Dale W Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 and a half hours of switching cd's and pondering the detail has my ears in there glory. I'm very sorry i lack the words or expressions of sound detail that kelly has but my lord i can't see it getting much better than this. There is zero noise at any volume level without the source running, the background is very black to say the least. Something that solid state seems to lack. That nasty humming or hissing sound simply is'nt there. Well enough with my attempt at sounding intelligent, lets get to the tunes. Aron nevel is amazing along with lori morgan's lovely voice, these vocal tunes warmed up the tubes then i challenged them with some joan jett and the four horseman along with a little ac/dc. Hard rock is handled easy and my lascalas give out way before the amps, 7 to 10 o'clock position is crisp clean with super tight snappy bass. About the 12 o'clock position the lascala's have had enough and the highs start falling apart ( 126 db @ 8 ft ). For you SET boy's and symphony fans , i ran thru the reference cd of BERLIOZ KOJIAN ( utah symphony) " march to the scaffold " & " scene in the country " were breath taking, uplifting and heart pounding all at the same time. " dream of the witches sabbath" with orchestral bells was simply amazing. Craigs mods on the dynaco's are right on the money " perfect job craig" and the pre-amp from jean-francios is a dream come true. Right now i'm running the high z output but i'm going to let the tubes settle for awhile and try the low z . I'm going to need a lot more listening time to find all the good points but so far nothing negitive has come up. ( except my monstercable sigma is way to heavy for the dynaco's barrier strip so no k-horns yet i'm just running the lascala's on the tubes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Glad the Pantheon 6SN7 and the Dynaco Mk III are matching well. I kind of thought the 6SN7 would be a good match for a KT-88 amp. It has been in my sytem when I have had them here. With different NOS 6SN7, you should get subtle refinements here. I just am happy you are loving the whole thing, which is what is important. The sound should get better as it breaks in and stablizes. Let the gear cook for a bit. Dont make changes, just let yourself relax and when you finally stop "listening to the system" you will know you have reached success. Late night with tubes is a joy. You should be getting far more ambience and air in the sound, with a more dimensional soundstage, not to mention more open and relaxed midrange and top end. The mids and top via a good tube system is so clearly superior and more life-like than most solid state, it's actually almost impossible to go back. The music just breathes more with good valves. Richness is increased without sounding dull or rolled off. I actually think the bass is more natural via quality tube amps as well, though some miss that iron grip that some SS offers. I think the low z will really be the finally resting place and the preferred output but you can try both. You might want to try that and leave it there for extended listening. Give the whole system some more breakin and watch it get better. I knew those barrier strips would be problematic with those big spades. Opt for the better metal nut posts or different wire, with more fitting spades. Glad you are smiling. Drop ole Jeff a line and tell him the same. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 4, 2003 Author Share Posted March 4, 2003 Kelly : The system variables are endless here , thats the great part. Cables, interconnects, tubes etc and time is the big thing. I'm going to need endless hours of listening before i'd attempt changing anything. I've got to get use to the sound before any change would ever be noticed. My NOS GTB'S never came in yet, so today i ran into audio ark and picked up a pair of sovtek 6SN7 GT'S. Probably at $20.00 a tube there not likly the holy grail of tubes but then again they will need some time to burn in before any judgement can be based. You should smell my basement right now !!! wow !! just like the paint cooking on a new engine. The dither control on my rotel cd player made little or no difference in sound with the ss gear but makes a big change with the tube gear. Everytime i press the setting from 0 to 7 it brightens the soundstage or makes the music sound father away from you but just as loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 >>wow !! just like the paint cooking on a new engine. ROTFLMAO. That's just not one of the things appreciated by that vast mediocre population out there. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 You are running those Sovteks? LORD! Break in indeed. They DO work, that much can be said. Wait till you get some other tubes in there. I am happy you like it with those because when you get better tubes, you will take a big step back! The Sovtek will hit backup status faster than you can say 6SN7. Look for good things when all that gear starts to burn-in. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 5, 2003 Author Share Posted March 5, 2003 Kelly: LOL Those were the olny tubes in town, so i had little choice. I could'nt stand looking any longer and just had to fire everything up. I'm sure some good NOS tubes will help. I've got a few small problems but i'll e-mail jeff and see where i stand first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 5, 2003 Author Share Posted March 5, 2003 Problem solved , no problem at all. Tiny bit of mircophoning on the volume pot but thats normal and causes no worries. I'm very very very HAPPY !