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  #181  
Old 04-08-2019, 10:05 AM
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Charles.......The basic recipe is excellent. You are merely making minor adjustments to the seasonings. And so it goes with tube rolling. Lots of fun.
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  #182  
Old 04-13-2019, 07:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdandy View Post
Charles.......The basic recipe is excellent. You are merely making minor adjustments to the seasonings. And so it goes with tube rolling. Lots of fun.
It can be fun, but also frustrating if my attitude is wrong or curiosity takes over to the point I lose track of what I'm after and start chasing sound instead. I replayed some tracks from the Hans Zimmer blu-ray this week and the power of the low frequencies gave me a slight headache initially. The Gold Lions didn't do that. Then I thought, I don't dare put the JJ Hi-Performance tubes back in; their bottom is a bit stronger than the Black Diamonds. But they're a warmer tube, and their midrange is nice and full, so that should mitigate any bright/hard CDs I play. As for the headache concern, I don't remember that being a problem, but it's been a while since I used the JJs. And the Transparent power cords have opened up the sound so that maybe the JJs would be a "perfect" tube for my setup.

I don't need to switch out tubes every time I hit a CD or DVD that shows up a particular problem with a tube on that recording. Isolated examples are not to be preferred over consistent experience, I begin to think. There's no such thing as a perfect tube, and I think I've drifted toward trying to put one in my C2300.

Despite the last sentence of that first paragraph, the Black Diamonds stay a while longer. Yes, I could put the JJs in if I want, but I've had the BDs in for only a week on this second go-round. Patience is called for.
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  #183  
Old 05-20-2019, 04:46 PM
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It's been a while, but I have noticed something else interesting.

I still have the Black Diamonds in my C2300, but have swapped out my Blu-ray player. I've gone back to my Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD while the BDP-88FD is off for repair. The 09 uses Wolfson DACs, the 88 ESS Sabres.

With the Wolfsons, the sound is fuller and richer (warmer?), and I'm enjoying getting re-acquainted with it. As the BD tubes are not as warm as the JJ Hi-Performance Gold Pins I had used before, the balance is quite nice. And I wonder if those selfsame JJs would be a better fit for the 88 when it comes back (and if I decide to go back to it), with their weightier bottom and rich midrange. The rest of the system is okay with the BDs (except maybe those bright CDs I talk about; I haven't played any yet). But now I wonder which DAC my MCD500 uses, and how the JJs would do with the 2300's phono stage; the sound was maybe a bit too warm when I went through my Aragon 47k phono preamp. Oh what fun.
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  #184  
Old 05-20-2019, 06:50 PM
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.....But now I wonder which DAC my MCD500 uses......


The MCD500 uses Sabre 9008 DAC’s.
I enjoyed mine for many years until I replaced it with an MCD1100.

Tom
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Last edited by W9TR; 05-21-2019 at 02:02 PM.
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  #185  
Old 05-22-2019, 07:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W9TR View Post
The MCD500 uses Sabre 9008 DAC’s.
I enjoyed mine for many years until I replaced it with an MCD1100.

Tom
I'm not surprised to hear this, actually. The 500's sound makes it easy to believe there are Sabres in there, just as it's easy to believe there are Wolfsons in my 09FD. The sound gives them away. There is another DAC, the AKM (AK4490EQ) used in Pioneer's 4K Blu-ray player, the LX-500; the sound there is supposedly middle ground between the Wolfson and the Sabre. I'm actually giving the LX-500 consideration, and I don't own a 4K TV.

I almost can't believe I'm to the point of considering matching tubes to equipment. Depending upon what happens with the 88FD/LX-500 situation, I may use the JJs in the line stage and leave the Black Diamonds in the phono stage of my 2300. This is crazy.
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Last edited by prepress; 05-23-2019 at 05:22 AM. Reason: typo
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  #186  
Old 06-19-2019, 07:22 PM
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I'm curious. Does anyone have any thoughts on NOS JAN GE 12AX7WA or RCA 12AX7A / ECC83 tubes?
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  #187  
Old 07-03-2020, 05:03 PM
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A question. Once tubes are broken in, do they need to break in again if not used for a long time?
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  #188  
Old 07-03-2020, 08:42 PM
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Once and done. Unless, of course, something weird has happened to them.
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  #189  
Old 07-04-2020, 07:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2 View Post
Once and done. Unless, of course, something weird has happened to them.
Ok, thanks for the info.

An old issue has rekindled itself in the form of playing older, bright CDs and how harsh they can sound. As much as I like the Telefunken Black Diamonds I use in my C2300, they don't help much with the brightness. Other than replacing the player (Mac MCD500) with something warmer (Marantz?) or turning volume down (not preferable), I could substitute warmer tubes; I don't think a power cord or interconnect will fix brightness.

I was using JJ High-Performance Gold Pins before, and they, being warmer than the BDs, did the best job of taming bright recordings enough that I could listen at my normal volume settings.
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  #190  
Old 07-04-2020, 08:12 PM
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I've got about 300 early CDs that I no longer play. They are just too badly recorded and trying to tweak my system to make them playable would be a waste as each one needs its own 'tweaks'. If it is worth having I replace it with a modern recording that has been done well. Or, get the vinyl.
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