One thing you cant deny it, ACME 805 looks more handsome than RCA 805...LOL. Congrats!!! Are your EML-300B XLS facing backward too??!?!
Is it possible to elaborate on that, please? Clean VS textured specifically? I'm always up for more musicality, especially if it comes with no loss of detail.
@Ontheone Glad you are liking them! Your impressions match my own for the most part. I think I just prefer the clean/clear/punchy presentation of the RCA's. I felt that the ACME 805's + Mullard ECC35/CV569 was a bit too much of a good thing - tons of texture turning into extra grain/energy that my highly resolving Spendor's were transmitting. One thing that IS different is that the bias difference between my RCA 805's and the ACME's was only a few mV on one tube and 5 mV on the other. Not 25 mV like yours. Given we both have the same pair of ACME's in play, that suggests that your RCA's are about 20 mV lower than mine. My RCA's are VT143's from 1942 that were very likely unused NOS. Also, from various user reports, it seems like there may be a difference between the earlier VT143's and 1960's 805's - wartime ones a bit fuller and later ones leaner? Not sure if that is part of the equation here. @Jay805 how are you coming along with the VT143's that you got from the same seller as me??? I do agree with @tlowe that the ACME's certainly look better without the cap wire running outside ...
Very interesting point, and this may also address @Strat-Mangler 's question to me. At the end of the day I do think that my 1960 RCA's may have actually been a bit too lean perhaps compared to the 1940's version.
Well, I am just surmising based on anecdotal evidence. Regardless the ACME's undoubtedly sound bigger/fuller with more texture than any of the RCA's.
To round out the tube mix equation, I've been running the same Mullard ECC35 as you and then have 1940's Tung Sol 6SN7GT Round Plates. Which 6SN7's have you been running?
Exactly the same on the front side. I also have a pair of Mullard ECC32's that I got from same retailer, TubeDepot, as @Strat-Mangler did. But I think I prefer the TS BGRP's - again, possibly because the TS's are a little cleaner/clear than the ECC32's which add a touch too much gain/energy/grain to my setup. Also running ACME 300B's.
Gotcha. So the only difference is that I'm running the EML-300B XLS. I'm not sure how the sonics compare between the two 300B's. I feel the EML's are pretty dead on neutral.
In contrast to the stock tubes (Psvane), the EML in my system sound like they injected a ton of warmth and heft.
Versus stock I'm not sure if I heard the warmth but I definitely heard the increased weight and impact. Much of this is likely just listening preference and speaker pairing.
From what I can recall, thats roughly how I felt about the ACME 300B's. A bit more weight/solidness/impact. But not necessarily warmer. I think my favorite tubes in the 6SN7 slots so far were TS RGBP 6F8G's ... just a touch more space/air compared to the TS 6SN7GT's. But the pair I had had loose cap wire and I sent them back. Never got another pair as they weren't *that* much better than the 6SN7GT's.
If you are looking for detail and a more focused soundstage, you should try Herbie's tube dampers. They make a very nice difference in every tube of my LM508. You can try them I believe with a 60 day trial period, so it's a safe bet. By the way, I also have the ACMEs 805 and "totally love them". If you try Herbie's dampers on them, use the HAL-O ones as the others have rubber that melt with the ACMEs because of their very high temperature.
So on this topic, until about a month ago I had been using some Iso-pucks under my LM805. I think they made a minor/marginal difference and often thought about just removing them given the nuisance of repositioning, etc. And then I happened to read about isolation vs coupling with tube amps and discovered that many have had much success with a butchers block/slab between isolation pucks and amps. The idea is to couple the block to the amp and then the block/amp is isolated from the rest of the world via the pucks. The block absorbs and then diffuses the vibrations. In particular, thick bamboo bonded in different directions is apparently fantastic at diffusing this energy. So I ended up ordering this attractive bamboo butchers block for $25. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LPCLR7R.. Lo and behold, it made a much bigger difference than iso-pucks alone. I have it turned upside down and it's a perfect fit for the LM805 and the angled sides make it look like a fancy audiophile platform. May sound silly but highly recommended.
I'm not sure dampers will make much of an impact in my system as I've been really impressed with the dampening, coupling, and isolation I'm getting from my Symposium Ultra Platform/Rollerblock Jr HDSE footer combo. The Rollerblocks alone made the biggest impact. I don't think there is anything left to dampen. There seems to be numerous ways to skin a cat in audio
Well, I believe tube dampers help with air pressure (sound) that affect the tubes as all of them are more or less microphonic. I believe they could compliment with isolator feets. I use Vibrapods on my LM-508 and, to be honest, I didn't feel a big difference. Maybe they are not the good solution for heavy amps as they are on lighter gear. I felt Vibrapods made a bigger impact mostly with digital gear. Well, I guess the only way of knowing is trying. The good news is that Herbie's dampers are refundable and to try their base line (Ultrasonic SS) with preamp tubes is pretty cheap.
No, I get the premise of offsetting the gain between 6SN7's and 6SL7 slots but haven't gone there. I know that @adamaley was going to try it out before he moved on from the Lampi. Did you ever try it out?
Yes, with ECC32s in the 6SN7 slots. In contrast to the ECC35, the ECC32 in the 6SL7 has the following characteristics; Pluses Increased resolution Increased clarity Better soundstage (i.e. more seamless between speakers) Effortless natural musicality Minuses Less gain - important if one uses inefficient speakers Less heft and weight (a.k.a. midbass less pronounced) When I put the ECC35 back in, I miss all the good points the ECC32 brings terribly and simultaneously enjoy the heft and weight it brings back into the sound. The ECC35 is grainy in the highs but again only indirect comparison; otherwise, one would never know! Once you experience the ECC32, it's difficult to forfeit those advantages. I found the Tung-Sols grainier than the ECC32s so I strongly recommend you try an ECC32 in the 6SL7 slot as you might enjoy the benefits even more with a pair of Tung-Sols. The trio of ECC32s is pretty impressive. The amp's never sounded so good and I'm wondering whether the ACME 805s you mentioned would address the heft/weight negative of this configuration. Do you still own yours?
Interesting. I no longer have the ACME 805's as I sold them to @Ontheone ... not sure how he is liking them since his initial impressions above ...
Still really enjoying the ACME 805's. My listening impressions haven't changed since my initial reflections. I'm going to hang on to the RCA 805's but I have no intention to move the ACME's out anytime soon.
I agree. Mine did not act that way at all. Too bad I didn't get to the ACME 805s when I had the chance. I would have loved to try them for a day to see how they'd compliment the ECC32 in the 6SL7 slot. Speaking of which, have you tried that yet? Really curious about what you think of that configuration.
