LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP

[tedwoods]

One of the best combos so far, the GEC 6V6G with another "holy grail" recti, the French Mazda/Belvu 5U4G:

... and just to see how it would perform in the Atlantic, another French tube combo: the Visseaux 6K6GT with the "compact bottle" 5Y3GB.

 

[Designsfx]

One of the best combos so far, the GEC 6V6G with another "holy grail" recti, the French Mazda/Belvu 5U4G:

... and just to see how it would perform in the Atlantic, another French tube combo: the Visseaux 6K6GT with the "compact bottle" 5Y3GB.

Funny that you posted this pic of the 6K6GT as I was just discussing this tube on another thread. Though the original discussion centered on an old quad of Sylvania 6Y6 tubes I had been running we got on the subject of the 6K6 which I have not tried.
As things go the other person mentioned preferring the 6W6 to the others and sent me this amazing picture of one of his Tung Sol lit up during use. I definitely have to find some of these now!

 

[Designsfx]

A few weeks ago while doing my normal perusal of tube websites I came across a set of these little antique tube adapters. The guy had a quad of matching pieces and they were literally brand new. I had seen these before but usually in a single piece offering so I basically ignored them.

After getting them home I noticed the original product sheet inside of the box. This product line was huge- almost all inclusive for adapting one type of tube to another for the sake of making use of tubes when others may not be available. It’s completely crazy!

I’m sure we all get why these things are no longer available today which pushes us outward into the custom adapter market but as these guys are still around I thought I would post the product line offerings just in case you come across one and wonder if it will work for you or in case you want to make a note of which pieces to look out for.

They’re pretty cool little units- nothing fancy, just a little piece of history that gets the job done!

 

[Designsfx]

So far I’ve only listened to one release but the sound continues to open the more I play. The first thing that struck me was the power felt in the bass regions- so far a little stronger than most pentodes.
Highs aren’t exactly what I would call rolled off but are very even/level when compared to the midrange. So not overly sparkly but definitely present. These tubes have a very smooth sound, whether it’s refined or just relaxed time will tell.

View attachment 151277

So coming back to give an update on the Arcturus 18 pentode, a 14V tube on a UX6 base. I noted during the first listen that the highs were a little different and at that point I couldn’t pin it down as being rolled off or just what I would call “flatter”.

I spent a few days listening to this combination and after going through many titles I’ve come to the conclusion that they are a combination of both (if that’s a real thing).
This came more to light as I jumped between streaming and file playback from my server.

My streaming setup is the Lumin U2 Mini with files provided by Qobuz and while it does sound nice the Lumin gives a slightly brighter presentation when compared to files played back from the Naim Uniti Core.

The Core has a more full bodied sound and definitely has a lower noise floor than the Lumin. It was while listening to the Naim that I realized the highs were just not as consistently present when compared to that being played while streaming. It’s not that reverb tails were missing, or that instruments were totally lacking their crispness but rather more of a veiled sound across that end of the spectrum.

It’s weird though as the midrange is very well presented with this tube. Instruments have a very natural place here and the treble sits kind of in the same place rather than being an extension of it.

Bass response is good, I don’t recall it lacking but I will say that it’s not as deep digging as other tubes I own. Still in a good place though with impact you can feel through your feet, just not the type of reproduction that pulls low end detail to the forefront.

This tube is not a loser by any means. It does really well with more neutral instrumental recordings and also provides a very quiet background. Combined with the right rectifier and the right music selection this tube serves well.