Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 5, 2013 18:56:29 GMT
Senn HD600 is driven like a dream. No veiling. Clean as hell. In fact, the output impedance could be set higher and the input raised if the sound is perhaps a tad sharp for some.
I'm getting all of this power on a low gain setting! The Senn is loud at 9:00. (t40 at 11:00) If I set the gain at high, it would be amazingly loud, so I would need to set the output impedance to 120 ohms which would bring the volume back down again.
That's the beauty of this amp. (or one of them) I can change the gain to higher and set the output impedance higher. However, I quite like the Senns at low output impedance if I'm honest. It just sharpens them up a tad and they sound really good.
Not only that, if I want to, I can just put another tube in there and not even worry about setting it up since it all self-adjusts. It's a genius amp, seriously!!
Listening to YELLO now and still sounds great.
The amp doesn't notice an HD600, frankly. If you find the sound too forward (yes, a Senn HD600!!!) then just change the output impedance to 120 ohms and up the input power to compensate and you'll have a slightly more tame top end.
The attack and dynamics remain as lively as ever on a 300 ohm load. In actual fact, the bass slam on the HD600 is really lively and fast still. Makes you wonder why people think of the HD6** series as bloated and slow when you hear it like this. The amp really gets control of the headphone and it becomes a live wire.
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Crispy
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Post by Crispy on Jul 5, 2013 19:43:49 GMT
The Ember has entered the building ............ (serial no. 00000) Gorgeous looking. In fact, the pictures don't do it justice. That's funny Ian, The twin Ember has entered my building as well (Serial No 00000)  Thanks Frans that was extremely quick, I popped out to the gym at 6'oclock tonight and when I came home there was a sandwich box waiting for me. It arrived at 7.20pm I didn't even know anybody worked that late. After eating the sandwiches there was this masterpiece of electronics below.  I also took some quick snaps and I must echo what Ian said in that the photos do not do it justice.     I don't think I will get a chance to listen tonight, but who knows maybe tomorrow  |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 6, 2013 12:56:11 GMT
I couldn't resist it ..... mine's got a big gold knob now.......    Makes the vol pot more sensitive with low impedance headphones as well as heavier and so giving it an extra slick, smooth movement. I'm thinking about some brass screws and a gold helmet to shield the tube now .......  I just thought .... brass pillars too!!! Senn HD250II has really low sub bass through this amp. You really forget that you're listening on a closed headphone. Sennheiser really shouldn't have stopped making these headphones. |
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Post by Beyondthepale35 on Jul 8, 2013 1:41:58 GMT
Just wanted to chime in and say I am loving my Ember/HD650 combo. I was lucky enough to get S/N 0001 from a fellow on Head-Fi and I have no desire to move up the chain anytime soon. Just power and beauty all in one, 10 o'clock on the knob would make my ears bleed.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 5:59:44 GMT
I tried mine with the HD600 and HD650 too and it is indeed, extremely good. I have never heard the two headphones behave in such a lively way before. The amp drives them as if there is nothing there and with a great ease. I've put a larger knob on mine so that it is a little more sensitive now, plus the fact it looks a bit more 'bling bling'...... I've invented a new award for it. The 'Gold Knob' award. (Anything I take great pride over gets a gold knob) The T40, which is a difficult headphone to drive is stupendous. Extra big 'Gold Knob Award and a Golden Ear for the headphone.  You should join us and become a member, Beyond the Pale. You know that is an Irish term? Dublin used to have a wall around it called 'The Pale' and if you lived outside the wall, you were 'Beyond the Pale' and so didn't come under Dublin law!! |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 16:30:17 GMT
