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Boy, I have just had a HUGE surprise. I still can't believe it. I thought my Ella was an OK amp for the money. Maybe a bit dark, slow, and veiled, but good value for the money. However, I rarely listened to her since the Lady Day made herself "home" in my main system, and I have bought some new "toys" as well, so I thought I would sell Ella.To make a long story short, my Lady Day PT had a meltdown, and I was busy refurbishing a vintage amp and needed something good to listen to, so I got Ella back out. Here is where serendipity came in. I also had to order some new tubes for a DAC and preamp, so I ordered NOS Amperex 6922s (for the DAC) and RCA 6SN7s (for the preamp project). Since I had them sitting around, I tried them together in Ella.
H-O-L-Y COW. I can't believe what a HUGE difference replacing the stock Sovtek 6922s and EH6SN7s has made: Ella has been transformed into a Cinderella. She sounds like a totally different-and MUCH better- amp. I am kicking myself in the butt for not trying this sooner, but the Sovtek 6922s and EH6SN7s are supposed to be pretty good for new-production tubes, so who knew?
All I know is that I have been listening to her literally for hours a day ever since I tried the NOS tubes, and I am enjoying the HECK out of her. No way I'm getting rid of her now.
My $900 Ella--add $160 for NOS Amperex and RCA tubes--is now competitive with multi-thousand dollar amps I have heard. For those of you using stock tubes in your Ella, try NOS tubes. You definitely won't be sorry. The NOS tubes take a good value and transform it into an exceptional value. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended!
Dave
Edits: 04/05/08 04/05/08Follow Ups:
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