Glad to hear you got it sorted! 
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For those with the Eurforia/Empyrean combo curious the volume position most people normally listen in? I’ve developed a bit of mild Tinnitus after have it the amp for a few weeks. During the first week I was between 9 and 11o’clock and have sense back that off to 8 mostly. I have a decibel meter coming tomorrow to check the levels. Has anyone else already done this with an Empy?
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In my experience almost any new combination can cause tinnitus. I take it as a function of new and unique interactions in the treble range that fatigue a different set of receptors. Take a break for a day or two and eat some dark chocolate or spinach for the magnesium. Now, some are much worse than others and you may need to either EQ or move to another amp, tube, etc.
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This aligns with my perception as I didn’t think I was listening louder but I did immediately notice much more detail in the treble after getting the Euforia so that could be it. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
That’s odd. I find the Euforia to be a particularly non-fatiguing amp. Are you using the stock tubes?
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I have a set of tung sol 5998 power tubes so I’m not sure if that would cause it or not. I think it has more to do with the amount of time I spent listening in the first two weeks. I was listening for probably 3-4 hours daily as I’ve had lighter meeting days during the holiday period.
Hey, so I recently picked up a TT2 and am using it to feed my Empyreans. Abolutely loving the combo, but also researching into potential future purchases 
and was wondering how the Euforia compares to the amp in the TT2?
J
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Any tube amp is going to be a pretty major departure from plugging straight into your Chord DAC/amp, and a pretty big departure from any solid state amp. I haven’t had a TT2, but I have a Hugo 2 and a DAVE, and I actually owned @BondDaBoom 's Euforia for a few weeks. Here is a writeup I did for the Euforia vs my Woo WA5-LE Woo WA5-LE vs Feliks Euforia Anniversary Edition - FIGHT
I end up keeping that WA5 and selling the Euforia, but keep in mind that this is largely because of my personal tastes. The Euforia is a good amp; it’s just not my “flavor”. Anyway, going to any tube amp (that doesn’t cost as much as a car), you’ll end up with some combination of slight loss of clarity, resolution, and speed vs your TT2, more holographic imaging and spaciousness, and possibly more warmth and/or rolling off of some frequencies (usually higher), but the latter two are more amp and tube dependent, and not always the case.
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Who needs a car 
when you have have tubes?!
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I don’t exceed 9 o’clock and have been running into the same issue. Using an SM-10 sound probe, I know the output isn’t exceeding 80 dBA.
After having used the Euforia for the best part of a year with the stock tubes, it felt like the right time to get started with some tube rolling. So I did some research and took some advice to find some worthwhile but inexpensive rolls to try out, and this is the outcome. Here are some impressions!
(CBS/6080) CBS 6SN7GTB (Side “D” Getter – Angled “T” plates - Stubby) + Raytheon JAN 6080
Compared to Stock (PsVane CV181 T2 + Svetlana 6N13S)
- Dead silent noise floor, within usable volume range and well beyond
- Smoother texture throughout, more liquid sounding
- Improved 3D-factor and image tangibility
- Less edgy in the transients, better control
Overall this is a safe and well-rounded upgrade over the stock tubes, while mostly staying true to the Euforia’s core sound. I found these tubes on ebay for around $100 total (NOS, unused and platinum matched), and to get such an upgrade for that price makes it an easy recommendation.
(KT88) Quad Gold Lion KT88 Genelex
Compared to Stock (PsVane CV181 T2 + Svetlana 6N13S)
- Slightly less noisy, humming barely audible on my 660S, not bothersome
- Reduced power output, Empyrean feels a bit underdriven
- Dryer texture, more crisp and airy
- Wider/deeper soundstage, more spacious
- Snappier but better controlled transients
Disclaimer: Using non-standard tubes via 3rd party conversion adapters is not always without risk, and the amp manufacturer can’t be held accountable for damage caused by this. Don’t try experimenting with non-standard tubes unless you’re certain that the tubes are within the amp’s spec (Max 7A for the Euforia, the KT88’s are specced at an Ih of ~1.6A each), and ensure the use of correct, well-built adapters from a reputable source (I use these adapters). When in doubt about risks/compatibility, contact the amp manufacturer for advice.
