[genefruit]

Other than Emission Labs, who makes 20B v4 (Octal) tubes?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Other than Emission Labs, who makes 20B v4 (Octal) tubes?

I guess noone

 

[BlueEmperor]

What do you think if you have tested it?

Not him and I didn't test it but just want to say that achieving 98dB S/N and 5Hz to 200KHz out of tube preamp is incredible feat of engineering, then again I would expect nothing less from the Genius man behind Trafomatic Sasa Cokic.

 

[mercman]

The Emission Labs 20b v4 tubes ain’t cheap:

https://verdantaudio.com/products/emission-labs-20b-pair?variant=31525157142626

Hopefully they will have a long life with the Grand Cayman.

 

[BlueEmperor]

Before Justin drops some more official info on Grand Cayman just a few of my observations:

From the choice of tubes we can kind of understand what was the sonic goal here, EML 20B-V4 is very linear and for a DHT we could say super low distortion, ECC99 as a driver is somewhat known for its tremendous bass, obviously a upside for almost all electrostatic headphones, compared to other dual triodes like 12AX7 its also very linear. Simply dreamy output for electrostats especially since every 20B has its own regulated heater supply, the correct way to do this at this level.

Also since we can use 12SN7 as input tubes and 12SL7 as gain tubes and all of their 6.3V equivalents total number of possible tube combinations and sound flavors is gonna be huge.

 

[bmichels]

Will the Cayman be at CanJam UK this summer ? A a BHSE owner, I am looking forward "upgrading" to the Cayman...

 

[Jon L]

The Emission Labs 20b v4 tubes ain’t cheap:

https://verdantaudio.com/products/emission-labs-20b-pair?variant=31525157142626

Hopefully they will have a long life with the Grand Cayman.

$675/Pair... 300B sufferers are thinking that's mighty cheap

 

[Phil95]

Will the Cayman be at CanJam UK this summer ? A a BHSE owner, I am looking forward "upgrading" to the Cayman...

Will (or did) you make a deposit to reserve your GC? A comparison between BH and GC is what everybody is expecting.

 

[justin w.]

Before Justin drops some more official info on Grand Cayman just a few of my observations:

From the choice of tubes we can kind of understand what was the sonic goal here, EML 20B-V4 is very linear and for a DHT we could say super low distortion, ECC99 as a driver is somewhat known for its tremendous bass, obviously a upside for almost all electrostatic headphones, compared to other dual triodes like 12AX7 its also very linear. Simply dreamy output for electrostats especially since every 20B has its own regulated heater supply, the correct way to do this at this level.

Also since we can use 12SN7 as input tubes and 12SL7 as gain tubes and all of their 6.3V equivalents total number of possible tube combinations and sound flavors is gonna be huge.

You can also use 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tubes, though I need to test this more and also look at some other option. I realized this at CanJam where you really need something louder to cut through the show floor noise, without turning the volume up too high. The 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tube will easily do the trick.

 

[ThanatosVI]

You can also use 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tubes, though I need to test this more and also look at some other option. I realized this at CanJam where you really need something louder to cut through the show floor noise, without turning the volume up too high. The 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tube will easily do the trick.

I always wondered isn't the use if this EML 20Bv4 rather risky?

There are no alternatives on the market, so you're really dependant on how well EML does.
I heard some horror stories about the turnaround time of some of their more common tubes (2A3, 300B)
If someone is reliant on a replacement this could become ugly as he can't even order an alternative.

 

[justin w.]

I always wondered isn't the use if this EML 20Bv4 rather risky?

There are no alternatives on the market, so you're really dependant on how well EML does.
I heard some horror stories about the turnaround time of some of their more common tubes (2A3, 300B)
If someone is reliant on a replacement this could become ugly as he can't even order an alternative.

We will stock a lot of tubes
while 20B-V4 is unique because of the center-tapped cathode, rewiring for EL34 in the same socket is possible, as is changing to a 4-pin socket and using different DHTs

 

[ThanatosVI]

We will stock a lot of tubes
while 20B-V4 is unique because of the center-tapped cathode, rewiring for EL34 in the same socket is possible, as is changing to a 4-pin socket and using different DHTs

So there would be the option to have a Grand Cayman with EL34 or 300B?

 

[Chefguru]

You can also use 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tubes, though I need to test this more and also look at some other option. I realized this at CanJam where you really need something louder to cut through the show floor noise, without turning the volume up too high. The 6SL7/12SL7 as the input tube will easily do the trick.

Should do a private suite

 

[oneguy]

@justin w. Any updates on production or release?

 

[justin w.]

@justin w. Any updates on production or release?

Yes!! We get closer..working super hard on these new amps. This is a near production amp