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Dale, I'm so excited I can't type which I guess is not all the abnormal !! Kelly, Is right on the money get it setup the way you think it sounds the best and let it all settle in !! Bias the amps a few times after its been on for hours. Heck leave the entire setup on for a few days ! Be very carefull to not shut the amps off and then turn them right back on. Its the easiest way on earth to burn out those 5AR4 which at your leisure you should find a set of mullards Ebay is a great source for these !! So I knew my ears were okay and those beast really sound awesome !! Did you end up using the KT-88s I sent with the amp ?? You have endless options for rolling tubes in the front end of the amp also !! The provided tubes are alright but some NOS would shine here too !! Boards require 2 12AU7 or 1 12AU7 + 12BH7 or ECC99 per board. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 5, 2003 Author Share Posted March 5, 2003 The tubes were all fine !! although i do have backups now. I was sitting downstairs with the lights off just gleaming from ear to ear with the delight of the glowing tubes and unbelievable sound. The sight hint of blue on the sides of the kt-88's looks really cool in the dark. This is no sissy fiddle music amp !! these babys can pound your chest real hard and have no trouble at "ALL " keeping pace with the hard rock. I can feel the electricity from the guitar riffs like no ss amp i've ever owned. It's a totaly different sound presentation all together. I really like it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Oh but I played ever gender of music with them and couldn't find a weak spot at all !! They sound so good at lower volume they call you onto the volume control saying turn me up !! I dare you try to make me wimp out I bet your ears or speakers give first !! They are nothing short of amazing !! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOADEDTUNES Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Glad to hear your happy dale. It's been a long road for you so far but i'm sure the wait was well worth the end result. Once i switched back to tubes i never looked back. Give it some time and i'm sure you'll be rewarded in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Congratulations on your new gear Dale!! It is great to hear about another "tube head" joining the Heritage brigade. Keep up posted as the amps and preamp settle in and your thoughts when you start rolling those tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 congrats dale! reminds me of my first evening listeing to my dynacos and marantz preamp, discovering my music all over again. guess I will go throught this all gain when I get my new amps, fun isn't it! warm regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Dale, I am glad you are enjoying your new combo. Keep posting. This is taking me back to when I hooked up my Wright's. Don't you hate having to go to work now and leave the goods at home. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 5, 2003 Author Share Posted March 5, 2003 Chris is the next up to bat for the pantheon, he should be a real good judge of it's character since he has way more time in than me with tubes. Plus he has another pre-amp to compare it to. I can hardly wait for his review now. I'm sure he's going to be just as happy if not more than me. His pre-amp has a few different mod's than mine which should help it out even more. GREAT WORK FROM THE FRENCH CONNECTION !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 kelly, how are RCA VT231/6SN7GT 's in the overall 6SN7 world? thanks, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Good to see you enjoying your setup Dale. That is a kickass combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Great, Dale! The look-factor alone was stunning, and it's great to hear the performance is all you wanted and more, too! That must be really satisfying. Hey, do you happen to know what the low and high output impedance values are of the Pantheon? The low impedance output (depending on what it is) would generally be used for amps of lower input impedance (more frequently Solid State than Hollow)and/or longer runs of interconnect between preamp and amplifier, and the high impedance out for amplifiers with input impedances of 100k ohms or more. The coupling capacitor on the low Imped. output would be larger than that used for the high impedance output, which can often provide more pronounced bass response. Either way it wouldn't really matter, and that preamp is obviously designed with a great deal of thought. The first preamp I built (a Bruce Rozenblit design) also had the options of both, and they both came in handy depending on the situation. So, it's great you have lots of options to choose from. I just loved the work you did on your amps! They looked incredible. Have fun and congrats! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 My NOS GTB'S never came in yet, so today i ran into audio ark and picked up a pair of sovtek 6SN7 GT'S. Probably at $20.00 a tube there not likly the holy grail of tubes but then again they will need some time to burn in before any judgement can be based. It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to have tubes shipped up to the Great White North. They were shipped out within two days of ordering, but Cdn Customs and US security (feel free to fill in your opinion or expletive deletive about what George W is doing) greatly delayed anything crossing the border. They will arrive, just a lot slower than normal. Congratulations on the beautiful setup. I am sure you will have many hours of enjoyment and many changes to make in the future. Better quality NOS tubes will make a big difference in the quality of sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted March 5, 2003 Author Share Posted March 5, 2003 Thanx all around for the praise guy's . Tony : I do remember reading some place that the vt-231 is the military grade of the 6SN7 GT . But if i'm mistaken i'm sure kelly will correct me on that point. ERIK : I do believe chris's pre-amp is going to kelly first and he may also have the high and low z specs, i've not measured them myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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