After doing hours of “research” looking at tubes on ebay, I called Brent Jesse, who recommended a matched pair of Ampex E88CC for just under $200. Said that next step up in tubes would be in the $350 range, generally. Very helpful.
7 Likes
Nice! I hope you like them.
When are you getting some variety of Atrium? 
Flip a coin with Ebay. The larger vendors are probably okay, and some have offsite store fronts too. My used Lyr 3 came bundled with a bunch of Brent Jesse tubes and I couldn’t stand half of them. They were used by a unknown number of people for an unknown number of hours after being sold.
Elrog does this, but it’s not really the orangey-bluey glow that you want from tubes. More like a nightlight.
2 Likes
Temptation. But more probably Auteur Classic. Not for a while. Although I do like that Mango in the Limited.
2 Likes
For sure on the mango, I was tempted too! But I’m trying to NOT compete with Lothar on who has the most!
I encourage you to take the plunge, you won’t regret it!
1 Like
3 Likes
14 Likes
With how well those mirrors showcase the tube glow in photos, I can only imagine how fun that must be to look at in person. Very cozy, like staring off into the fireplace when music is playing in the background on a relaxing late-night evening. “The Dream” is a very fitting name.
3 Likes
It looks like DIY Through the Looking Glass.
1 Like
When your relaxing Thursday evening devolves into an all out rave:
6 Likes
Have you ever tried to use 5670 tubes WITH ADAPTERS for your E88CC equipment? They are still inexpensive to this day; I’ve been using various types of GEs and RCAs with great results in my Feliks Echo MK2. To my ears, they beat any of my more expensive E88CC (Sylvanias, Tungsrams, Amperex Bugle Boy, 6N1P) in technical attributes like soundstage, dynamics, transparency, texture, and liquidity. Tonally, those 5670 tubes are very balanced with nice bass impact, and preferring them over warmer, slower, thicker-sounding tubes like the 6922 Sylvanias is a matter of taste. ECC88 Bugle Boys are sweet sounding, but in my opinion they sound hazy and less textured when directly compared to 5670s having pretty much the same sonic warmth.
Here is some insight from iFi about that tube type.
*396a are on the way but I haven’t tried them yet.
5 Likes
The previous owner included two adapters and 4 matched GEC 4079 tubes. I’ve just gotten the amp and have not tried. He said they are very good, but gave a slight hum.
That makes me question the wisdom.
3 Likes
I have an adapter to use 5670 with my Vali2 - and I gotta say I like it - although IME every other tube I’ve adaptered into the V2 sound better than 6dj8.
A Tesla 6CC42 is probably one of the best all-round tubes I’ve found.
Speaking of the quality of the 5670, Schiit has converted the Vali2++/Vali3 to use them natively - although that could also be a supply decision too
3 Likes
Hum is not uncommon with tubes, even when using the correct model. Tubes can also be very sensitive to environmental interference / RF noise so hum may not be constant. Check for fluorescent lights, a cell phone, or an active table saw next to your amp.
However, be cautious with adapters because some don’t work right and some swaps may not last long. I’ve read that the (sucky design) DarkVoice 336 was meant for 220/240 volts and then kludged for 110/120 volts. So, some tubes hum, some tubes stop humming after 48 hours of burn in, and some tubes have abnormally short lifespans.
1 Like
Some portable tube amp love.
I actually got out of the tube amp world a few years ago, but recently decided to explore it on a portable scale.
The green thing is the iBasso PB5 Osprey. It’s a balanced portable Korg Nu-Tube based tube amp.
The one on the far right is the Orilolus BA300S. It’s a small, also balanced tube amp featuring two 6N16B mini tubes in it. What’s interesting about this specific one is that it has no volume control. It’ll add a small 3dB gain to the source input, so you’ll need to continue to use your source volume knob.
Unfortunately, both of these can’t be tube rolled.
8 Likes