yellow T + Rft Ez81,and the Vcap.
And is a nice treat for the ears.


@crackers7

The 6Y6 are not bad at all.
Got some Raytheon and some from Eric.
I liked the ones from Eric better they were very clear in tone not too warm,neither too thick.
The Raytheon are a bit warmer and punchier in the bass.
But in the end it still depends on which driver tube you put on them.
It may be that my combination with the Raytheon is a bit too warm and punchy.

 

[UntilThen]

@UntilThen

Just enjoying the beautiful Gec KT66 + Brimar Yellow T + Rft Ez81,and the Vcap.
And is a nice treat for the ears.


@crackers7

The 6Y6 are not bad at all.
Got some Raytheon and some from Eric.
I liked the ones from Eric better they were very clear in tone not too warm,neither too thick.
The Raytheon are a bit warmer and punchier in the bass.
But in the end it still depends on which driver tube you put on them.
It may be that my combination with the Raytheon is a bit too warm and punchy.

We live in a world of contrast, variations. We can easily perceive what is good, bad or great. Toyota RAV4 hybrid is a good car but a BMW M340i is a great car because I have gone for a ride in it. Vroom vroom.

6Y6G is a good power tube in Ultimate. Similarly 6F6, 6V6, 6W6. Until you try the other power tubes. For example EL34 metal base, TS 6550, GEC KT66, KT88 and EL39, etc... just for quick reference.

One other thing. The right GE 6Y6G has a bit of noise yesterday when listening with the ultra sensitive Grado RS1X. Today with the same headphone, the pair of GE 6Y6G has settle down and is ultra quiet now.

That said, the combination of Russian 6s2s and GE 6Y6G and RCA 6BW4 is a pretty good listening experience for the burn in stage of my Ultimate. This combination is very cheap. So keep your expectation in check. Heavens not going to open or the Red Sea parted but you won't spill your coffee.

 

[UntilThen]

I have no preference between Mundorf SGO and Miflex at this stage. Both are extremely detailed, spacious and great texture. Mundorf is a bit more detailed at the top end but Miflex entices in the mids like a belly dancer.

When I reach the finish line after 100 days, I will know which I prefer. Perhaps I might like both equally. I suspect so.

 

[UntilThen]

@albertmuc is in the queue for a Super Black Ultimate like Zachi’s. We have Oceans 14 now.

 

[David A Silva]

@albertmuc is in the queue for a Super Black Ultimate like Zachi’s. We have Oceans 14 now.

I predict the Oceans 18 sequel

 

[UntilThen]

I predict the Oceans 18 sequel

Hang on Hosea. We might have Levi coming on in Oct / Nov. So that’s 15. Where the other 3 coming from?

 

[David A Silva]

Hang on Hosea. We might have Levi coming on in Oct / Nov. So that’s 15. Where the other 3 coming from?

Top Secret List

 

[Deleeh]

Maybe 3 more will join for the perfect bank robbery.
That would give some UltimatE's,hehe.

Really enjoyed this aforementioned combo tonight.
Only thing that worried me a bit was the slight perceived sharpness.
My 4 cables with the warm combination also brought little success.
In the end, I returned to the Zmf OFC cable.
Secretly I hope it is just some kind of residue from the caps themselves, the last oiling, the final polish if you will.

I also don't know if it's because I'm using the XLR input and the 6.3 jack as the output.
I don't think so and think that the Rca input is a bit smoother.
Although everything is connected in parallel I don't think it would be a problem (I will test again tomorrow).

I still have a 4 pin XLR plug left in the drawer and am thinking of converting the Zmf Ofc to it.
I could also change the Zmf pads again.

 

[rollinbr]

So it is the end of my weekend, I get to go to work tonight and start my work week. It is a 4 day work week so Saturday night will be a work night.

I've been listening to the Auris Nirvana since Monday night and I have to say that it still has the effortless, smooth, warm but yet powerful sound to it. The Nirvana is rated at 6.5 Watts. The Nirvana uses the EL34 power tube and the 12au7 driver tube. I've been using the Sophia Electric EL34 and have been switching between the Raytheon 7730 gold pins D getter and the 1956 brimar CV4034 as the driver tube. I picked up the brimar tube back in 2021 and paid $176 for the tube back then. I really wanted a 2nd tube but they only had one. They've managed to find 2 more tubes but at the current price I'll pass. The brimar is more lush in the mids compared to Raytheon but the Raytheon has more in the bottom end. I actually prefer the Raytheon most of the time.

Older picture of the Auris Nirvana

To me Nirvana has little more girth or meat on the bones than my Super SilkE UltimatE. But by no means is the UltimatE all that far behind Nirvana though. With the UltimatE, depending on what headphone your going to use, the hard to drive Susvara, you'll definitely want to use the bigger power tubes like EL34, KT66, KT88, EL39, 807 etc..... The UltimatE throws a wide stage with the 4654 as the power tube and ECC35 as the driver using the Susvara. Stage starts outside the headphones on the ears and wraps around the front side.

I actually plugged in my HD600, which I've had since 2001, on the Ultimate and Nirvana. I've not listened to the HD600 for several years and was like wow, what do I need the Susvara for? And is it 14 times better than the HD600? I've had the Susvara for couple of months so far and I'll admit it's been kind of a love/hate relationship. Part of that I know is the cost of the Susvara. To me anything over $3600 has some lofty expectations. When things click though it's sublime and I have a feeling that more times than not it depends on our mood, how has the day been going, how relaxed are we etc....

Cost wise the UltimatE wins hands down. I did pick up the Auris Nirvana for a great price back in 2021 and it was only 1.5 months old. But if I was picking new between the 2 and paying full price I'd pick the UltimatE. UltimatE has so many tubes that can be used and it will take a while to roll the tubes that can be used. There's no reason that one can't find a combination of tubes that hit the sweet spot in UltimatE. I've not rolled all that many tubes in UltimatE but they've all sounded really good to me and they don't have to be anything expensive which is really nice.