I rolled in another tube today. I've been listening since I received the amp and have kind of got a focus on its sound. I put in a slightly more rare valve - an Amperex E88CC from 1965. I cleaned the pins in vinegar first, but it hasn't been used. Left and right gain close to 32.5. They were referred to as 'orange globes' because the lettering is orange on them and they have a circle on them. They were apparently considered to be very good for audio. I only have 2. I'm not certain exactly how much influence the tube has on this kind of design, Frans but the bass is (I think) slightly harder hitting. Perhaps a little more detached and so feels harder hitting, so there may well be some mileage in tube rolling on the Ember. Perhaps a tad more defined. (Especially on the HD650 which can be a bit woolly sometimes down there) In the Horizon, I'd put a Philips EC88. Nice and cheap and works well. The one I have put in the Ember is more expensive because the 'orange' tubes are less common I guess, but it does sound very good. I saw them being sold on Headfi for a daft price but they sound great. It's the first valve down on this page with an orange logo: (I think) www.tubeworld.com/6922.htmDo any tube people know much about this valve? It's often referred to as an 'orange' or something like that. It's quite hard hitting. Just a Twin triode tube? 12.5 mA on left and right. mA/V - 9.5 left and right. Perhaps a bit more aggressive than what you sent in it, Frans. Having looked it up, I think it's a Dutch tube with steel pins (not gold) and although we call them E88CC, it may be Amperex 6DJ8, Orange globe logo. The orange label is fragile and easily rubs away. It does sound good actually. |
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Post by wadiaman2 on Jul 8, 2013 17:49:23 GMT
Ian I have done quite a bit of valve rolling with 6922/E88CC in MF amps,V1 and V3 (never could get the V2 to perform to my liking !) and found that the Amperex valves gave good performance altho' mainly those from the Heerlen Holland factory,these are identifiable if I remember right by way of a small delta logo together with date codes etched on the bottom edge of the glass.The whole issue of who made what is confused as many manufacturers made valves for various brands and the actual logos stencilled in various colours can have no bearing on who made the valve !
In addition to the above I have found good performance (Good solid bass included !)from Amperex USA "Bugle Boy" logo,Mullard from the UK factory,Siemens Haske, and Telefunken...German with a diamond mark moulded into the bottom of the glass.They are all available for £20/30 or less,if bought sensibly, for a pair on ebay and if you are interested in "rolling" fun can be had with varying and interesting results.
I generally found the Russian 6922s to be lacking in the same musical presentation of the above examples,they seemed flat to me.
I would emphasise that these are my own findings (via my ears !) used in the above MF amps altho' could be worth a try in the Ember as well,certainly if I get a chance to try that beastie I will roll some of these in !
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 18:46:37 GMT
Well, I've had a look at what I have:
Mullard E88CC 1964
2 UNMARKED - Probably from old Bravos (6922)
2 x 6H23EB
2 x Electro Harmonix 6922EH (Russian)
2 X 6h23n
2 That are marked with purple diamond shapes
2 x JAN 6922
2 x ECC88 unmarked
Phillips ECC88
This orange one in the Ember.
I might take a look inside my MF amps too. May have some Jan Philips in there!!
No idea what they're like.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Jul 8, 2013 18:52:18 GMT
As the Ember does NOT have overall feedback the 'maximum' tube distortion (ermmm sound) can be achieved tubes can deliver.
The more feedback is used the less 'tube sound' remains.
a disadvantage may be that differences in tube halves that are bigger than 'usual' may be heard, in the form of a panorama shifting, towards the left or the right depending on the quality of the tube.
have fun tube rolling... It has never been that easy.
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Crispy
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Post by Crispy on Jul 8, 2013 20:04:33 GMT
Sorry guys, I am always complaining that we never get any decent weather in this country to sit out in the garden, so I took advantage of the glorious weekend weather and sat out and had a BBQ. So project Ember was put on hold until today.
I had a really good look at the amp before I plugged it in and came up with some observations.
Would dust be a problem? I don't know if dust affects electronics - probably not and after reading the manual later it does say use compressed air to get rid of any dust. I reckon my wife would dust it and catch the tube?
It uses computer jumper pins to alter the input gain and to alter the output resistance. It is definitely not a problem but I think I may have preferred switches like that used on the Aune T1.
The components used are all high quality - gold plated phonos & headphone jack, Nichicon capacitors are used throughout and the 3mm PCB looks pure class. Just the way it has been put together says to me that someone has got a very high level of attention to detail. All the resistors are the same way around.
With it being open framed it should run cool.
The 48 volt power supply is simple with a small green led telling you it is on.
I like the idea that you can adjust the colour of the led under the tube - it is glowing red/orange at the moment, but I will have a tinker and see if I can get a nice cool blue.
I unplugged my MFV2 and plugged in the Ember this tea time and left it on for a couple of hours with a burn in disc.
