Mr.Shadow

I got the tubes today, at last. What can I say, out of the box without any burn in, they sound amazing I am amazed. Dynamics and treble have improved significantly, clarity and the lower end resolution have raised to a new level. There are many new details which came to life. Instruments have more weight and the sound is BIG, everything seems to have more air and space. Its a bit hard for me to tell how much of it is due to the EML per se, as I changed all of my tubes at once. I have also Installed DACT stepped Volume attenuator, which is quite nice over the Alps Blue. Now for the Pictures: The whole gang Some close-ups I am going to open up a thread with some Porn images of my Amp, stay tuned.

Now comes the real question, how do the Ayre compare to DACs at its price range. BTW, are you using a MAC as the computer feeding the Ayre ?

So, what is the verdict on the Ayre ? Does it live to the "ASync USB" reputation ?

As an owner of a W11JPN, I wonder how are the new W1000X compared to them ? It looks like a W5000 or similar. The latest HP from AT which I really liked were the ESW10JPN, which I think sound really good. If they could only make a bigger version of it, it would be a killer.

Thanks for all the info guys. I think I will go with the with the EML single plates after all, and buy from one of the authorized dealers. I will report when I get them. 10x a bunch

How much working hours are we talking about ? I am not listening to my amp a lot, less than ~10 in a week probably.

Hey Earl, good to see you The price for the WE417A is great, I was looking for those and they sell for 150$ a NOS pair, so worth checking out. Regarding the 45s, I am not sure which one to get, what is considered a good 45 tube and how good are the VT52 compared to the old Balloon types ? The purpose of the thread was to get feedback and recommendation on which tube to get out of the big bunch. I was afraid of this answer as I wanted to end up with as low damage as possible. The NOS ones are not cheap either, so it might make sense to stretch the budget and go for the best. What is the main difference between the EML Solid Plate and the Mesh ? except for the mesh being more expensive in about 100$. Thanks !

Hey all, I was thinking of upgrading my 45 tubes for my custom made SET Headphone amp. Currently I have a simple ST shape pair (Rytheon or Sylvania, I don't recall). There are quite a few options, most of them are expensive and some are scary expensive (Like the EML stuff). The Old NOS ones: Blue arcturus 145 (probably around 300$ for a NOS pair), If you can find some. Baloon type 45s (245/345/etc...) NOS, around 250$ a pair for those rare units from 1930-1940, don't know any preferred manufacture. The New ones: EML 45- 400/500$ for a pair of Solid Plate/Mesh. EML 45 Ballon style speical Edition - 600$ a pair. Sophia Electric 45 - 250$-275$ for a new pair with 30Days warranty. TJ 45s - around 200$ for a pair. It will be really nice if someone here has experience with some of the tubes I mentioned above and can shed some light and information on them, currently I am clueless. Thanks.

Jack, The W5000 are very dynamic and detailed cans. At low volumes they best a lot of cans. the resolution and the instrument placement is indeed something which they master ! Have fun Exploring the Audio Technica sound. Congrats and enjoy your new cans

It will be better to post it on Head-Fi as the "Hot Deal of the Month", FOTM my A#%

It's #220 if you don't mind lol, you guys made me laugh it's not using Cardas cable, allright ?

Thanks Peter, Yes, I'm really loving them, they certainly have a large amount of magic in them, if they are the little brother of the L3000, my wallet is in big trouble After making some tuberolling, I found out the Hytron 6SN7GT to be a superb tube, matches the W11JPN so good, it makes the bass totally devastating ! The mids are good, maybe just a tad brighter and they seem to be doing something special with the midrange that makes some sounds a psychoacoustic experience I find the W11JPN more responsive to amplification than the W5K. Right now, using the Hytron 6SN7Gt as gain & Mullard ECC182 as output, the sound is totally great, I tried some 7AF7 which resulted with better mids and air, but the bass, body, and fuller sound that comes with the Hytron 6SN7GT are to die for ! I'm just sorry I haven't got a hold of these sooner

ayt999 - I figured it was the reason, it is rather nice, as I have more "space" to play with my volume attenuator on my amp, the W5K don't go that high at all some more impressions: These cans has some canon like mid bass ! :o It's dreamy, I put "Dream Theater - 6:00" on and the slam with the leg drum is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!!! So big in your face and, the punch is huge ! illegally deeeeep In that aspect it totally rocks ! Aside from that, it's really is a fun headphone Everything I throw at it sounds so great and musical, magic may I say ? It's funny but I have adjusted to the sound signature very fast, it took me about 3-4 songs and I'm deep inside the music, consider the fact that my only can was the W5K for the last few month, I am really used to the W5K's sound sig, I didn't expect it to be that fast. what can I say ? I'm in heaven !