This seemed to be a very popular roll among Euforia/Elise owners, so I decided to give it a try. It’s definitely quite a departure from the Euforia’s core sound, and that can be either a good thing or a bad thing. With my Sennheisers, the KT88’s are glorious. Impressively resolving, crisp and spacious. But my Empyrean feels a bit underdriven and sounds a touch bland as a result. Overall, worth a try if your headphones can manage the lower power output and you’re looking for a bit less sweetness and a more airy and resolving sound.
Preferred rolls per headphone:
Empyrean : CBS/6080 > Stock > KT88
HD660S : KT88 > CBS/6080 > Stock
HD580 : KT88 > CBS/6080 > Stock
DAC used: Schiit Bifrost 2
Headphones used: Meze Empyrean, Sennheiser HD660S, Sennheiser HD580 Precision
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Wait wait wait wait wait WAIT. A. MINUTE. You can just throw four KT88’s in and it works? I swear, I understand nothing. Aren’t those power tubes? You can use power tubes in place of input tubes?
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Haha, almost! You do need specific adapters to convert the sockets to 6L6 (I use these adapters). But yeah, that’s all.
I’ve come across numerous reports of people gushing over the synergy with the Euforia and quad KT88’s or other creative KTxx combinations, so it seemed to be worth a try at least. For some reason, the Elise and Euforia are some of the only OTL amps that can work well with KT88’s. Not entirely without compromises, but it sure does work well! Just not so much with my Empyrean, unfortunately. 
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The way to think of these things is that tubes don’t know or care that they are ‘power tubes’ or ‘signal tubes’. They just do what they do when the electricity hits.
The breakthrough comes if you learn how things actually work. You can then do things outside the standard conversation. You can invent your own solutions.
In any event, it’s also good when people graciously share their knowledge and experience and you can learn new facts to give you new possibilities.
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I’d love to learn more. I feel comfortable with the super high-level “tube rules” (what does a rectifier do, what’s an input tube, what’s a power tube), but I definitely don’t understand the “why” and “how”. If you have suggestions for more in-depth resources, please do share. I’ve found it tough to find something that takes me from beginner to intermediate without being thrown into the complete deep end.
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Exactly. I’m not knowledgeable or creative enough with audio to come up with these kinds of ideas, but when others come up with these seemingly crazy ideas and report positive results, I’m always keeping an open mind. Sometimes the money spent is already worth it for the learning experience alone. 
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My post comes from working with technology for a long time and this way of thinking applies to pretty much everything.
I’m not a tube amp designer or expert but I’ll see what links I have filed away that I can post.
I agree that it can be difficult to find the goldilocks of reference material - enough to be actually useful but not so deep you need several different degrees to make sense of it.
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Right, exactly. I have a bachelors in chemistry and work in data analytics, so a good white paper is totally my jam, but many of them assume a fairly deep baseline of knowledge I don’t have yet. I might even pose a question to the broader tubes thread to see if anyone has a suggestion for a book - or even a textbook.
The only pause I’d suggest is that even though these non standard tubes may work initially you could be damaging your amp in the long term or running your tubes at a level above what they can tolerate which could mean shorter tube life. Or maybe there’s no issue at all.
If you can, check with the amp builder to see if your staying within spec. I know there are a lot of tubes I can potentially run with my amp but don’t because the tubes will either burn out quick or the amp isn’t wired properly for them.
I’m all for tube rolling and not trying to douse the excitement but just be aware that some of these ideas are crazy for a good reason. You probably know this anyways.
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Great advice for sure, but indeed I did make sure that this was all within spec and unlikely to hurt my amp. Feliks Audio themselves don’t fully support rolling non-standard tubes with adapters, but they don’t advice against it either. Which makes sense, as the use of non-standard tubes via 3rd party adapters can have unforeseen consequences which Feliks Audio can’t be held accountable for.
So I’m aware of the potential risks, but given the popularity of KTxx rolls on the Elise/Euforia and the absence of reports of people running into major problems (except for some who used wrong/bad adapters) made it seem safe enough to give it a shot.
I should have probably mentioned this in my initial post.
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