There was a significant discussion on EL84’s in the Haggerman Tuba thread, different amp, but my experience is the generalities remain the same.
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Thanks for the heads up! That sent me down a rabbit hole both here and on the Head-Fi version of that thread.
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That’s also what I ordered and how I have been proceeding. I still haven’t made it beyond the first set of tubes.
What I have installed now are all Baldwin (Sylvania) green-labeled tubes that came in plain white boxes. The input is a 12AU7A, Recitfier is an EZ81, and the output tubes are a pair of 6BQ5s. I believe these are the NOS tubes.
Here are the other tubes that came with my Pendant:
The JJ set are an ECC802S, an EZ81 and a pair of matched EL84s. These seem to be modern production (they’re readily available at any rate); I suspect they’re the “stock” tubes. In addition, there are a couple extra input tubes: a Baldwin 12AX7 and a Westinghouse 12AT7 (more NOS options).
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I am a total tube noob still at this point; I don’t really know a thing beyond blind experimentation, and I’ve done very little of that.
I can offer that I instantly fell in love with the tube combo I picked. They breathed stunning life into my 600 ohm 880s, turning them into a fairly endgame-level experience. They’ve also been an easy favorite over SS chains for most source material on both Susvara and VC.
The general effect I’m getting from Pendant with this tube set is enhanced staging and spatial reproduction with a touch of warmth in the mids and a lovely smooth delivery. I’ve found these differences to be consistent across 880s, Susvara and VC. One of the things that most impressed me with Susvaras was how much very dynamic percussion (drums and cymbals) sound live and in the room. The tubes blunt that effect somewhat, but it’s really only something I notice or care about with very exciting and dynamic orchestral / score music. For virtually everything else I much prefer the captivating sense of space and naturalness conveyed by Pendant.
If you have an amp and some desk speakers nearby the Pendant try it out as a pre-amp too. Great spatial recreation, wide soundstage, nice depth on one of ky set-ups. I really enjoyed it in the signal chain, extra versatility. Happy listening !
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I’m currently torn on whether to integrate Pendant into my loudspeaker setup or leave it on my desk. It’s going to be the latter for the near-term at least. I don’t have desk speakers, because my desk is set up in the same room as my loudspeakers (which have a McIntosh C2600 tube preamp). If I want to use the Pendant as a pre-amp it has to come off my desk, and that will complicate ease of listening.
Probably the next major change on the horizon for me will be picking up a Holo May, which will definitely go in the loudspeaker chain. However, I’d hate to miss out on also using that for headphones, and that’s a pretty strong argument for integrating Pendant into the mix. That will likely lead to the Pendant joining the “elite crew” so I can pair it with May for headphones and/or use it as a preamp for speakers. However, the tradeoff will be less convenient placement for long-term listening (read: I’ll need longer cables or temporary closer seating, like a beanbag chair).
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Sometimes I just pull my Pendant off my desk for a week, drop it into my 2 channel system and then put it back on the desk after i’ve had a chance to enjoy it. I know it’s a pain in the ass and takes a bit of tuning to get things right but i can’t stand knowing i have multiple nice pieces and not using them. I also plug it in and out of the desktop speaker chain every few weeks. It sucks not being able to settle down and pick one set-up🤪
Anyway, try it with yoUr stereo to see if there is any synergy, just so you at least know…nobody says you need to keep it there👍
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I’m sure it will happen eventually, but it’s more than just a quick move. I’d have to relocate several things to make room and probably rework some of the cabling. The space where the Pendant would fit most easily would require a long RCA run, and I don’t have cables of that length. The probably-optimal configuration would require moving several more things and possibly extensive re-cabling (since one of the moved-things would be my HDMI matrix, which acts as a hub for all the video stuff).
Once the May joins the party it will be worth the pain to reorganize. Before then, notsomuch. Besides, with the Pendant on my desk now, I get to listen as much as I want. And the loudspeaker setup isn’t hurting without it.
I’ll also have to deal with the fact that the Pendant pre-outs are RCA and my amp only has XLR inputs, lol. So, not trivial.
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Took delivery of my Pendant today, which is hooked up to a Holo Audio Spring 2 KTE. This is my first tube amp, so I can only compare it to SS amps I own or have owned.
Before I ordered it I couldn’t find the dimensions anywhere, so for the benefit of those who might want to know, it has a footprint of about 9.5 inches by 12.5 inches.
