Wait time unknown at this moment. Price is likely 2K or around there.
Email Donald and ask him, he’s great at providing info but any time estimates may be at the mercy of said component issue. I think pricing is still 2K, but again, everything has gone up or is going up so that may no longer be the case. If the price has increased its because his costs have increased.
Thanks for the quick reply and Happy New Year! 
Received an Email from Donald North this evening regarding the latest updates on the Starlett headphone amplifier.
The price is still $2000, however, the wait time is now about 10 months. Donald says he has many orders for Starletts. He also said that the parts supply shortage has made the situation more difficult, however, these headphone amplifiers are still being built.
Good news for those of us who intend to purchase one.
Happy New Year to everyone! May 2022 be a better year for each and everyone of us!
1/09/22 - Just sent Donald a down payment to have a Starlett built. Now the wait begins…
Been listening to the Atrium since I got it and probably comes as no surprise but the Starlett and Atrium is an amazing pairing. Still very early impressions but definitely up there with utopia and verite. Going thru my entire rock library with this pairing and it’s sublime.
I just purchased a used Starlett and was wondering if the Power Tubes (6DG6GT) need to be matched when purchased as replacements? This is the first amp I’ve owned with power tubes. Any help would be appreciated.
Yes, I would get the closest matched tubes as possible. There are tons of cheap ones on eBay or you could contact DNA or another tube vendor that might have that tube type although it isn’t the most common of all tube types so you might find some people not carrying them. I’d try DNA then try to find a vendor next:
Here’s one pair for starters if you end up going the eBay route:
So just to inventorize the tubes for the Starlett;
Rectifier: 5AR4, 5U4G and 274B
- New Production and NOS
- Price range varies from around $40 to $90 for New production Genelex Gold Lion (stock tubes), Mullard and Psvane. Can find RCA NOS 5U4G for $30 and up. Mullard NOS go for $100 or more
Power Tubes (Pair): 6DG6GT, 6W6GT
- Have only seen NOS, Not seen new production
- I’ve seen 6W6 sold for as low as $3 but sometimes not matched. Matched pairs of Sylvania (stock) , RCA and GE can be found for $12 per matched pair
Input Tubes: 6CG7, 6FQ7
- I believe only Electro-Harmonix has created new production of this tube (for around $40)
- Can be found at most online retailers and Ebay. Most of the good ones including RCA can be found for $30 and up.
Is the above accurate as far as New Production and NOS? Any variants I’m missing.
I’ve found that he tubes do not make as much of a sound difference as other amps. In addition you can replace all 4 for under $100 and can be pretty easily found for purchase at least for now.
Your tube assessment is accurate based on my time with the Starlett.
You can use a 6N6P as a driver tube (IIRC) but I never really liked it.
The only new production tubes available are the rectifiers; however, NOS rectifiers, even a relatively inexpensive RCA 5u4g should do better than the Genalex, which was the weak link in the tube set for the Starlett.
I stand corrected. I believe Electro-Harmonix does make new production versions (out of Russia) of the 6CG7. Not sure if they sound good or not - perhaps I’ll order one to try and post impressions here.
Let me know if anyone else has tried one. In the meantime I’ll update my original post.
Interesting, I never came across the EH 6CG7, good find. If I knew it existed I likely would have tried it.
Do you still have the Starlett amp? And over the course of your journey with the amp, which tubes did you like the best?
I sold it months ago.
Preferred Mullard 5ar4 or really expensive NOS 5u4g. Driver tubes - anything non RCA seemed to fit my preference (GE, Zenith labelled, etc) and power tubes were pretty even across the board but I used GE coin base tubes.
I was pretty happy with where I had it ending up.
Spoke with Donald North yesterday in regard to the timeline on the delivery of my DNA
Starlett. It was originally scheduled to be delivered in November of 2022, however, due to delays it will not be delivered until at the earliest, January of 2023. These delays are understandable given all of the problems that Covid has caused with parts supplies etc.
This translates into about a year’s wait, so if you are thinking about buying a Starlett you
might want to get on the waiting list for one soon.
I was curious to know how many Starletts have been built since it first debuted in 2019.
Donald said there are 38 Starletts that have been built thus far. And he has orders for at least 22 more which are to be built in the future.
Like all DNA headphone amplifiers, Starletts are rarely found on the used market, and are quickly snapped up on those rare ocassions when they do appear. Serial numbers 10 and 15 came on the market recently and were both sold within days of appearing, and at close to their original retail price.
I snatched up #10. Totally worth it.
I have a few questions on the matched tubes if anyone could help.
First off, what is the important test number to show the Power tubes are matched? Will this be different depending on the tester? Do they have to be matched exactly to that number or is there some wiggle room?
What would happen if they are not matched? Would it break the amp/headphones or would the sound just be off (ie, volume, balance, tone, etc)?
Lastly, Could tubes of the same make, model be matched if they aren’t already?
This is my first venture into a serious tube amp so I apologize in advance if these are noob questions.
Using unmatched tubes is like using a different weight low grade oil in a car. You can get away with it most of the time. However yes there is a chance that the mismatch could be so different that it causes audible problems or in severe cases parts of your amplifier to compensate for the difference and which has the potential to cause harm. None of my amplifiers are expensive so I have plugged in many matched and unmatched tubes without a care. Now if I owned a $2,000 DNA Starlett, I would definitely pay the additional minor fee to match tubes every time. I do get the $25 oil change at Walmart in my beater cars and yes the engine receives more wear because of it. In my best cars and my truck I stick to synthetic oils because they are worth the extra care. The Starlett is like a Ferrari. Who would get a $25 Walmart oil change for their Ferrari?
Errrrr…ever see the maintenance condition of many older luxury cars? Mercedes. Jaguar. Eek. One needs to spend the purchase price every year on maintenance, but most buyers won’t pay or can’t afford it.
Older sports cars get beaten to death and rebuilt or destroyed, or become garage queens. A Ferrari often ends up as a garage queen.
As long as the tubes are “good”, you won’t hurt the amp, the channels are distinct.
You might get a volume or tonal imbalance.
Thanks. So if the listing for two of the same GE 6W6GT says they test at 86% and 84% does that mean they are closely matched? or do they need to be at the same percentages?
OR is there another match testing metric that I need to look for?
First, has the seller calibrated their tube tester? What model of tube tester do they use?
Second, 86% versus 84% isn’t a significant difference in my experience.
Third, those may be heavily worn tubes. Many tubes test well for most of their life, and when below ~90% they may not worth using. I gambled on some heavily worn 70% to 80% tubes out of curiosity, and they lacked both treble and details. The bass can become boomy and vague. No spark, weak imaging. Some tube testers may give bad data or a vague “good” if the seller doesn’t have experience.
Seek out tube vendors with experience and a reputation. There are some truly awful, terrible vendors and tubes on Ebay.
I appreciate all the help on here.
So in a listing like below (from a trusted seller - VivaTubes) that lists the 6W6GT as matched, the test results of 8400, 8400, 8200 & 8000 would constitute matched across the board for the quad?