I just got my W11JPN Today, pictures later Initial sound impressions (compared to my W5K) are: Bass: bigger, fuller, IMO, better. it was something that lacked in the W5K's and now I finally feel I have the fullness of sound that I was craving for. Midrange: as Peter said, the JPN are more balanced overall, with a sweet and warm midrange, not colored as the W5K, I personally prefer it that way. The good thing is, that the JPN's midrange is still resolving and clear, so it's not recessed, simply not as forward and colored as in the W5k. Treble: the W5K's are more open with more detail and extension compared to the JPN, the JPN simply can't extract that extra amount of details that the W5K are scraping from the music. The W5K also feel more open and with a greater amount of air, which I like and it lacks a bit on the JPN. As far as I seen, the closer sound seems more pronounced with bad and old recordings that have lower dynamics and "life". The W5K's are toping the JPN in terms of soundstage, instrument separation and the famous pinpoint imaging that the the W5K is known for. So, they are different flavors, and I like the new W11JPN cans, they are more musical and fun, but not essentially better than the W5000. P.S. The W11JPN requires more juice to sound at the same level of volume, about to steps more with my MPX3 Volume attenuator. Aside from that, I will do some tuberolling to make some fine tuning and just playing with the sound

NNNNNooooooo, stop this ! Tomorrow I will know, otherwise it will be like a picker in my head, reminding me of their esoteric and exotic aura Temptation is strong Desire is even stronger

Congrats Iron_Dreamer, that is a great looking can, one of the most gorgeous Amazing, but I am getting my W11JPN tomorrow. There was decent W11JPN movement lately, I am the third one to get his W11JPN this week I can't wait !

I don't get it, some Mark levinson cost 10 times more and nobody says anything about that, but when Slimdevices makes a "High-End" product everybody start saying it's expensive Its good to have a high end product from a company that doesn't overestimate their products like 99% of the audio industry. I don't have the slight knowledge how it sounds, but they are aiming high and that's what important

I guess you have a tiny head, because mine is standard and I don't have any fit problems

Hey Guys, has anyone here has experience with AudioNote's Dacs ? (AA UK not JPN) I hear they are very good in that department, any opinion about that ? I am thinking on grab a DAC 1.1x or 2.0X for listen and I wonder if it worth it.

It's never worthless, because you can allways upgrade your unit whenever the upgrade bug will itch you. Oahh, and it will itch you

The bass is a bit pitty I must say, though I havent connected them into my slam yet, so I havn't gave my final verdict yet. Its good to know that the highs will smooth, because I found them open but a bit harsh, I kinda figured it's a Break In thing and sounds like an out of the box artificial highs. Thanks Patu

No pictures right now I am cameraless, Right now I am at cincinnati Ohio, tomorrow Iam on the plane to Holland for a week, and then back home for further impressions I think the W5000 are superior to the DT880 (haven't heared the K701) in terms of clarity, refinment, detail, neutral sound. The bass in the DT-880 is much much fuller and deeper, but they mostly excel with classical and acoustic music, the W5000 sounds great on anything, I am going through a lot of stuff right now, from Heavy metal to Trip Hop and vocal, its a very very good all-arounder headphone !

The wood and build quality is superb, really top notch ! Though I find the wood color too dark, I like it bright, W1000 like and especially JPN style

O.K, so almost ampless(using my PA2v2) and with not a very decent source (X5L DAP) after getting the suitable adatpter (1/4"->1/8") from radioshcak, I finally set down and listen to my new fresh out of the box W5000 First strike: Dream Theatre, Album=Awake Track=#1 (6:00) HOLY COW !!! the drums !!! so clear, so tight, so so.... real !!! Amazing ! I repeated that part 3 times in a row just to make sure I wasn't dreaming or my mind dosen't playing tricks on me ! Detail is by far more than what I have expected ! noise level is very low, the upper extension is moderate and very balanced with no harsh, coloration or what so ever artifact ! Me Like sound is very open, but not like gradi open, just open ! the sound is also very airy, light, a real treat. dynamics is there, you can (not)hear it, becuase everything is there, from the little guitar note to the biggest drum in the image ! so nothing feels "wrong" as you usually feel when dynamics, detail or PRAT is not right. Next thing, "Dream Theatre - Strem of Consequences", wow, the guitar is so clear again, and the soundstage all along the song, is clear, wide (not as wide as K-340, but much more than my HF-1) and everything is pin point place, as everybody said. The mids are just a bit upfront, just the way I like it, I think there is just a slight hint of coloration in the mids, but really nothing special and critical, most cases it is not noticable ! The sound has tendency to be slim on the lower end, though slam and impact is there, I guess the SP Slam will make things better here All in all, out of the box they sound great, and I know that my home rig (SB3-->MPX3 Slam) will make thing much better, and so will the Brake in They are really intimate in their listening, not much of a seal for a closed can, but more than enough, its funny, because the sound dosen't reminds me a closed can at all ! I'll start the brake in period, more impressions to come fox...

hamm, he has one in the corner, so he might not notice if you take it