Which headphones of Drop's currently available?
I have some rewards points to burn but there's no obviously good options on Drop right now for headphones Contenders Ultrasone - maybe? I don't own any Ultrasones, so curious. Looks like garbage travel headphone which could be useful also. Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro. - Maybe? I have the DT 880 Good price point, really uncomfortable headphones but could be interesting to try the upgraded version. E-MU - strong contender but $400 is a bad price point for what it is. Which of the above would you choose and why? Nothing else on Drop is relevant to my interests, because Already own 6xx 820 800 s Ether cx Garbage / Consumer grade Meze 99 - garbage bass canons, hard pass No gaming headphones obviously Sennheiser wireless - no to wireless/bluetooth Hifiman - I have 2 of drop hifimans and they make really bad cheap shit on Drop, hard pass on HE-R7DX Aeon - I own the closed, Drop refuses to address #padgate so no reason to buy open Beyerdynamic 177x - wireless, nope Too similar 8x / 560s...
Mar 28, 2024
The funny thing is I prefer warm sound signature with a bass boost and neutral the rest of the way...the Sennheiser cans have those upper mids that can be harsh since I'm sensitive to spikes from 3 to 5 khz. The tubes basically save me from fatigue (the right tubes). If it wasn't for that, I would have had to sell my Sennheisers...something I really didn't want to do.
ZMF pads are also amazing. Have them on my m40x (cowhide) and my TH-X00 Mahogany (Ori Leather).
Norfolk I'm very familiar with. I served in the marine corps and was in dam neck for a few weeks. My grandfather was in the Navy for 32 years and was at Little Creek for many years.
Btw, which portable tube sounds best to you? Had my eye on the little bear for a while.
Those Tungsol mouse ears are supposed to be one of the top tubes for 6sn7. I look forward to hearing your impressions.
The Raytheon arrived and has been burned in. It doesn't have a ton of bass, but the mids are crazy good. Treble can be a bit bright, but not overbearing. This tube is great with Jazz music. It is a little shouty with female vocals, but nice nonetheless.
I have a new favourite combination :) I have been listening to the Sylvania JAN CHS 6SN7GT Tube Black Plates "Chrome Dome" for a bit now. It is an awesome tube. Initially I thought it was a bit bright sounding, but magic happened when I took the Mullard 6080 tube out and put the RCA 6080WA tube in. WOW! The synergy is just sublime. Still a tad bright, but with layers of space between the instruments. PRAT is also "slightly" slower and more defined, more fluid, like I enjoy in a good valve system. It's magic. I tried very hard to like the combo with the Mullard, but sadly, it does not do it for me. I thought the Tungsol 5998A might tame the highs a bit, but no, still no magic. I have two favourite combinations now. The Sylvania with the RCA and the Ultron 6SN7 with the Mullard 6080. If I have to choose, it will be the Sylvania with the RCA. I am still waiting for the "Mouse Ears"
I don't have a Sylvania 6as7,but i have a sylvania 6080wc and it is wells balanced, but the mullard is way better.
One thing I will continue to say is...go get yourself an rca 5692 red base. It is amazing how good it sounds. If you can find a Tung Sol 7236 power tube, that is the best combo. It's the best bass response I've heard out of any tube, best mid response, warm treble with absolutely zero grain. The tube is God tier imo.
I still need to find 1 more set of Top of the Line Closed Back cans for my gaming/movies/etc needs. Right now I am enjoying my Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany, but I know there arebetter options out there.
Currently, I have my HD6xx, Beyerdynamic DT 880's (which I am using with my darkvoice), Argon Mark II (Work), Audeze LCD-2F (daily driver), Fostex TH-X00 (Gaming/Movies), and my Beyerdynamic DT 1770's (change of pace cans). The 1770's are much better than the reviews says...but I want to upgrade from them to ZMF Eikon. At that point, my end game of cans will be complete. As one can see from the above, I do enjoy my sub bass. :-)
I purchased a Sylvania 6SN7GTA tube - nice tube, but totally forgettable. Bass is very thin. It does not have any of the pzazz the GT "Chrome Dome" has.
My RCA 6SN7GT smoked glass arrived. I will be looking for another as a backup. The valve is definitely the best in my collection to date. The sound stage is very 3D and imaging is sublime. Synergy is very good with all my power tubes. What struck me most of this valve is how revealing it is ... Very. An absolutely stunning valve! I kept on turning the volume up and could not stop listening to music. Highly recommended valve.
I am still looking for an 5692 RCA red base and a 5998 Tungsol - that will be it for me to make my collection complete.
