Thoughts on new ET3 SE

[Krustykat]

A word of thanks to everyone - I just ran across this thread and it's been a great relief to me. I'm at about 150 hours into the break-in of my new c-j ET3-SE and I think my experiences are spot on with others in this thread. Initially, I was very disappointed when I installed it, the sound was so 2 dimensional and lifeless . It's now coming into its own and I'm very much enjoying the character of it's sound. It's still doesn't have quite the depth of soundstage that I got running directly from my disc player directly to the amp, but the tonality seems much more textured and layered. I am quite certain with the pace of break-in and if it continues like this for a couple hundred more hours, I'm going to have an exquisite preamp on my hands!

I"m running it at about a 22x7 pace for break-in and haven't noticed too much of the "two step forward one step back" , it all seems to be progressively better as I listen to it. I 'm counting the hours.....

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by Krustykat

I"m running it at about a 22x7 pace for break-in and haven't noticed too much of the "two step forward one step back" , it all seems to be progressively better as I listen to it. I 'm counting the hours.....

At this point it should start to get better gradually and you should not have steps back. You will need another 200 hours to get 90% of the break in over with and then you might or might not hear further improvements up to 800 hours.

Enjoy you ET3SE. Once you are at the 350 hour mark you will have a truly phenomenal preamp and will forget about the break in and just enjoy the music.

[Littlebunny]

^ What he said.

I've been tube-swapping quite a bit. I like Matsushita tubes the most with the (hugely expensive) Miniwatt Dario next.

P.S. Maybe I can post a picture of the power supply at some point? I'd like someone to show me how to convert it from 240V to 120V. Thanks!!

[watchdog]

Another ET3SE owner checking in here.

Like what has been reported here, there was a fairly long break-in time with most changes after about 200-300 hours.

It also seems quite sensitive to tubes. I had a stash of GL reissued 6922s that worked fine in other equipment, but 2 out of 3 were a bit too noisy for the ET3SE.

Despite all that, I absolutely love mine.

Anybody have luck with cones or footers ? I've tried a variety, and the stock rubber feet still sound better to me. Many changed the tonal balance or focus, and not always in a way that I liked.

[medward0]

@watchdog

Reading your comment here got me thinking about the Aurios Pro Max footers I have beneath my ET3SE: what would it sound like without them?

Well, taking them out resulted in a better soundstage (more precise and larger and extends out in front of the speakers) and less harshness in the treble. Who would've thought? I've been scratching my head about some harshness in the treble and looks like I've found one culprit.

So now the ET3SE sits on my Box Furniture rack nekkid.

Yea, getting quiet-enough tubes for this pre is difficult. My best results have come from buying the 6922 tubes direct from CJ or Audio Research.

But, yea, I love my pre too.

[watchdog]

@medwardo,

I happen to have a set of Aurios Classic and although they added definition and focus, they also added a harshness in the high frequencies that no amount of positioning could get rid off.

Other footers I tried unsuccessfully under the ET3SE include Cold Rays, Ansuz Darcz, Ceraball and the Cerabase.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by watchdog

@medwardo,

I happen to have a set of Aurios Classic and although they added definition and focus, they also added a harshness in the high frequencies that no amount of positioning could get rid off.

Had the same experience here with Aurios Classics under my Premier 17LS. Replaced them with Stillpoints Ultra Minis. Now have better definition and focus...and a more liquid top end.

[bgiliberti]

I'm thinking of trading up from my Classic SE to the ET3SE, mainly to get a little more ooomph and bass extension, in which I feel the Classic SE is a bit shy. While it has been a vast improvement over my previous PV-7 in clarity and definition, and is overall a fine preamp, the PV-7 did the bass better. I think the power supply in the Classic may be just a bit less robust than in the PV-7 (and the PV-7, with that big ol' transformer, weighs about twice as much too.) Having read through this thread, a noticed that a few others have gone from the Classic SE to the ET3 or ET3SE. Can anyone comment on the difference in the sound quality between the Classic SE and the ET3SE? I'm not considering the ET3, as I want the Teflon. Also, I don't need the phono stage, as I am CD only.

[ronenash]

I am not sure what the differences in the power supply are if any but one big advantage the et3 has is the relay based stepped volume control. The et3se adds top quality Vishay resistors to the volume control which takes things a couple of notches higher.

[Forte 4A]

I just took home an ET3 SE for a home demo. The biggest problem I've had has been a rather noisy hiss coming from the speakers. So I'm reluctant to buy. When I give it back to the dealer tomorrow I'll see if the hiss is still there.