xlr8or Posted December 30, 2022 Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks @Odyssey. I will share the 2 images below and let others decide what they think of the operating points that have been specified for the universal amp. I personally wouldn't recommend using anything higher for power dissipation than the 6L6WGC's limit of 26 watts with this amp. Otherwise the tubes would be significantly cold biased the higher their dissipation rating.
Odyssey Posted December 30, 2022 Posted December 30, 2022 Next power tube is 6P20C. https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_6p20s.html Similar to 6CB5A, these sound marvelous but probably hard to get now. Beam power tube - USSR. As with all the previous power tubes, I hear only good tones from the U-amp. All listening done with Yggdrasil as dac and Susvara as headphone. 1 1 1
Odyssey Posted December 30, 2022 Posted December 30, 2022 59 minutes ago, xlr8or said: Thanks @Odyssey. I will share the 2 images below and let others decide what they think of the operating points that have been specified for the universal amp. I personally wouldn't recommend using anything higher for power dissipation than the 6L6WGC's limit of 26 watts with this amp. Otherwise the tubes would be significantly cold biased the higher their dissipation rating. Eric found the data sheet for the 6L6WGC here : https://www.thetubestore.com/lib/thetubestore/TAD-6L6WGC-STR.pdf showing plate dissipation 30W and Screen grid 5W, total 35W. Not sure why it uses a 26W in the calculation,,, Would it be for a 6L6WGB?
Odyssey Posted December 30, 2022 Posted December 30, 2022 Philips 807 - Made in Great Britain. A very underrated power tube. In the U-amp, these stand toe to toe with all the other power tubes. I would give it 6 stars. 2 1 1
Odyssey Posted December 30, 2022 Posted December 30, 2022 6F6 pentode tubes. They are predecessor of 6V6, 6V6gt. Sounding incredible on the U-amp. Tone is more precise and cutting edge. Liquid honey sweet. And no problem driving Susvara. Volume between 10 and 11 am. The equivalent of this is KT63. 2 1 1
Odyssey Posted December 31, 2022 Posted December 31, 2022 Fivre 6V6G. It's no surprise these sound as good as the 6F6. The U-amp has been very flexible to be able to run all these tubes and sound great. @xtiva2000 will come on Tuesday for a 2nd opinion. The grip and control on Susvara is incredible. Texture is marvelous, airy and wide soundstage. Trully impressed. 1 1 1
xtiva2000 Posted December 31, 2022 Posted December 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Odyssey said: come on Tuesday for a 2nd opinion yeah can't wait to test this amp actually... see you next week Odyssey 1
xtiva2000 Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 On 30/12/2022 at 8:24 AM, Odyssey said: Been listening to the Universal amp from Eric since yesterday and loving it. This amp can use KT170, KT150, KT88, EL34, 6L6, 6L6GC, 6CB5 / 6DQ5 and the russian equivalent 6P20C. Wow, not sure what Eric did to this amp, but this surely sounded amazing ... Great detail retrieval with an amazing sound stage ... I have TimE KT88 amp but this sounded so much better than my current amp. No hum/noise whatsoever using the Susvara and have more than enough power to drive it without any issue!!!! Of all the tubes I have tested today, loved 350b tube the most... Great detail retrieval, fast with awesome airiness ... pitty nice 350b from Western Electric looks to cost 2~3K each... 1 1
Odyssey Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 7 minutes ago, xtiva2000 said: Wow, not sure what Eric did to this amp, but this surely sounded amazing ... Great detail retrieval with an amazing sound stage ... I have TimE KT88 amp but this sounded so much better than my current amp. No hum/noise whatsoever using the Susvara and have more than enough power to drive it without any issue!!!! Of all the tubes I have tested today, loved 350b tube the most... Great detail retrieval, fast with awesome airiness ... pitty nice 350b from Western Electric looks to cost 2~3K each... Thanks for the visit @xtiva2000. Now tell the good folks here that it works well with KT170, RCA 6L6GC black glass and 6F6 too. 1
dan-m9 Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 Wow all this info makes me really want one now , still need one of his 6L6 family amps to go with my McChanson 6AS7 and 300B amps haha.. Is this the exact amp on his eBay? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125647565635 Was there any other mods to it that you know of? Special/better Caps etc? Guessing this one isn’t Interstage Transformers.. 1
Odyssey Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 3 hours ago, dan-m9 said: Wow all this info makes me really want one now , still need one of his 6L6 family amps to go with my McChanson 6AS7 and 300B amps haha.. Is this the exact amp on his eBay? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125647565635 Was there any other mods to it that you know of? Special/better Caps etc? Guessing this one isn’t Interstage Transformers.. That's the one. No special mode needed or interstage required. This is the best sounding of his KT150 / 6L6GC amps I've heard and @xtiva2000 agree. Better than his KT150 timE amp that's what he said. 1 2
Odyssey Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 18 hours ago, dan-m9 said: Wow all this info makes me really want one now , still need one of his 6L6 family amps to go with my McChanson 6AS7 and 300B amps haha.. I would have bought the U-amp myself but with 2 tube amps already and a Ultrasonic Studio Telemachus arriving in July 2023, I have to reluctantly drop the idea. This is Telemachus 300b with fixed bias but mine will have Monolith Magnetics transformers instead of Sowter. For a change. 2 1
dan-m9 Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 @Odyssey O wow, very nice. Love the siver look! Mmm guessing Eric would sell the U-Amp directly (so minus the high eBay fees).. Will flick Eric an email once you return it I think
lenticularis Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 20 hours ago, Odyssey said: That's the one. No special mode needed or interstage required. This is the best sounding of his KT150 / 6L6GC amps I've heard and @xtiva2000 agree. Better than his KT150 timE amp that's what he said. And to think that it all started with my risky purchase of that very amp, and Eric's generosity in accepting it as a trade-in against a new-build amp.
