Flevoman

I managed to get my hands on a 4-month-old R300 tonight. I've connected it to my Cornwall 4 speakers, and I'm currently listening to it. After two hours of listening, my initial impression is that it sounds good, but not exceptional.. no WOW feeling so far. The soundstage is well-defined, and the sound feels slightly more expansive compared to my Decware Zen Triode. However, I do notice some sharper edges in the vocals. The Decware Zen Triode, in my opinion, is slightly more musical and creates a more holographic image that I find very appealing. It's worth mentioning that the R300 still has its original set of tubes.

Hahaha 😄, well.. I apriciate the effort you took

Thank you for the advice. Do you mean trying a different brand or a completely different type of tube (if that's even possible)?

"Hmmm... So I probably won't hear a difference between my old and any potential new tubes. And I'll probably hear little difference between different brands of tubes... This way my motivation for tube rolling is brought to an all-time low." 😄

Okay, thanks for the explanation. So as I understand it now, it's pretty pointless to replace tubes after only 1200 hours with the expectation that the tubes will audibly improve. However, that doesn't mean I'm not still interested in trying out tuberoling 😉

I have set the bias to the value stated in the manual, which is between 30 and 35. And then I personally stick to the lower end, around 30/32. But if I understand correctly, tubes with the allowed bias value will last many thousands of hours without significantly deteriorating in sound quality?

That long??!!!... I'm confused, I really thought that after max 2000 hours you really need to change them.

"I don't know how many hours are typically required for tube replacement, but I estimate that my 2A3 tubes have played for about 1200 hours. Would there be a noticeable difference in sound between my tubes and new tubes with this amount of usage? And what should the tonal differences be?

Hey, I can join the site again. It was down for some time for me. Anyway, thank you for the replys guys 👍🏻

Hello, I own the Melody MDA2, a PP 2A3 tube amplifier, and I want to replace the four 2A3 tubes and I have a few questions about it. I would apriciate it if you guys can help me out. Do I need to buy two matched pairs or a matched quartet, or does it make no difference and can I just buy four pieces? Will any 2A3 tube fit into the amplifier, or are there any differences I should be aware of? Are there any recommended brands or types that perform well? I saw a 2A3 tube that delivered up to 40W. Is this recommended?

@mikebse2a3 thank you for the compliment. Still work in progres , but thx. Yes, I have tried the 4 ohm tab. To be honest, it was hard to hear any difference. I had the feeling there was a bit more bass, but I had the idea the music was a bit dull. I'm talking about nuances, but this is what I thought I could hear. So back to 8ohm 😉 I'm testing the speakers now while they are 40cm closer to each other. This is the last option I haven't tried yet. I think I prefer how it was before, a bit wider. It gave a tiny bit more air between the instruments and singer. So probably tomorrow the speakers will be back how they where and then I will give the 4ohm tab another try. I haven't tried it with the "wider/normal" set up Thank you for the tips you gave me. Right now I want to stick to adjusting the speakers, perhaps use some damping or defusers. And in the near future (month or 2) decide if I keep this amp or going for an upgrade.

@KT88 Ahh.. I see. I didn't know it was an exotic brand. But your probably right about Holland because here in the Netherlands there are a few for sale. Nice people?. Of course!!.. Typical Dutch 😜 I know hifishark. Will never use it for buying my gear, I want to see it before I buy something. But I use it as an price indicator. But for now I won't do anything with a SS amp. First I want to be 100% happy with my tube amp before I start to search for an SS amp. Thank you anyway for this advise. About the speakers, I had them already moved back to the wall. That far in to the livingroom was no good for several reasons. I didn't liked the look of it. They where blocking my path somewhat, also more risk to damage a speaker because of that. And also, I've noticed when I move my sofa more to the backwall the bass is increasing. But not in a positive way. It's getting more boomy. So, they are back where they where before.. 1 feet away from the wall. Have tried all combinations now and I think I prefer this setup the most

The photo seems to make it look like if it's smaller. The sofa and backwall in real are wider

Here are some photos I just took how my livingroom. Is atm. Like I said, speakers are further in to the livingroom now. Sofa is more to the back wall. I'm curious if you can see anything what can improve the sound. I think I've tried everything now. What can perhaps give some improvement is to place some absorbtion material or a defusers on the back wall. Looking in to that now. And perhaps, if I can find something that is also good looking, some damping on the ceiling. Photo is taken exactly where my head is when listening Keep in mind that the right and left side of the sofa is pulled away when I'm alone again

