"Shortest Way" SW51 Amp Impressions (Simple SET Amp)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Hands, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Thanks fellas, much appreciated!

    Long life is exactly what I'm aiming for, and hoping they sound good too. I just want a forever tube for the little guy, ya know?
     
  2. MisterRogers

    MisterRogers Ethernet Nervosa

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    Heh. Forever's a nice goal; let me know if you find such magical tubes.
     
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  3. Zampotech

    Zampotech Friend

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    Dear friends
    Starting next week, I will start shipping the amps. Sending will take place in turn from the date of the request.

    This year, the logistics are monstrous. Logisticians reported that there were no containers. The price of renting containers soared from $800 to $10,000. They explain this by the fact that last year China sent a lot of containers to the United States, which did not return back because of the epidemic. This year, containers have become catastrophically scarce.
    It turns out that our world is very fragile.

    PS: Before sending, I will write an email to everyone with confirmation of the receiving address.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2021
  4. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    And shipping has been longer. I ordered some Russian tubes for the ZDT Jr. back in mid-April. They just arrived today. And it was a small package of only 4 small tubes.

    So what used to be a month might take 6 or more weeks from shipping date to arrive.
     
  5. Zampotech

    Zampotech Friend

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    Dear friends

    With an unexpected and annoying delay, but still the mandrel of the amplifiers began. I am now sending the batch 4 amps according to the queue list from the application date. After that, the shipment of the 4+batch will start.

    I have a huge request to everyone who ordered the amplifier. Please do not send any money until I inform you that your amp is ready to ship. This leads to a little confusion in my notes. I'll figure it out, of course, but I'd rather spend that time debugging and preparing the amps.
    Just a little more patience and your amp will be on its way to your home.

    PS I haven't got a long-legged secretary with exciting curves yet. Therefore, I keep all the records myself.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2021
  6. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    One summer I interned for Roger Corman, and his secretary was a lovely Eastern European woman who meets that exact description. Needless to say I found many reasons to be in the reception area that summer.
     
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  7. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    Wow... I can't say that I've ever heard any vendor say that before... "please don't send me any money".o_O

    Zampo, all I can say is...:bow::punk::bow:
     
  8. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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    It's called ethics. Pretty rare these days. |\/|
     
  9. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Went to brunch at one of the more local Four Seasons Hotels some time ago There waiting in the line was Larry Flynt in his wheelchair being pushed by this striking blond Amazonian type woman. Let's just say I had very confused emotions regarding her back then.
     
  10. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The Hustler building was on my drive to and from school for several years. I never saw any striking women of any type in front of the building. Pity.
     
  11. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    After @yotacowboy mentioned he was impressed with the Telefunken EF805S in the SW, I took a flyer on a "NOS" pair that I scooped from the 'bay for what anyone would consider a steal (considering what these seem to be going for, atm). Delivered earlier today and they, indeed, look NOS and fresh as hell.

    Been listening with them for a few hrs and @yotacowboy speaks truth.. this tube is special. I'm in love with the build quality and appearance: slightly taller than the stock SW tubes. The slits in the plate offering a clear view of the glowing cathode (or is it the grid?) is mesmerizing. Glass is thicc and built with ruggedness in mind. I've always been impressed with the construction of some of these 'premium,' long life tubes (regardless of type) and this Tele is up there with one of my faves.

    Sound stuff: yea.. it sounds lovely. Lots of trademark Telefunken characteristics: neutral (tone tilts toward the leaner, stereotypical "reference" sound vs the warmer "natural" sound), transparent, very quiet, wide bandwidth. Smooth, vibrant dynamics. Fantastic speed, resolution, clarity, imaging, layering, and staging. More stage depth than any other tube I've rolled in the SW.

    In terms of technicalities, it's the best tube I've heard in the SW51+. Technicalities remind me of the Mullards.. but the Tele's have less spot light upper frequencies, less recessed mids, and better textured, more dynamic bass. Mullards have slightly better holography, but there's a 'cinematic' quality to the Tele's presentation that's very.. addicting. Tele offers better macro dynamics than the Mullard, as well.

    Tele isn't shit your pants better than the other EF184s and 6EJ7's most ppl roll, but to my ears, it's a noticeable step above those that I've heard. Some might prefer the stock tube (or the Tungsram) for their slightly thicker, somewhat 'n'-shaped sound (to my ears).. but I'll take this Tele all day every day. The stock tube still has a very unique 'synergy' with the amp, but I find the stock tube's stage pretty flat and the blackground isn't as good as other tubes (its tone is damn near perfect and offers satisfying note weight).