crtexcnndrm99 Posted January 7, 2023 Posted January 7, 2023 Just curious whether anyone has discussed finemet or other Japanese iron options with Eric?
Odyssey Posted January 7, 2023 Posted January 7, 2023 48 minutes ago, crtexcnndrm99 said: Just curious whether anyone has discussed finemet or other Japanese iron options with Eric? He has done one with Hashimoto's transformers. Unfortunately the picture I have cannot be posted here. Not accepted file types. 1
PaulTB Posted January 7, 2023 Posted January 7, 2023 Hi Guys After much discussion, I am very excited as Eric is building me a KT170 SuperSilk with IT to drive my Rogers LS3/5As . I am curious to know how the KT170 valves compare to the other valves that you have tried on the Universal Amp. After your advice on me looking at full range speakers, I also got hold of a pair of B&W 603 S2 floor standing speakers recently. They had been in storage for 10 years so am running them in. Different sound to the Rogers so far, and Rogers currently streets ahead, but will be keen to hear them with the new amp. Have also purchased MOJO 2 DAC which allows me to play Apple music tracks at hi res from my ipad. Not sure what your experiences are with apple vs other streaming services? Thanks
dan-m9 Posted January 9, 2023 Posted January 9, 2023 @PaulTB Very nice, hope it works great enough for you with the low sensitivity LS3/5As, I'm sure it will work great with powering the 603 S2 @Odyssey Speaking with Eric he's going to see what he can do to make the u-amp run even lower, e.g. a very low 250v switch. So running EL84’s etc, which I have many pairs of here and I'm in need of another set EL84 amp since my cheap china built one died.. Would be a dream u-amp if it could run 3 modes like 250v, 300v and 350v. Not sure if all other running values will match up enough to run them all correctly enough with one amp as yet but he’s looking into it more.. Likely a bit more technical than just dropping plate voltage and it should work fine haha.. 2
xtiva2000 Posted January 9, 2023 Posted January 9, 2023 3 hours ago, dan-m9 said: run 3 modes like 250v, 300v and 350v Wow that will be a dream amp BTW just make sure that it can bias KT150 as well.. we were only able to bias it up to 50mv instead of recommended 60mv
dan-m9 Posted January 9, 2023 Posted January 9, 2023 (edited) @xtiva2000 thanks for the info, what about KT88 though? That was the highest I was looking to go with this amp. All my tube collection are mostly 6L6GC or lower. Keen to collect and test/use more of the vintage ones with it. Unless you feel I’m really missing something with using higher KT120-KT150 vs vintage tubes? Edited January 9, 2023 by dan-m9
xtiva2000 Posted January 9, 2023 Posted January 9, 2023 Hey @dan-m9 not saying KT150 is something you needed but it was more of informing you in case you wanted to use those tubes.. Only tested 350b and KT150 with uAmp so not sure onnother tube... I dont have much experience with NOS tubes but from using current release, KT88 is my first pick on my amp for my ears KT150 in my amp sounded brighter than KT88.. Ps. That uAmp did sound magical compared to my amp.... please let us know after auditioning it... thanks. 1
dan-m9 Posted January 10, 2023 Posted January 10, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, xtiva2000 said: Ps. That uAmp did sound magical compared to my amp.... please let us know after auditioning it... thanks. Thanks will do! Still in talks with Eric but will likely take it at this stage Never met Eric yet and would be keen too one day, might pay deposit/half now to hold and drive down to meet him in a month or two to collect, bit of a drive from QLD haha but always been keen to do a NSW coast road trip one day over a week or so (go Blue Mountains etc), I do also need to drop my 6AS7 amp for a service/tune up as its one of his first amps I believe (needs new tube sockets as a bit worn out, new volume pot, check volt levels are still good as no bias adjustment etc), so would be worth while Edited January 10, 2023 by dan-m9 3
Julian R Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 (edited) I am about to take possession of an Eric McChanson KT170 SET amplifier. I currently have the KT150. It sings like an angel and I'm told the new one does as well. My ears are not golden but Eric really does good work. Would really appreciate all feedback. Edited January 13, 2023 by Julian R More info 1
xlr8or Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 It may be worth asking the mods to move this post to the dedicated McChanson owners thread to receive some additional feedback. 2 1
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