@KT88 thank you for this tip. Just curious, what have Holland to do with it? But I took a peek at Marktplaats (just like Ebay) and there are a some for sale. I will keep it in mind 👍🏻 @Shakeydeal I have pulled the speakers a bit further in to the livingroom last night. And because of this also moved the sofa more to the backwalll. The center of the speaker to the wall is now 2 feet. Again not sure, but it feels like there is more air in the music. Stereo image seems to be the same though. Voices are still not pin point precise like I had with the Heresy's 2. But this is my first impression. It was getting late last night.

That's true, I can just give it a try. Will do this tomorrow just for the experience. But keeping the speakers permanently further forward is not possible unfortunately

Welcome to the club and join us on our journey to find the best CW setup. Just curious, which CW do you own? I'm not the right person to give you some advise. Probably any moment people will jump on this topic who can help you with your question. Perhaps some more information about your setup can help with giving some advise. How have you placed your speakers? How big is your room.. How much do you want to spent for your upgrade? The thing is, you can improve your sound in so many ways.

Although I am not in to a SS amp yet, interesting post to read 👍🏻

Well, let me be clear that I don't know anything about tubeamps 😄 But I had the same discussion with my hifi dealer.. With the demo of the MDA2 they told me it was not a PP. Back home I saw on the internet it was a PP. A conversation between my hifi dealer and the Melody dealer started and this is what they explained to me, not a PP but a paralel single ended class A, the information on the website was not correct they said. Anyway, the truth is that I don't know what's correct. Maybe it is a PP system, maybe not.. But its is sounding better then the ST70 for sure 😉 Going to give the 4ohm tab a try. I'm curious what I will hear. Thank you for this tip

@KT88 I'm very happy with this amp. And indeed it was a nice stepup compared to my Dynaco ST70. But I have heard the Melody everest. And I liked what I've heard a lot But the cost of that tube amp.. Insane. They have an occasion for sale now, but still... But perhaps I go for the Melody Everest as an upgrade. https://www.atube-highfidelity.nl/product/melody-audio/ @MicroMara no, I agree on you. But because this hifidealer is helping me a lot, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. In the end, nothing wrong with giving it a chance 😉 @mikebse2a3no, on the 8 ohm tab. Can I try it also on the 4ohm tab without damaging anything? Maybe in the future I will also go for a SS amp next to my tube amp. And no, it is not a PP system. It is in class A.. I forgot how this system is called its not SET and not PP. Maybe someone else know how this type of amp system is called? Edit : I think its called paralel single ended

One more thing. Just for the info, no need to discus it now. But what I have in mind to do first is room acoustic. For now I'm searching for all the info that is needed. I will keep it easy, not going to work with microphones, programs, etc. Probably it will be something on the back wall and perhaps something on the ceiling. Although I don't believe that cables will make any improvement. Still I want to give it a chance. My hifi dealer is convinced that this can give me a noticeable improvement and if I skip this step it can hinder my future setup improvements. So they will make an offer with speakercables, interlink, filter,power cord, etc.. If there is an inprovemwnt, perfect.. I buy the whole package. If not, I keep what I have now and will probably upgrade in the near future my tubeamp.

@mikebse2a3 thx for your input. What I have tried so far - speakers flat against the wall Towed in and facing straight forward. - speakers away from the wall X-line behind my head, x-line in front of me.. X-line on the listening spot (how it is right now) Unfortunately because how my room is its not possible to place the speakers on a short wall (the pictures will show what I mean) Also, although I'm willing to do a lot for the best sound quality, it's also a livingroom. So there have to be some kind of balans between my audio hobby and a nice looking livingroom 😉 So the WAF factor without any wife in sight .. How about that 😄 Still doubting about a good sub.. Maybe in the future, but not for now.

No problem with sharing pictures. If you think this can help with giving me some tips I will take some pictures tomorrow. @MicroMara thank you 👍🏻 @Shakeydeal there is also a kitchen in there, it ain't all livingroom space 😉 But it is more then enough for me living alone