    Note, the SW51+ has been my sole headphone amp (w/ Modi 3 DAC) the last two years.. so I'm pretty sensitive to changes in sound. Improvements I perceive as 'notable' could entirely be interpreted by others as merely 'surface level,' placebo, or plain "blowin' smoke up yer ass."

    Well that's enough masturbatory tube blabbering for the year. I'd love to hear this tube with a BF2 or something. Speaking of which, I should look into getting one instead of slumming it with the sucky ass Modi 3.
     
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    Last edited: Jun 29, 2021
  12. Zampotech

    Zampotech Friend

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    Very useful information for me. After your post, I remembered that in my stocks there are several such tubes with a mesh anode. Now I will find them and I will definitely try them.
     
  13. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Actually, the Telefunkens are solid plate, but ruggedized, somewhat unique construction. The split/non-boxed plates secure the micas and you can see the filament exposed on two sides. Most of the European tubes I've rolled through SW51+ are mesh plate and amongst the meshes, share very similar construction. Most are good, but the EF805S seems to me to be my idea of nearly perfect neutral tone, but with a level of immediacy (vivid is the word maybe better suited) and detail retrieval that none of the mesh plates can do.
     
  14. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    Telefunken Ex80xS seems to be one of the best variants of just about every small signal tube type. Long life specs, usually have ruggedized long plates. ECC802S is surely one of the most favored 12AU7 variants. ECC803S is a very well regarded 12AX7....
     
  15. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    I dug out a couple old pics of my SW51+. Thought I'd share. Personally I think this is a great-lookin piece a amp.
    IMG_2266.jpg
    Yes... that is a knurled knob. I have so many and generally prefer them over the plastic. Sacrilege, I know.

    Look at them gloweys tho.
    IMG_2264.jpg
    That's the Tungsram EF184.

    Really low light and long exposure really brings up the glow. It's not nearly this strong in person. The room is just that dark. You see bright light in the room. I didn't. It's just the monitor, and it's almost blacked-out.

    I didn't like the socket light at first but I've grown quite fond of it. The LED is actually wired to the tube, so it has a warm-up that follows the tube up to stability. A little fade-in of its own.

    Just such a charming amp, all around. All I wanted to convey. Carry on.
     
  16. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    My EF805Ses arrived 3 days early from nostubestore :D
    They seem to have a bit less gain than my default RCA Mullard Blackburns (impressions here), so a direct tonality comparison is difficult. There seems to be a slight difference in the upper mids and treble that I can't quite pin down. Maybe a bit less mid bass (an artifact of the lower gain?) but slightly better extension.

    This might be related to the mids/treble difference I'm hearing, but an increased sense of space was my strongest first impression compared to the Mullards. Kind of like switching from BF2 to SFD-1 (I've only listened with the former so far, modded HD800).

    I've only had a brief listen, but I'm liking what I'm hearing. They look very handsome (NOStubestore didn't disappoint, I lurv the TFK logo) and stand tall and proud in the SW51+.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2021
  17. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    According to https://tctubes.com/telefunken-date-codes.aspx there doesn't seem to be a way to distinguish the decade from the code.
    Mine are all U9005608J, so '55, '65 or '75 I guess.

    Does anyone have any idea what the tester scores mean?

    20210702_171856.jpg
     

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  18. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Sorry for multiple posts. Here's some toob pr0n.

    20210702_200751 (1).jpg
     
  19. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    He says the 7-digit codes were introduced in 1958, which would make yours 1965 or 1975. Brent Jesse however claims the change from two-digit to 7-digit codes was "late 60s," likely making yours 1975:

    http://www.audiotubes.com/teledate.htm

    Not sure who to believe here - it seems odd that there'd be overlap between the two-digit and 7-digit codes would have been produced side-by-side for a decade, as claimed at the TC Tubes site; but if there were older and newer production lines both operating, maybe not...
     
  20. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    The (claimed by reputable seller, nostubestore.com) early production tubes I received have older looking boxes and slightly different printing.

    Early tube with date code (I'm assuming 1967 based on TCTubes info, but who knows?):
    [​IMG]

    Top of early tube:
    [​IMG]

    Early tube box:
    [​IMG]
    More early tube box:
    [​IMG]

    Later tube:
    [​IMG]

    Later tube date code (that I can't fully make out, but both of my later tubes have a '5' year code, and I'm assuming 1975):
    [​IMG]
     

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