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Tubes for your K&K Maxxed Out Phono?

Hi guys:

I took possesion of a new, full on preamp from Kevin about a week ago. I've been running LPs through it non-stop, maybe 15 hours so far.

I wonder about break-in aspects & do understand that this puppy needs a good amount of time, before those big Cardas parafeed caps open up in particular. That said, it is already capable of fantastic resolution & imparts some nice speed to my system in almost all tube rolling configurations. It's an awesome piece of kit, I can tell that already. Mine also has the 1931 trafos.. so a maxxed out, Maxxed Out, if you will. :)

My other gear is what i'd say is pretty neutral, with a "bouncy" front end: Art Audio HC Jota (AVVT 325Bs), Gill Audio Alana preamp, an OMA Lenco/Schick arm, with a SS retipped Denon 103R.

My issue is this: I just tried rolling some Siemens ECC88s in both the K&K and then I shifted them to my Linestage (I put some 60's Mullards in to the phono stage in their place). I'm surprised that even with some late 60's short plate Mullards in the K&K and the German tubes in the linestage. While the pacing is fantastic, it just seems a bit to hot for my ears.

It was even quicker & a little preferable overall with Valvos in my linestage & the Siemens in the K&K. I've gone through my cart setup a few times, i'm sure it could be better, but i detect no mistracking and my cart orientation (VTA/RTA) is just barely tail down.

I wonder if these Siemens are just a little "too much of a good thing" in the high end department for use with the K&K due to it being so nicely extended to begin with? May I ask what other Maxxed Out owners use in their preamps?

I'll fiddle with my cartridge a touch more before giving up on the Siemens entirely for phono stage duty. Maybe I should wait for some more run in time on the unit before drawing any such conclusions on valves? It is only a few hours into service.

I can eventually figure something out and roll some other types of tubes in to it; thinking something in the Amperex school now. Just a bit of a buzzkill, cause I love the pace the Siemens give everything. They really make an all tubed, glorified, high current 300b based SET amp system get up & boogie. Fatiguing if fatuiging though.

I didn't pay a ton for the valves.. by all identifers I can see, they seem like the real article, A3 issue Siemens E88CCs from the mid 60's. I thought they'd be detailed but a little sweet as per what i'd heard about them. I guess it's system dependent & semantics (like everything else).

My speakers are Ars Aures F1 floorstanders btw. Nice, musical & err on the sweet side. Not insanely detailed by reputation or in my room.

Thanks for any & all insights Maxxed Out owners. I've had some magic already with this unit & it ain't going anywhere. I'm just looking for that little extra, perceived pace, without the ear bleeding.

Regards, Marc
128x128marchomeslice
palasr
527 posts
 
I'd say you need a good 300 hours for break-in time (there's a lot of transformer wire that needs time...perhaps even more so than the big Cardas caps). One mistake gear junkies make with the K&K is to dismiss it too quickly. Your patience will be rewarded.

I've tried rolling dozens of variations of the 6DJ8/6922/7308/E88CC/E188CC families, and I've always come back to the stock tubes, the mid 70's vintage Russian 6H23P-EB. The way I figure it, this is the tube Kevin designed the unit around and sonically (as well as parametrically), it's simply a perfect match to my ears. YMMV and all that. Good luck, and let us know what you settle on.
vortrex
273 posts
 
Isn't the unit already supplied with what's considered the best tube in that family? Mine came with some '80's Voskhod 6N23P. I also tried some '70's version and heard no difference. Maybe you should use the trim pots and dial it back a bit if you think things are too hot?
marchomeslice's avatar
marchomeslice OP
13 posts
 
Thanks a lot for your responses guys. Right after I made my initial post, I thought: "how can you really evaluate a tube swap, now, when this unit is so new"?

So I do think I should wait a bit and re-post my experiences when I have a little more burn in on the stage.

I'm also sure I made a few dopey, "rookie mistakes" by both swapping out the stock tubes (Russian 6N23Ps), which i'm sure are quite nice and I would agree, what the designer, implemented around & for an extra boobie prize, I went and messed a bit with my cartridge setup.

This unit, is just a good bit more resolved than anything i've ever run in my setup before.. so when I was annoyed by what I thought was some mistracking, i went right into "redo" mode right away.

For the brief time I had the stock tubes going, they were more than fine. I popped some mid 60's Mullards I had lying around from a linestage purchase though and I liked just about everything better after the swap. The Siemens did offer some speed.. which was totally intriguing.

Thanks again gang! I'm gonna find my own way for a good bit during the run in process and post back with any fun revalations, tube recs, etc.

Peace, Marc

p.s. As far as adjusting any "trim pots", I could certainly change the loading & see what kind've effect that has. I wouldn't touch the internal dip switch, individual gain controls in the unit with my cart. The low output of the 103R (.25mV), puts me firmly in the need for the high gain settings staying that way, i think.
wrm57
1,048 posts
 
Like Palasr, when I owned a premium Maxxed Out, I rolled a lot of high-buck tubes through it (e.g. early '60s Valvo Red Labels, 1964 USN-CEP Amperex 7308, Seimens 7308, some others) but ultimately returned to the stock tubes. Kevin did a good job tuning it for those tubes.

As others have said, it takes a few hundred hours to break in fully. Enjoy!
marchomeslice's avatar
marchomeslice OP
13 posts
 
Thanks Wrm57.

You moved on from this bad boy though huh? may i ask, whatcha runnin' now?

Marc
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