If I hadn't chosen MHDT Havana (after initial Paradisea) I'd have gone for these. Nice to have handcrafted stuff!
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If I hadn't chosen MHDT Havana (after initial Paradisea) I'd have gone for these. Nice to have handcrafted stuff!
I have been trying to second guess the effect of using a 88 instead of a 82. As Ali says the anode voltage will be too high, so anode current will be high, but if its cathode bias as it probably will be in a phono then it should be ok. In fact the 82 may well be a cathode follower so that should not to be too bad. But the only way I can see the valve heater lighting up for both valves is if the 82 used 12v heaters (between pin 4 and 5), so the 88 will have been running with 12v on its heaters, which would explain why it was hot. Hopefully the heater supply will current limit so its getting a bit less than the full 12v.
Hopefully if there is any casualty, it will be the 88.
Anthony TD's views on this subject may be useful :)
Marco.
hi all,
as lurcher [nick] has already stated ECC81,2,3 are all primarily 12v [pin 4,5] heater twin triodes, but they can be run on 6v as they have a
centre tap heater which when connected this way you would normaly join pins 4,5 together and use them in conjunction with pin 9. ECC88 is a fixed heater type of 6v between pins 4,5 so cannot be used in the same configuration as ECC82!
also maximum plate voltages for the ECC81,2,3 is around 300v, ECC88 has a maximum of around 130v but is normaly run around 90v in most circuits.
i hope this helps.:)
Anthony,TD...
In hindsight, the sound did become "cleaner" when I used the 88; however that was it.... it didn't get any better, not actually more "clearer" or "transparent" to the recording... let alone more musical...Quote:
Originally Posted by lurcher
Thanks for the clarification... I should really pay more attention to what was printed on the tube :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyTD
Back home after a few days abroad... and I've just replaced the incompatible Siemens E88CC/6922 with a compatible favourite Pearl CryoValve that I've had forever (to the point that I no longer remember which NOS vintage they are :lol: ) and the sounds emanating from my system are absolutely sublime.... dripping with atmosphere and bristling with detail in a totally natural unforced fluid flow (dare I say analogue?)... a match made in Hi-Fi Heaven! :harp:
It's come to a point where I'm now considering getting a brand new NOS Pearl CryoValve (Gold Grade/Plus) as the current one (originally Ultra-Low Noise Grade) has seen many years of wear and tear in it's earlier installation in a pre-amp that I'm no longer using... :cool:
p.s. While I take the time to consider spending more money than I normally would on a single valve, I'll continue exploring other compatible valves in my humble collection ;)
Mullard M8136 or CV4003 would be good choices.Langrex here in the UK sell them.
Hi Ali,
As it so happens, I do have a Mullard CV4003 on hand and at your suggestion, did install it in the DAC. However, after a couple of unmusical days, I re-installed the Pearl CryoValve to regain the lost sense of transparency, "air", sweetness, PRAT and dynamic range/impact, that I was enjoying before... :)
While playing J.S.Bach's Orchestral Suites through the Mullard, it sounded as if the music came in as a single mass emanating from a distance, where the strings which normally took center-stage seemed overwhelmed by the accompanying instruments and I wasn't able to appreciate the inter-play between the performers etc.
Having said that, I only noticed the full measure of what I was missing after re-installing the Pearl CryoValve. Before then, I felt that there was a distinct reduction in signal gain, size of the soundstage, separation between the instruments (smearing of sound?) and the music flowed in a very sedate manner (so laid-back that it almost sounded lazy! :lol: ), in comparison to the Pearl CryoValve it replaced.
The only time where I truly appreciated the Mullard was when I playing the Solitudes' Natural Sleep Inducement CD (yep, insomniac at large here :o) as the Mullard presented it in such a way as to only be perceivable by the periphery of my Consciousness; unlike the the CryoValve which has a tendency to make me sit up and listen to everything going on in the recording...
I've recently obtained french NOS valves from Mazda (military-spec Cifte with the dual flags printed on the tube and carefully packed with paper damping etc) and another with the Mazda Radio label on the box without any sort of protective packing and no dual flags printed anywhere :) I'll try them out in due time as I've yet to install the Artisan Digital Dream digital IC and another silver IC which has been waiting for me at the postal parcel centre. Apparently, they arrived a month earlier :rolleyes: but I never got the first notification and was only recently made aware when the second notification arrived to warn me that my order will be sent back to the sender if they're not collected :lol:
I'll be continuing with more tube-rolling once the new ICs have been properly burnt in (which may take awhile as I'm often abroad) ;)
I guess the Mullard may be tired.I've found them very good in the past. How's the dac sound now you've got a few hours on it?