The first thing I would like to say to anybody who is in line for a listen to this amp is to download the manual from Jeremy's website. I switched on the amp without looking at the manual first and wondered why the front led came on then off again after 30 seconds. This is the tube protection circuit doing its job while the tube warms up and de-activates with a click turning the led off. I don't know what the input or output settings are on but I will have a look and a play about with them later. I also noticed in the manual that you can bypass the input caps if you set the jumpers to BP-C so that is on my to do list.
I only had a half hour listen this afternoon and all I can say is straight out of the box this is a class amp, so dynamic and voices sounding so clear and natural, bass is excellent and the top end very sweet.
I will leave it there for now to have a good listen tonight and hopefully rig it up as a pre-amp tomorrow or the next few days.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 20:40:02 GMT
I have a fat puffer for dust Chris and a soft brush. My wife doesn't go near my gear!!! The delay on switch on stops a dirty great thump going through your headphones when you turn on, if they are connected. I love the way you can just put a tube in and off you go - no setting up. I seem to have found a nice tube with it. If you've seen the Sunrise, you'd be used to the idea of the links on the back and front in order to tweak the configuration. I guess you're listening with the DT770? I changed the volume knob for a bigger one so it's a tad more sensitive. (It's gold so looks a bit bling like too) It suits me better than the Horizon, I think as well; especially with the T40. There is no real heat build up whatsoever. It's quite strange with the tube there glowing away, but the rest is really cool and the tube itself is the warmest part. I can put my hand on it and hold it there with ease even when it's been on for a while. Actually, the lit up tube is quite handy to let you know you've left it on as well. I have this habit of walking away and leaving the amp on, but this one shows it in glorious technicolour. |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 20:43:42 GMT
As the Ember does NOT have overall feedback the 'maximum' tube distortion (ermmm sound) can be achieved tubes can deliver. The more feedback is used the less 'tube sound' remains. have fun tube rolling... It has never been that easy. Does this mean that it should sound MORE 'tubey' Frans? There was me thinking it was 'less' tubey than the Horizon!! The tube rolling is so much more 'safe' feeling. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2013 20:54:13 GMT
i do have a switch box but wanted to reduce clutter. what is the attraction of the line-out sockets over a 2nd set of inputs? could this be modded for 2 inputs instead? is the Ember likely to improve on my panda? sooooooooooooooo many questions
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 8, 2013 21:06:36 GMT
Personally, I think I prefer it to the Panda, but then I'm quite partial to tube distortions!! It would make a nice pre-amp Simon. It's just another use for it.
I also have a low level hum on the Panda in one channel which I find annoying so I don't tend to use it too much nowadays. The Ember has a warm, full bodied sound with plenty of output and a little bit more quick configuration without soldering.
Horses for courses I guess. There will be people who will advise to stay away from tubes because of the harmonics that they add while others will say go for it because of the harmonics that they add!!
For me, the use of tubes fills in the bottom end in a way that many ss designs just don't. I was watching a programme where Tyll was discussing objective measurements verses subjective with Steve Guttenburg, It was very interesting, but both agreed that flat didn't suit either of them. Tyll finally said that he thought he preferred a slightly raised bass and a slightly rolled away treble and I can identify with that.
For me, a good tube amp helps to warm that bottom end through whatever means (and I know technically, some object to it) and in many cases (not all) they also 'sweeten' the treble up a tad.
Putting it crudely - do you like a clean sound or a dirty sound? For me, I'm a dirty old man I think. Music communication first and tech stuff later. For some, tech stuff first and sound later. No problem with both but if gear communicates with me, I like it. (Even a Portapro is musical to me, but measures quite poorly)
Frans is an objective soul who understands the dirty listening habits of people like me!!
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Post by jhelms on Jul 8, 2013 21:17:45 GMT
The extra set of rca's are for pre-amp use as so many use the amp as a volume controlled pre-amp / buffer. Just recently we have had a couple request for more inputs and I get the idea. Mulling around ideas to make a matching (visually) input selection unit that would sit under the amplifier. Or possibly an add on module. To note, just ideas right now and not anyplace near a product and not at all in the design phase. More daydreaming. Lots of options available like the selector switch you posted.
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