My Listening Room

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My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:31 pm

"THE REVENGE OF THE FALLEN"... :devil:

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The 'fallen' was the octet of SED KT88's that my old amp hugged for almost all its lifetime and they went away when the amp was traded in for a new ARC VS115 which housed 8 pieces of SED 6550s as a factory installation.

Using up practically a quarter of a year burning in all the 6550 power tubes turned me into a specific kind of music, that is instrumentals, and truly, I heard things and presentations in this new amp that I never heard before with my old amp and tubes. I consciously stayed away from playing my favorite vocals LPs because the 'voluptuousness' of the female voices simply was not there. Instead of marveling at the tremendous physiques of say, Kate Upton or Megan Fox, I usually end up with the feeling of just staring at a blank board without any pleasurable 'ROI' :lol: - that is my sentiment each time I play my 'girls on my record rack'.

The decision to change the power tubes to KT88s hit a snag when the KT120 tubes came out in the market, trumpeted by none other than ARC to be the 'wunder tube' of this era. I was tempted whether to bite the green apple or the red apple. And after a few consultations with people with knowledge of these tubes, I came to to a final conclusion that the 88s are the ones I would like.

Yesterday, the new Gold Lion Genalex KT88s arrived and my immediate feeling was, 'happy days are here again'. :) The tube is a reissue made in Russia, supposedly
patterned after the famed original Gold Lion KT88 of olden times - the king of the 6550 family of tubes.

ENTER THE LION: (Strangely, despite having the reverse attributes of a 'coke-bottle' female figure for hotness, the power tube to me is the only thing in this world that looks good with a fat 'middle', or belly.) :lol:

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With the amp:

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I have played only 2 cuts after installing these GL tubes, first 2 songs from Eva Cassidy's Songbird album. And immediately I felt the magic of the voice sprung back to life in my listening room. The pull of the voice, the decay, the emotion, the feeling, and almost at the brink of hearing the 'soul' of the singer. It's there and there without question. I only heard not more than 15 minutes of these tubes and I can say that I'm in heaven again. The fallen has risen. :)
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby JackD201 » Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:35 pm

Time for a visit :)
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby Jon Agner » Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:43 pm

Me too :D
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby O.D. Yeo » Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:30 am

Looking good, Phil! I'm glad that your fallen has risen.
Size does not matter!
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:14 am

JackD201 wrote:Time for a visit :)


Jack, Jon,

After burn in, you're all welcome to visit. I-tuning ko muna, baka mamya yung Brothers Four maging babae ang boses! :D Di na yata tama yan. :lol:
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:18 am

O.D. Yeo wrote:Looking good, Phil! I'm glad that your fallen has risen.
Size does not matter!


Thanks Billy. Yeah, in audio, small can be beautiful. :) And talking of small, one diminutive peanut tube in my pre-amp, a Long Plate Square Getter Mullard 12AU7/ECC82 went out of service early this year and that compounded the plight of the missing female voices in my room. One small tube but such a big impact. More on this later. I'm thinking of a movie title best suited for the story. :lol:
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:53 am

And listening to Brothers Four Beatles Songbook this morning, I'm happy to say they have not turned into 'sisters'. :D But, their voices are so sublime they now belong to the convent! :D What a difference a tube makes. :)
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby esi » Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:51 am

Aha! :o Now I am not surprised why you took an afternoon nap. It got you too excited to install and try these baby's for a HEAT RUN! I'm sure its heavenly. Do I hear Belafonte and Kidd singing? :clap: Hope I can get that blackgold on Saturday.
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby odaey » Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:21 am

jadis wrote:And listening to Brothers Four Beatles Songbook this morning, I'm happy to say they have not turned into 'sisters'. :D But, their voices are so sublime they now belong to the convent! :D What a difference a tube makes. :)


Nakaka ingit naman

Sa system ko Brothers two pa rin ;(
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:24 am

esi wrote:Aha! :o Now I am not surprised why you took an afternoon nap. It got you too excited to install and try these baby's for a HEAT RUN! I'm sure its heavenly. Do I hear Belafonte and Kidd singing? :clap: Hope I can get that blackgold on Saturday.


