Brf,
Your take on the Duelund CAST is insightful. I immediately heard their beneficial effects upon placement in my speakers. However the sound just kept steadily improving for week after week. The stock speaker is quite transparent and natural to begin with. The performance improvement with just changing the speaker's single capacitor in the crossover is actually remarkable. The cost of the CAST in reality is cheap given the results they yield.
Charles,

charles1dad December 10, 2013 22:39

Your take on the VV =>AVVT lineage is correct. I don’t know if it’s is me or not, but I still think the Duelands are still improving as I put more hours on the caps. I know that the Dueland caps are expensive, but for the sound improvement, you will be hard pressed to say they are not worth their asking price.

brf December 10, 2013 21:01

Brf,
Thanks, I knew the EML XLS 320 isn't a drop in replacement as the 300b XLS is. I believe the Alexis Vaic "VV" tubes were his earlier line and was followed by the AVVT tubes.
Brf what's your final verdict on the Duelund CAST in your speakers?
Charles,

charles1dad December 10, 2013 20:40

Most Vaic Valve (VV) tubes use the same designation as the AVVT tubes

AV32B = EML 300B-XLS These are drop in replacements for 300B amps, however, the plate voltage can be increased over the standard 300B to achieve greater plate dissipation i.e. more power

AV302B = EML 320B = EML 842 These are also drop in replacements for 300B amplifiers providing that the heater voltage never drops below 5v. This is very important and if 5v cannot be guaranteed, tube life will suffer. As with the 300B-XLS higher dissipation can be achieved with greater plate voltage with no harm to the tube.

brf December 10, 2013 19:59

Brett,
I don't know if they're the same tube or not. Vaic did make several 300b variants, the 32b is a large tube with thick glass and is a drop in replacement electrically speaking.

charles1dad December 10, 2013 19:18

Charles, I am assuming that the Vaic 302B is the same as their 32B?
I am unable to find much information on that slightly different variant.

isochronism December 10, 2013 18:42

1markr,
The more I listen to the AVVT 32b the more I've come to genuinely admire its beautifully natural sound. If you ever buy a second pair of 300b tubes I believe you'll love the pedigree related EML XLS. When did you discover SET and high efficiency speakers?
I'm listening to Russell Malone with Kenny Barron right now and I'm in musical heaven.
Charles,

charles1dad December 10, 2013 00:47

I use the V V 32b power tubes in my Art Audio Jota, and I agree, they are fantastic!

1markr December 09, 2013 22:53

I'd like to recommend to anyone who uses a 300b amplifier to seriously consider the AVVT 32B SL tube if you happen to come across a pair(out of production). It's a direct replacement and is sonically very much similar to the brilliant EML XLS. Since I've acquired the Tripoint Troy these two tube's many attributes seem to have gotten better. Overall exceedingly close to the Takatsuki but with a more robust, larger scale authoritative presentation, yet organic and very nuanced. For their cost they are a true significant value given the performance provided. The AVVT 32b used (hard to find these days) is a spectacular buy and offers ultra long life span (40,000 hours per manufacturer).
Charles,

charles1dad December 09, 2013 19:06

Hi Jeff,
That's plausible, however the fact that the sound improved 'significantly' (in one week) would suggest either direction yields good sound, IOW the sound didn't remain bright. On the other hand the Yamamoto DAC improved immediately with the fuse change.
Bottom line, all components improved with the better fuses.
Charles,

charles1dad December 09, 2013 15:32

Devilboy, I'll give you my two sense. I think they are directional because when Charles put the fuses in for the first time they were terrible real bright. It took I think a week for them to settle down. It's possible if he reversed the fuse it would have sounded much better from the get go.

jwm December 09, 2013 13:16

Devilboy,
I've read that as well regarding direction orientation but haven't done it myself. It's so satisfying as it is I didn't bother with changing the fuse direction.
Charles,

charles1dad December 09, 2013 12:08

Thank you Charles. Did you switch the direction of the fuses at all? a couple of people told me they are directional. They technically "work" both ways but one way sounds better than the other apparently.

devilboy December 09, 2013 11:26

Hi Devilboy,
I just went with Synergistic Research as word of mouth and the grapevine endorsements were consistently enthusiastic. They have worked out well for me, but other upgrade fuses could be as good for all I know. I assume that they're in the AC path. It goes without saying that this is component and system dependant as far as results are concerned. For whatever reason the improvement was immediate with my DAC but required about a week to sound good in my Coincident components.
Charles

charles1dad December 09, 2013 01:44

Charles, I'm about to replace the stock fuses in my dac and amp. Of all the fuses that have been recommenced to me and have read about, I think I'm going with the Synergistic fuses. Have you compared the SR fuses to any other "boutique" fuses or just the stock? Also, are yours in the signal or AC path?

devilboy December 08, 2013 21:14

Grannyring,
If you happen to see this post heres a question for you.
You mentioned acquiring a 45 SET amp a few months go and I was surprised its 1.5- 2 watts mated well with your speakers. Are you still using it and have you done any modifications to it? I know how adept you are at high level DIY.
Charles,

charles1dad December 08, 2013 14:36

Hi Dan,
LOL! I really felt you'd love the EML XLS if given a listen. Congratulations my friend.
Charles,

charles1dad December 05, 2013 23:44

Charles, please see my system notes, for my impression of the EML's.

Dan

islandmandan December 05, 2013 21:03

Dan,good news!
No problems with these tubes , just I thought. I look forward to your initial assessment.

charles1dad December 05, 2013 02:33

Hello Charles,

I din't hear back from Sonic Frontiers, so I went ahead and installed the new tubes. As per the instructions, after four hours of use, I will shut the amp down (in about half an hour), and let it cool before turning it on a little later tonight, when I give them a good listen.

I'll give my first impression in the morning tomorrow.

Best regards,
Dan

islandmandan December 05, 2013 00:33

Hi Dan,
I just don't believe you'll have any problems with this superb tube. On the other hand the EML 300b mesh plate does have some installation restrictions (amplifier watt dissipation 22- 28 watt limit, my amp dissipates 25 watts for example). I'd like to know your early impressions when you have time. For me they sounded quite good brand new and steadily improved over the following 100 hours or so.
Charles,

charles1dad December 04, 2013 20:56

Charles,

Thanks for setting me straight on the output power question. Chris Johnson passed my question to his technician, Mike Kerster. I haven't heard back from him yet. I think I will go ahead and install them, if I don't hear back pretty soon.

Thanks,
Dan

islandmandan December 04, 2013 19:53

Brf,
I know that Israel Blume (Coincident) discontinued using/offering the KR tubes due to reliability and poor warranty support. He did like the sound of these tubes, now I understand why after listening to them.
Charles,

charles1dad December 04, 2013 18:00

The reason I asked is because KR Audio distribution in the USA is a mess with former distributor(s) suing Czech KR etc. This has caused for both confusion over warrantee and in some instances products that are not current.

brf December 04, 2013 15:11

Brf,
I believe they were sent by Swampwalker.

charles1dad December 04, 2013 14:57