I tried the stock tubes first. In all fairness, it’s currently sitting right next to my computer and I know that some tubes can pick up on electric interference, but there was a very slight hiss at high volumes, though nothing that would have affected listening at normal levels. I found the sound to be incredibly neutral, with less of a bright-leaning signature than my GS-X Mini and more thickness and impact to the bass. My immediate impression was that it sounded a bit more narrow (this is with the Verite by the way), but the stock tubes are brand new and perhaps they need a bit of running-in.
Switching to the added NOS tubes, the slight hiss was gone. Dead silent, even with the volume maxed-out. These tubes look like they’ve fallen to Earth from outer space, and widened the stage noticeably.
In addition the sense of added heft to the low end, there’s just as much detail (to my ear) as my GS-X Mini produces, but without the slightly harsh edge that sometimes sees me turning the volume down. It’s a more laid-back sound, but not at the expense of resolution.
My new issue is that I only have the ZMF stock cable for the Verite - not even the OFC. It’s noticeably less resolving than my balanced cable from Periapt which is what I’ve used up until now, which is excellent. I also use a Periapt cable with my Arya. I’ve ordered a ZMF compatible 6.35 jack cable to supersede the stock one, but it won’t be here for a month at the earliest.
Also just worth noting that I love how the HD800S sounds with this amp.
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The next day, and the stock JJ tubes (2 EL84s, and ECC82 and an EZ81) still softly hiss if I turn the volume all the way up on high gain, but why would I ever do that? They sound much better today, and the soundstage breadth is there.
With the Verite, the high gain adds quite a bit of extra bass and warmth to a headphone that’s already quite warm and bassy, but there’s something quite luxurious about it. At low gain, it’s a very neutral experience and doesn’t sound too dissimilar to the GS-X Mini, but definitely doesn’t have the same cutting edge that can be fatiguing. It’s an easier listen. However, the added warmth and impact at high gain takes the HD800S to another level for me, and I absolutely love what this amp does to those headphones.
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All the tube talk lately brings me back to my guitar amp days. I wonder how my kt77s would sound in an audiophile application. Those things sizzled!
I’ve heard a few and they can sound great (along with other kt variants) also aren’t kt77 similar to el34 (since there are a fair amount of amps that take those as well)
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iirc, el34, 6L6, and kt77 are interchangable. These are normally used for the 50-100 watt guitar amps so they may be too much for headphones but im sure we can write that off as headroom.
They’re electically identical, my Quicksilver power amps take either EL34 or KT88’s, 6L6 or 6550’s.
I prefer it with EL34’s.
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Gotcha, I’ve manly heard kt77 in speaker amps, but I have heard them (not commonly) in headphone amps, I actually think my octave v16 can take kt77 if I want to swap them in there (right now I have some limited edition kt150s that I’m liking in there). I would assume they aren’t used in headphone amps since they would be too powerful?
There are El34/KT88 headphone amps, but there are probably better chices in that scenario.
My monoblocks use 6 EL34’s each, and those are rated at 130W, and even a 6th of that seems excessive for headphones.
Always been a fan of kt88 unless I want that more relaxed sound where the EL34 do well. The 6550 kinda sit in the middle with imo too many downsides for my tastes
Yes I’ve had a fair amount of headphone amps that can take that combo, never tried kt77 in there though
I believe a KT77 is just an EL34 made in the US, with somewhat tighter specs.
Ah I’ve always thought they were more different than that lol, I’ll have to pick some up when I get the chance
The El34 was UK, 6L6 followed by US sylvania, KT77 was the refinement back by a smaller UK company. Each step refined the design a little and added what they wanted.
The lowest wattage ive seen one of these amps in the guitar world is 30w which is waaaay enough for home use.
I think gold lion and JJ make a kt77 where the less expensive JJ is considered the better bottle but this was 5-10 years ago as well. Thats the last time i looked at this all. There are a lot of variations on each including an e34l that is a midpoint between el34 and kt77.
On bigger 100w + amps a lot of guys would pull 2 tubes and half the wattage. The volume isnt cut in half, thats just not how it works, but it would lower volume a little and allow the remaining tubes to saturate a little quicker.
Guitar amps also have some sort of tone or eq control, and gain, and if theyre real good they respond and can be driven by youre playing and picking dynamics alone.
Honestly we just need a nixie tube dac/amp that tells you the bitrate in the tubes.
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