you guessed right, doc. got me feeling tired that i didn't even know i was tired. the biasing part was stressful bec one has to work through all the heat of the tubes and the high voltage. and i had to hold a flashlight, a plastic screwdriver and a volt meter all at the same time. the feeling afterwards is great through, the transition moment when tears were in my eyes before turned to outright weeping after the music played. of course, i exaggerate a little. :lol:
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:26 am

odaey wrote:
jadis wrote:And listening to Brothers Four Beatles Songbook this morning, I'm happy to say they have not turned into 'sisters'. :D But, their voices are so sublime they now belong to the convent! :D What a difference a tube makes. :)


Nakaka ingit naman

Sa system ko Brothers two pa rin ;(


doc rodney, pag gusto mo maging brothers 4 ang brothers 2 mo, may isang extra copy pa ako, oops, wala na pala. :lol:

but i'm sure with more tweaking and patience, you'll get them all 4 eventually. :)
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:04 pm

"LEGEND OF THE FALL..."
(or, THE FALL OF THE LEGEND...)
:lol:

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This insignificant looking tube is actually a 'fallen' Mullard late 1950s Long Plate Square Getter 12AU7 that had been serving as the 'whip cream' to my JPL Line Stage. Pangpatamis at pampalasa. :) Alas, father time caught up with it and my system began to sound thin, shrill and slicy and I suspect something was wrong somewhere. Tube tester time. And lo and behold, this aged 'legend' had fallen. Substituting it other tube brethrens did not replicate its magic and I had to wait till the RAF dug me up another NOS of the same thing.

After many many sleepless months of tube anxiety syndrome, the good news is that finally, THE LEGEND ARISES!

Making the customary 360 degree 'turn' like a beauty queen: :lol:

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Alas, with the legend's return, my French line stage will be donning an all British tube array once again, and that is when the cup will overflow with 'creaminess and sweetness'. No doubt, the ingredients will be Carol Kidd, Mary Black, Julie London (oh, she might sound naked with this), Doris Day and all the hot ladies who had been sequestered in their harem for many months now. :lol: This small little thing can cause big things to happen. :inlove:
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby qguy » Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:29 am

I use the same tube (GL KT88) in my amp (Cayin A-70T) and from my setup its a good mix of Punch and 'voluptuousness' :devil: Not sure if you have tried the new production Tungsol 6550 made by the same company, this one sides on "voluptuousness" :devil:.. but then the KT88 will last longer, as I know it can take more current.

After a few months, the tube will develop the "blue glow", initially mine did not have any, then one day when I was listening without the lights on, I noticed the blue glow on my amp.
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:00 am

qguy wrote:I use the same tube (GL KT88) in my amp (Cayin A-70T) and from my setup its a good mix of Punch and 'voluptuousness' :devil: Not sure if you have tried the new production Tungsol 6550 made by the same company, this one sides on "voluptuousness" :devil:.. but then the KT88 will last longer, as I know it can take more current.

After a few months, the tube will develop the "blue glow", initially mine did not have any, then one day when I was listening without the lights on, I noticed the blue glow on my amp.


thanks for the input, benjie. indeed at only about 3 hours, the GL88s are making my amp shine like mad. carol kidd...when i dream...she sings 'when i drreeeeeeeee-uhmmmmmmm...'ang haba ng decay...feel na feel nya and song....hehehe...and i have not even put in the nos mullard long plate yet on the pre...i'm going to savor this and see how it stretches before i go all mullard. baka maging ice cream factory na dito. :lol: nope, i haven't tried the new tungsol 6550 but now i'm sticking with the 88s. and thanks for the tip on the blue glow.
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby O.D. Yeo » Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:37 am

t wrote:
After many many sleepless months of tube anxiety syndrome, the good news is that finally, THE LEGEND ARISES!
Making the customary 360 degree 'turn' like a beauty queen: :lol:

. . .

Alas, with the legend's return, my French line stage will be donning an all British tube array once again, and that is when the cup will overflow with 'creaminess and sweetness'. No doubt, the ingredients will be Carol Kidd, Mary Black, Julie London (oh, she might sound naked with this), Doris Day and all the hot ladies who had been sequestered in their harem for many months now. :lol: This small little thing can cause big things to happen. :inlove:


I think I know what you're going through, Phil. I am slowly going up the CJ chain and got a Premier 17 LS to replace my Premier 14, and am keenly looking forward to comparing a set of Mullard CV2492s against the vaunted Russian 6H23n EBs.
. . . But i will have to wait for the slow boat to reach home in a few weeks!

