The All Purpose Advice Thread

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

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  1. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Yes I have some experience and am actually selling an original UltraVerve preamp due to divorce. PM me if you have any specific questions. But before I bought it I owned 2 Audible Illusions preamps (way over rated BTW). Auditioned Conrad Johnson and Audio Research and they were no match for the deHavilland. Read some of the reviews on their website, they are pretty spot on. It is a VERY good preamp.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Octal tubes:
    [​IMG]

    12_7 tubes:
    [​IMG]
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's not all bad. Sometimes if you put a Megatron or He-Man after a 12_7 tube, it's OK. I cannot stand 12_7 into 12_7 designs though. They sound like limp dick (not pictured). @brencho can probably attest to this now that he has sold off these offending pieces of gear in his system.
     
  4. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    LOL bro how'd you get that pic of me. Seriously though, I MUCH prefer my phono stage with 6922 tubes versus my previous one with 12AX7 tubes. Way more cojones, just better in every way, but that's not exclusively due to the tubes but might be partially related to the tubes.

    My favorite 12A_7 tube amp is the Torpedo 3 since that had ample Huevos. Curious about the newer Torpedo designs and whether they also use this tube family.
     
  5. winders

    winders boomer

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    After my post asking about the deHavilland UltraVerve 3 preamp, I received a couple of messages suggesting that I look at the Don Sachs "Custom 6SN7 Preamp". This preamp has a strong group of supporters out there. So now I am looking closely at those two preamps. The Don Sachs preamp uses 4 6SN7 tubes and one 6AX5GT rectifier tube. There is also an option for one set of XLR inputs which is semi important to me as I think Yggdrasil sounds better out of its XLR outputs. The XLR option and the fact that I have a bunch of 6SN7 matched pairs make this preamp attractive.

    Would anyone here by chance have experience with both the deHavilland UltraVerve 3 and the Don Sachs Custom 6SN7 preamp?
     
  6. kida

    kida New

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    @Marvey @Vansen @Hands Need some advice from you guys who have listened to MCTH
    For hd650 + Modi Multibit, is it better to go with MCTH or Jotunheim?
    (Both for musicality and value perspective, given that for Jotunheim, I'll need another balanced cable for hd650)
    (My preferred sound now is my portable ZX2 > CA Andromeda)
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
  7. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Just a guess but Jot will give you better extension on both ends from HD650 compared to MCTH, which should get you close to Andromeda sound.
     
  8. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Depends on your tastes. I prefer MCTH.
     
  9. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    For the HD650, I prefer the CTCTH.
     
  10. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Would also be curious about this.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Given your stated preferred sound, I'd take MCTH with the HD650, but with Modi Multibit as DAC, not the built-in SDAC. ZX2 is tilted dark, with more or less organic-ness (depend on whether you have the Sony sound process turned off or not). Source will matter with MCTH and H650.
     
  12. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Interesting. Thought the Jotunheim and 650 is the magical pairing.

    There are very few impressions and comparisons for the Sagaheim, and I'm thinking about adding a Saga. Do you prefer the M/CT CTH or Sagaheim if I am after layering, natural stage, and depth, with a 6xx?
    I should also add that for some reason MJ2 doesn't sound good to me. I am running Vali2-heim and PR (absolute PR finally sounds better with an amperex 6DJ8), but the headstage can sound way off with the wrong track. Haven't heard the Torpedo 3, and BW2 is really stretching my budget.
     
  13. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    Dude, that's like another $350 for minimal gains! Don't do it. Those of that did, had the Saga around for other purposes. You're hitting 750 USD there against an item that I think does a better job at 200 USD in this one particular situation.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Depends on what you want. HD650 and Valhalla 2 is also another magical pairing, but in a different way. Valhalla 2 would have the deepest and best stage among everything mentioned here. There is no single piece here that does it all.
     
  15. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    I completely agree with the Valhalla 2 comment on this. It's all in what you're looking for. To me, the Valhalla 2 always has this resolution haze that I cannot get over. This is very important aspect in an amp for me, which is one of the reasons I really like the CTH in this setup. I can forgive other shortcomings of, but it really excels there for me.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Slam
    Jot >> Valh 2 >= MCTH

    Clarity
    Jot = MCTH >> Valh 2

    Plankton
    MCTH = Valh 2 > Jot

    Microdynamics
    Valh 2 = MCTH > Jot

    Stage
    Valh 2 > MCTH > Jot

    Tone
    Jot original - slight warmth + moderate glare and brightness
    Jot revised - slight warmth + neutral treble + smooth last octave
    MCTH - slight leanness on sub bass and lower mids + slight warmth (mid and upper bass) + slight glare and sharpness
    Valh 2 - slight / moderate warmth + slight dryness and grain (highs)
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
  17. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Thank you.
    "There is no signle piece here that does it all" why oh lord why...

    Anyways, I heard the Valhalla 2 and at the end I picked Jotunheim. Haha I know, should have said "I am after layering, given good enough technicalities."
    Just sold the Vali 2 and Modi 2, guess adding a Modi Multibit should scratch the itch, for a while.
     
  18. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Jot revised?
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Drive up to the Schittr and try out the Saga + Jotunheim. Might be worth it.
    Modi Multibit really needs Eitr or a good CDT. The USB on the Modi Multibit is its weakest link.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Evidence points to running change. Not exactly sure when it happened.
     
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