mark58
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Lon, in the past I know you talked about TAD 6L6s from cyoset in your Torii MK III....specifically the cryo'd TAD 6L6WGC-STR....you even gave me a link to them..can't find it. But I think these are the ones... http://www.cryoset.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_29&products_id=352&osCs...I did a search using TAD 6L6 see below. Is your memory failing?...it's a Joke, Lon!...he said trying to preemptively stave off a debate...hehe. Mark. 2 AUDIO FORUMS / General Discussion and Support / Re: Non-audiophiles notice power treatment improvement on: 02/25/15 at 07:10:29 Started by Lon | Post by Lon Last week I experimented with this system at Dad's by putting in the TAD 6L6 in the power slots on the Torii Mk III. I then rolled the Westing House OA3 to Hytron OB3 and the RCA OA2 to Raytheon OC2 and did some adjustment with the treble cut circuit and some really interesting sound has resulted. I may put the Genelax KT66 back in soon, as there's a seductive touch of lushness that these impart to the sound that I miss, but the 6L6 bring a focused intensity to the sound that is really nice with classical music and for the ERR speakers. Dynamic and tonally rich, but focused tight. A nice change. I like the 6L6 in the Mk III better than they had fared in the Mk II.
I also for the second time put my Eddie Vaughn modded "C" Zen amp into the system at Lucinda's. When I first set up a system there (keeping only her Sony floor-standing speakers which I must say I've learned to like) something was not quite right, I thought the amp was not quite up to driving the speakers, so I popped in my DAL Audio gain-clone amp and that sounded very good, surprisingly good as more and more hours went on. The DAL Audio amp had a really solid instrumental image and a very nice neutral tone and it only lacked the extremity of the holographic soundstage you get with a Zen amp. Though there was a hum I just couldn't get completely rid of even with shield cables and PS Audio Duet line conditioning. The hum didn't bother Lucinda and she LOVED the sound for TV, DVD and music. I was quite comfortable with it too, didn't feel I was "stepping down" too much listening over there. But now the "C" amp shines, not sure why it does so differently now though I have rolled some CSP2 tubes since then. And no hum! Unexpectedly a denser (less instrumental separation actually, which surprises me) sound than then DAL Audio but with that 3D quality. I didn't tell Lucinda I was doing the change and when she came in from work she started dancing in the living room to the Derailers cd I was spinning. She's enjoying the sound--sound effects on the TV seem to really grab her attention more and she approves of the amp change!
So now all my Decware amps are in use. . . . When I move in to her place in July I probably will only have two systems set up (main in the place of this one, bedroom in the bedroom) and this "C" will go back into the closet as back up. Reply Quote
3 AUDIO FORUMS / General Discussion and Support / Re: What's spinning? on: 02/22/15 at 21:08:21 Started by Lon | Post by Lon Sounds like a good plan Mark. They have an interesting presentation on the Torii Mk III, a denser soundstage and a robust feel. I think I prefer the TAD and Genelex KT66 overall, but on some material the 6L6 really seem appropriate. But they're sort of a sideshow, not the main attraction overall. Reply Quote
4 AUDIO FORUMS / General Discussion and Support / Re: What's spinning? on: 02/21/15 at 07:27:30 Started by Lon | Post by Lon I've found the 6922 type to have a hotter high end than some other types. . . .Like you say there's no real curing hot mastering, but often times it's on the source recording too so little can be done other than turn the treble cut circuit down if you have one. (And I bet that one could be added to those mono blocks if sent back to Steve, maybe not, but he told me off the cuff at one point a few years ago one could be added to all amps. . . though now not the ZMA.)
Won't help in your mono blocks, but here at Dad's I swapped Gold Lion KT66 for TAD 6L6 (both sets cryo'd) just to remember how those sound. The 6L6 give a very classic tube sound, dark and rich, and I can crank the treble cut circuit control up higher with no fatigue. . . . So maybe when you feel the need for few output tubes in the Torii you could try those, or maybe I could send the quad to you to test out one of these days. Reply Quote
5 AUDIO FORUMS / General Discussion and Support / Re: Non-audiophiles notice power treatment improvement on: 04/08/14 at 19:55:19 Started by Lon | Post by Lon Okay one quick post to share some tube-rolling fun.
Last weekend I had some fun with my Dad teaching him a bit about tubes and tube rolling in his system. I brought out a box of tubes and sorted out which were compatible for the Torii Mk II and the CSP2 and I dropped some in and out and asked him to tell me what he heard. I was surprised at what he and I decided was a really good complement of tubes for these components. The Torii Mk II has RCA OC2, TAD 6L6, RCA 5U4G bottle type, and GE 6BQ7 tubes. We found that GE6BQ7 tubes and a JJ 6922 worked really well in the CSP2 along with an Arcturus 5Y3GT. We used a lot of Murray Perahia Sony Classical cds to evaluate this as they are well-recorded in all aspects and good test material.
These tubes settled in for a few days and the sound was really really good: clear, open, fast, resonant, perhaps lacking a bit of "old school" warmth, but certainly satisfiying.
But. . .
I had ordered a pair of Arcturus 5V3 tubes I saw cheap on ebay. On a lark I had ordered Arcturus OB3 tubes for my newest Torii Mk III and when they were burned in they were just amazing, the final piece to the tube set for that amp, I won't take them out, they're that good. That got me interestd in Arcturus, one of the oldest tube manufacturers, and I bought the above mentioned 5Y3GT which while not as magical as a few of my RCAs is very good, and these two 5V3 tubes. I used an RCA 5V3 to great effect in my old Select years ago and so wanted to check them out in the Toriis. Well, I put these two in the Mk II and everything just got better. Seems to be a great match for the amp and the amp is now making the California Audio Labs CL-10 sound even better. Dad and I spent this morning just listening with enthusiasm. I'm officially done for now with this system, it sounds so good!
Okay, back to my hiatus, have a great week y'all. Reply Quote
6 SUPPORT FORUMS FOR CURRENT DECWARE GEAR / TORII MK IV / Re: Torii MK4 - Tube Rolling and Some Observations on: 04/05/14 at 10:21:26 Started by Lord Soth | Post by Lon Well, ultimately the cryo'd Tung-Sol KT-66 are a better fit for my Mk III than the cryo'd TAD 6L6WGC-STR. I just can't not have that wide open midrange that the Tung-Sols bring, along with the forgiving top end. The TADs are quite good, but just not quite "involving" enough at this time in that machine. I'll put them back in at some point when more broken in.
In the meantime I've put the cryo'd TAD 6L6WGC-STR in the Torii Mk II that I have in my Dad's system ast the moment. They are sounding very good there. The Mk II has a slight retro vibe to the sound in comparison to my Mk IIIs and these tubes and the ERRs both complement this well. In the opposite of what Jim quotes Steve as saying about 6L6 tubes, these have a ver upward tilt with a tight and focused bass. At least in their current status of a few hundred hours on them. I've had to dial the treble way back with the treble cut circuit, but doing so I have a very nicely balanced and dynamic presentation, well-suited for the classical music that gets spun in this system. And they are very robustly built, quite handsome tubes. Reply Quote
7 SUPPORT FORUMS FOR CURRENT DECWARE GEAR / TORII MK IV / Re: Torii MK4 - Tube Rolling and Some Observations on: 03/22/14 at 07:58:37 Started by Lord Soth | Post by Lon Just ordered a quad of TAD 6L6 from cryoset. Using the KT66 has made me want to experiment. With the bass control on the Mk III I can fix any loose bass. My recent very positive experience with cryo'd TAD EL84 in my Zen C amp has me wanting to try more TAD tubes.
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