Ps. Doris Day = hot lady in the harem?
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:58 pm

O.D. Yeo wrote:
t wrote:
After many many sleepless months of tube anxiety syndrome, the good news is that finally, THE LEGEND ARISES!
Making the customary 360 degree 'turn' like a beauty queen: :lol:

. . .

Alas, with the legend's return, my French line stage will be donning an all British tube array once again, and that is when the cup will overflow with 'creaminess and sweetness'. No doubt, the ingredients will be Carol Kidd, Mary Black, Julie London (oh, she might sound naked with this), Doris Day and all the hot ladies who had been sequestered in their harem for many months now. :lol: This small little thing can cause big things to happen. :inlove:


I think I know what you're going through, Phil. I am slowly going up the CJ chain and got a Premier 17 LS to replace my Premier 14, and am keenly looking forward to comparing a set of Mullard CV2492s against the vaunted Russian 6H23n EBs.
. . . But i will have to wait for the slow boat to reach home in a few weeks!

Ps. Doris Day = hot lady in the harem?


That should be an interesting climb and experience, Billy. Btw, is the 6H23 a direct substitute for the ECC188/2492 variety? On which preamp will that tube A/B take place? And yes, Doris Day is a hot 'voice' in my favorite album of hers, Latin for Lovers particularly in the cut Be True to Me (Sabor a Mi) - very innocent but sexy nonetheless; in contrast to Julie's bedroom sexy. :)

This should be quite 'hot' in her time, when I was 7 years old thereabouts. :) And at one point I have 8 'Days' but I sold a few because I figured I have more 'Days' than the days in a week. :lol:

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Re: My Listening Room

Postby O.D. Yeo » Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:57 am

I was worried about the 6H23n as well, but the seller of the CJ pre amp swears by them and included them in the deal. However, after a quick survey, it seems that many in other forums have found these to be very good, SQ and price wise. But just to be sure, i decided to get his tried and tested Mullard quad as well.

Ps. You seem to have a thing with wasps doing the latin stuff, as in Linda doing Perfidia in Mambo Kings!
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:03 am

O.D. Yeo wrote:I was worried about the 6H23n as well, but the seller of the CJ pre amp swears by them and included them in the deal. However, after a quick survey, it seems that many in other forums have found these to be very good, SQ and price wise. But just to be sure, i decided to get his tried and tested Mullard quad as well.

Ps. You seem to have a thing with wasps doing the latin stuff, as in Linda doing Perfidia in Mambo Kings!


The 2492s are my favorites for the longest time. :)

Oh yes, Linda singing Perfidia in Mambo Kings is my show closer. So I need to burn in the KT88s before I put this on. It may be a hair-raiser. :lol:
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My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:26 pm

BATTLE LINES OF THE REPUBLIC :lol:

Not being a warmonger or anything, but the next few weeks will have to spell out where the European tube battle lines are drawn - all in the French battlefield territory called 'JPL'. :lol:

The present configuration is as follows: 2 Holland Philips MiniWatt 12AX7s for the first battle lines. Then a German Telefunken tank, I mean, tube, a 12AX7 for the cathode stage, and lastly, a German Telefunken 12AU7 manning the all important CD stage, which affects even the phono stage. :o And I must say, all things considered, these are fantastically & excellent sounding tubes! :)

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In the next few weeks, or even months, fresh troops from the British infantry will have a showdown with the Dutch/Deutsche regiment. 2 Mullard military CV492s, 1 Mullard Long Plate Round Getter and 1 Mullard Long Plate Square Getter. 8)

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And from the looks of it, I feel the imminent 'fall' of the continental European troops. :lol:

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It won't be an objective assessment, but my own subjective preference. 8) Jacqueline Bisset (vintage 70s) over Claudia Schiffer and Famke Janssen, combined. :lol:
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Re: My Listening Room

Postby jadis » Wed Oct 10, 2012 6:45 pm

When it's hot, it's hot.
:)

Closer look at the Gold Lion KT88s all fired up. Red hot. Parang 'bumabagang balita'. :lol:

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