The All Purpose Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Sep 26, 2015.

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  1. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    Which amp? I’ve owned a both the otl & the el3n. The el3n is a very good amp which plays well with most phones. The otl really only high z cans.
     
  2. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Buy whatever you want and be happy. Modi 3, no Eitr? Go for it, save hundreds, be happy. Jitter and usb issues not a problem? Good, save some money, be happy.
     
  3. priamXus

    priamXus New

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    Thanks ! I’m about to decide although I had a drawback...

    I canceled the purchase of my Valhalla 2 since the original owner told me that the tubes (6N6P) used to last him between 400 and 800 hours, I don’t know if this is kinda normal, he told me that he used to use it as a preamp with the volume maxed out.

    I talked to schiit and two persons replied to me. One said that the tubes should last me anywhere between 3000-5000hs and the other said between 5000-10000hs. So I’m kinda lost now.

    The thing is I’d be using the Valhalla 2 for everything as my daily driver, not just music. Would you recommend to first get a SS or hybrid amp and then go to the Valhalla and use when I want to enjoy music or should I go straight to it and use it for everything? (It would be like 6-8hs a day)
     
  4. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    How does the OTL sound on Senns?

    The tubes are cheap, even if they only last 800 hours, which seems way shorter than usual, it'll still only require replacement every three months at your usage. At least it's not like replacing a 2A3 or 300B. Just get it and find out if you like it. If not, they're easy enough to resell.
     
  5. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    ... or maybe the guy was hyper anal, thought there was some degradation at 400 hours and had insomnia until he replaced them, or kept replacing them with crap tubes that pissed the bed after a few months.
     
  6. priamXus

    priamXus New

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    Honestly I don’t know. He really freaked me out and I canceled. He told me that he started to hear imbalance or crackling or noise from one of the channels most of the times.
     
  7. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Cheap nos tubes - especially JAN or CV military tubes - are good for 10k+ hours.

    Even the dirt cheap new sensor tubes are god for 5k+...
     
  8. priamXus

    priamXus New

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    This is good now then, sorry about my ignorance, but do the 6N6P fall into one of those? Maybe there was something in his setup or either the Valhalla putting stress on the tubes? Because about the preamp ones he said he had no problem.
     
  9. Ray

    Ray Friend

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  10. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    A non-optimal circuit design can put undue stress on tubes. I wouldn't put Schiit gear into that category nor have I heard of the Valhalla being a tube eater. I think that seller probably needed some meds adjustment.
     
  11. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    The OTL. I don't have any low-z cans, so we're good there.
     
  12. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    Pretty sure he was designing an amp to go with the zmf headphones. I believe he has an auteur. His waiting lists are longer now, if your really interested you should contact him ASAP.
     
  13. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    I have. I'm just checking in to make sure it's worth while. Some of the upgrade options are interesting, but I'm not sure how much of a difference they make. Specifically the transformer and caps.
     
  14. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    If you can afford those I highly recommend it. The Lundahl transformers are expensive but imo their worth it. Upgraded caps for better clarity.
     
  15. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    Apples and oranges. JAN & CV are classes of tube production, which can come from a number of different families. 6N6P is a family of tubes.
     
  16. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    JAN = Joint Army & Navy. U.S. Military spectubes.
    CV = Common Valve, the quaint British designation for the same thing. These were also often supplied to NATO at large.

    These are essentially extra-sturdy long-lasting versions of some of the best tubes of the times.

    You can get military tubes from other nations too, these are just the most well known codes in the west.
     
  17. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    The stock tube of the Vali 2 gives it a fun sound.

    Find a Siemens or Halske tube, warm it up and try it. The Vali 2 will sound like a completely different amplifier and it still looks the same. One downside to the Halske tubes: they can be expensive relative to other tubes but f**k are they worth it.

    I was lucky I did not had to sell off my Vali 2 last month.
     
  18. winterfog

    winterfog Facebook Friend

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    Has anyone had any strange issues with USB or Eitr output during computer startup? I've been using my Eitr to feed a vintage Counterpoint DA-10 DAC that only accepts 44.1 or 48 khz input. I set the Eitr to a default output of 24-44.1 and that has been working fine. However, last night I restarted my Windows 10 computer and the DA-10 absolutely freaked out. It relay-switched sampling or bit rates about six times, then made a horrible buzzing noise that I assume means it was being fed a signal that it couldn't deal with. That lasted about six seconds. Then startup completed, and everything was fine again.

    Should I expect that a Windows 10 computer will output something other than 16-24 bit or 44.1-48 khz through USB audio devices during startup, and that Eitr will pass this along unaltered? I'd like to figure out what's going on here, because I can't deal with that buzzing every time I restart the computer. (Edit: Or, since it's Windows 10, every time the computer restarts on its own.) Maybe this is the end of my vintage DAC experimentation.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
  19. Cycleman

    Cycleman New

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    I am searching a dac for my system (hegel h190 and harbeth c7es)

    I don't have the opportunity to listen anything.i just wondering if benchmark dac 3 or rme adi 2 would be fit to my system...or these 'studio' dacs is not for hifi. I am scared about not be dry!

    On the other hand i am thinking of yggdrasil.....holo spring and metrum onyx.any advice? I like the mid freq on female voices.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
  20. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    There is no problem with pro gear, other than paying for features you don't want/need, and potential gain/impedance mismatches, and the latter shouldn't be a problem with the Rme or Benchmark. Many here like the Rme, (but certainly not all) but the Benchmark does not have a lot of fans on this site. It's sound doesn't appeal to many here, but SBAF is full of fans of R2R dacs, whether of the multibit chip or discrete resistor variety, and the Benchmark seems to be the antithesis of that approach. I would suggest trying (I saw that you said it is hard in Greece) to get ears on a couple good examples of each type to narrow it down a bit. If you don't know what you like, no one else here will, either.
     
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