Good luck with the 5998 , they are expensive and rare. I myself am searching for one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
It is now sat in a tin, I will probably return to it at some staging in the future.
Whereas some Russian foton tubes I purchased the hum cleared with a period of burn in.
Side note...I upgraded from the SMSL M6 to the Schiit Modi Multibit DAC in my chain. The differences are subtle, but I feel the Modi Multibit provides a tad more detail and quantity in the low end...in the 20 hz to 100 hz range. The SMSL M6 really was great, but I feel like the Modi Multibit meshes better with the Darkvoice. Better synergy.
Purchased a few items from them, most recent being a matched pair of Philips 5654W tubes for my appj mini2013.
Initially it has a low level hum in the left channel when paired with my TS 6080 (I also have a Psvane hifi this also has a hum, which has nearly dissipated with about 40 hours on it). Initially ran for a couple of hours with a HP 6AS7 (GE) with this the hum is barely noticeable.
Running with Sennheiser cans at present, rather than the Beyerdynamic DT990s and I would personally think the treasure would be bright on the BD cans. I will probably need a few hours with treasure to make an honest assessment.
The TS being a Bendix graphite is fairly heavy tube and takes time to warm up unlike other 6080's (Mullard, Brimar, Thompson).
The treasure still needs a few more hours on it before I can make an honest assessment (many users state they require 60-100 hours), but as it stands I will be persevering with the tube which is certainly a step-up over the Psvane hifi). The sound stage is really expansive and on certain tracks I am hearing some subtle differences.
Went back to the Tungsol 6SN7 with Tungsol 6080W for an evening as a reference point and now back with Shuguang treasure.
Feel that the TS-6SN7 is now lacking in detail and depth when compared to the Treasure and I am probably still a few hours from really burning it in completely.
Listening to the Alternate Version of Red Clay by Freddie Hubbard there are subtle differences with the Treasure which during the transitions into or out of the solos the added detail becomes apparent.
I am currently enjoying the combo with 2nd Westinghouse and the Zearix tube a lot.
Finally may Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z arrived back from AWOL. I waited more than 6 months for this tube. It has some hum... less now, but
Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z
I have been keen on a set of Hifiman's, so good to read your response. I use a Korg DS-100 DAC and are very happy with it. It cured my scratch from upgrading. https://www.amazon.com/Korg-DSDAC100-Channel-Portable-Playback/product-reviews/B00GGHHG8A/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews
Please let us know how the new Ken-Rad compares to the old one? Apparently all tubes sound different and some will say they all sound the same... go figure... I just rolled my smoked glass RCA GT tube into my DV. It is definitely a very good tube. Loads of detail.
The Psvane is okay, but a few differences exist to me.
The Psave had a pronounced hum when it arrived, I spent 60 hours of burn in on the tube and it is now fine. However it is not a tube I reach for over various NOS 6SN7s.
While the treasure had a very faint left channel hum on arrival, so I did not even bother with burn in it now has probably 30-40 hours of listening time against it. And I have only switched it out one evening last week for a Tungsol 6SN7 for a comparison.
The treasure I don't see any need to remove at present, I may swap out the power tube again but at present running alongside a Tungsol 6080WB.
I am way off the suggested burn in time for the Treasure " Suggested burn-in time 150-300 hours. Most changes happen in the first 150 hours. "
Swapped out the TS 6080WB for a Sylvania 5998A this evening and this adds a little more warmth to the sound, just listened to The Double Planet by Michael Hedges.
The Darkvoice keeps adding a level of enjoyment to my music listening.
Sylvania vt-231...I didn't care for it. Mid forward, no low end and sterile highs.
The kenrad vt-231 I received is fantastic as usual.
Was able to score a Chatham JAN-CAHG 6AS7G . This is my favorite 6as7 tube so far. Pairs really well with Kenrad vt-231, RCA 5692 and National Union 6sn7gt. Highly recommended.
The NU like my other VT-231 has a hum so will need some burn in, I may drop both of these into another device and the Treasure will return the to DV.
Indeed the DV has become a double edged sword, I found new enjoyment to music listening at the expense of no longer really wanting to listen to music on solid state devices.
What power tube have you in the DV with the Psvane?
I find the warmth the Mullard 6080 alters the sound certainly over a Tung-sol 6080 or the Sylvania 5998A, although I appreciate detail these add over the Mullard.
Played Red Clay and Ron Carter is no longer playing on the track, and the highs unsatisfying would be an understatement.
Will try with other power tubes to see if I can find a better combination for the tube, the Tung-sol 6080WB might be a better match than the Sylvania 5998a which is currently in my DV.