Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yep you can definitely tell when one of them goes! Equally just over 3 years gone and I’ve only had to change them once very recently.
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Totally Tubular: The Tube Thread
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Yep you can definitely tell when one of them goes! Equally just over 3 years gone and I’ve only had to change them once very recently.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Surprised at more bass to be honest, I hadn’t found that with them, you are running double the amount of them though. That tube gets raved about for its mids.
PS. Did you switch the amp to low bias if you’re running all 8 EL34? They run on a lower setting that the KT tubes.
bdm105
Well-Known Member
Yeah I'm surprised too to be honest. I did flip the switch to EL34. Also entirety possible I'm full of it and just noticing it more.
my ears are good but not particularly incredible
mindhead1
Active Member
Nice!
A few questions:
- What preamp are you using with your 300 Power amp?
- Why did you choose the 300 over the other options?
- Have you tube rolled or are the stock tubes good enough?
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I’m using a PS Audio Gain Cell. I went for that because it had a fully class a preamp but also the DAC for my streaming and cd transport. I had that before the PrimaLuna because I previously ran a pair of quad qii forty mono blocks.
I picked the 300 because it had all the upgraded transformers and the xlr balanced input the same as the 400 but only needed 4 power tubes. I didn’t need the extra power and 8 power tubes begins to get spendy. For my money the 300 is the sweet spot of their line.
I’ve never used the stock power tubes, I’m not a EL34 fan. I’ve always used KT88. First I used Gold Lion and then EH but given Ukraine I don’t want to buy Russian and they’ve gone super expensive. Currently swapping in ruby tubes ones when one goes, they’re built to order in the JJ factory. The Gold Lion are my favs.
Down the line id like to try KT170 if Ukraine prevails.
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mindhead1
Active Member
That Gain Cell looks nice. Looks like they can be had for around $900 on the used market. Have you compared the DAC in the Gain Cell to other DACs? If so, how does is compare?
I'm in the market for a preamp and was leaning towards something with tubes like the Schiit Freya+, but may need to reconsider and take a look at PS Audio. Maybe I'll wait until there PS Stellar Gold Preamps go on sale or start showing up on the used market $4k new is a little steep for me for a preamp.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
The DAC in it is really nice but the USB input is errrrr, eccentric at best, fucked at worst. Doesn’t bother me so much because I’m using I2S and Coax but it’s definitely an issue. I have no comparators though, it’s the only DAC I’ve had. I do like how the preamp section sounds too.
That schiit was something I was looking at when I was considering changing it a while back, itchy feet then, but I got past that and will probably stick with the GCD for the next while now.
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