Dehavilland Ultraverve 3

marjrho · « **on:** 26 Dec 2012, 01:28 am »

After much back and forth, Im pulling the trigger on the Ultraverve and should have it in two weeks.

I would like some feedback on interconnects, power cables, and of course, which 6sn7 tubes you are using to good effect. Thanks.

SteveFord · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 01:34 am »

Congratulations!
Kara will put in a good tube for you right off the bat.
I'm using an orange lettered, cryoed RCA, home made twisted silver interconnects and a Supra LoRad power cord.

Tubeburner · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 02:19 am »

Kara is great to communicate with. The TungSol round plate is very good. KenRad stagger plate (black glass or clear) is very good. It all depends on your taste and system. The Sylvania 6SN7GTA is good also. What is nice is you only need singles. The rectifier makes a difference also. You can find the Hytron NOS on ebay for cheap.

Good power cords, silver copper works very well.

Enjoy,
Ernie

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 01:20 pm »

I've got a bunch of 6SN7s from most US manufacturers: Philips, RCA, GE, Sylvanias, etc. But my favorites are the NOS Tun Sols; probably the same ones Tubeburner mentioned.

Enjoy your new preamp and keep us informed about your opinions.

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 03:44 pm »

I use the Sophia Electric 6sn7. Awesome tube!

marjrho · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 06:02 pm »

Thanks for the responses, all. I have seen the Tung Sol, 2 types actually. One seems to be new production and quite affordable, and the other, the old round plates that are very pricey. Im assuming the old round plate is the highly sought after one. The dealer told me Kara is putting in a nice NOS off the bat, but I would still like to know a good source of tubes just to have a stash justt in case.

Has any of one used or tried Shunyata. I want to try the Venom 3. I see some of you like silver interconnects. I may look into some.

marjrho · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Dec 2012, 07:18 pm »

Quote from: DARTH AUDIO on 26 Dec 2012, 03:44 pm

I use the Sophia Electric 6sn7. Awesome tube!

Darth, I just went to the Sophia website and I like what I read. I will have to invest in one of these. Thanks for the tip.

wilsynet · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Dec 2012, 12:23 pm »

Have any Ultraverve owners been able to compare it directly or just by impression and memory only against some of the better 6SN7 based preamps like the TRL Dude and the Modwright LS100?

marjrho · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Dec 2012, 03:34 pm »

Wilseynet, I considered the LS100, but not the Dude, before I made my decision. The Dude was not in my price range, and the Modwright and Dehavilland were going to be purchased used, until I received a great offer on a new Ultraverve 3 by a dealer.

To be honest, I never heard the LS100 or the Ultraverve; it was the tons of user evaluations that helped me narrow down my preamp search, 6sn7 based preamps in particular. From what I've read, I didn't necessarily feel that the Modwright was better souding than the Dehavilland, but I did like its feature set, which included a remote and HT-bypass. I got the feeling that the Modwright is a very neutral sounding preamp, not leaving any real sonic signature of its own. I have read that the two units sound different, and that one is not necessarily better than the other. Regarding the Dude, I get the feeling that it is considered to be better than both the LS100 and the Ultraverve, but again, that is from reading many owner reviews. So, as I mentioned earlier, my purchase was more about what became available to me at a price that I really couldnt pass up than one sounding better than the other.

carusoracer · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Jan 2013, 08:18 pm »

Did you receive the UltraVerve yet? How does it sound?

marjrho · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Jan 2013, 09:01 pm »

No, not yet. It's projected to be ready by 1/21, but I'm hoping it will be ready a little sooner. I will definately post my impressions once it's here.

SteveFord · « **Reply #11 on:** 6 Feb 2013, 01:00 am »

Either something happened and he's not going to get it
He's still getting it but it just hasn't shown up yet
He got it and he hates it so it's up for sale or
He got it and he's too busy listening to it to worry about writing about it.

I've got mine on right now.
It's not for sale.

marjrho · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 05:43 pm »

I got it. FINALLY!! Initial impressions, detailed, strong bass and smoooth! I know it will only get better with time.

SteveFord · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 08:13 pm »

Congratulations!

topround · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 10:05 pm »

The Dude is in another class altogether.
The Dehavilland is very nice, and the Modwrights...well they have to be used carefully because of their tonality, but the Dude is a monster of a preamp, that you buy and keep for life. Massive soundstage, it just throws a massive wall of sound that is layered and layered, truly one of a kind.

It is on my list to own.

My friend has the dehav 3, I had the 1, and had good results with Tungsol roundplate

sunnydaze · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Feb 2013, 10:25 pm »

I agree 100% Toppers!

When my buddy brought his Dude over, it so significantly transformed my system that I can honestly say it was probably the best home audio system I've ever heard. No exaggeration, my buddy felt the same.

Cavernous and layered soundstage that just swallowed up my room. Like you say, the Dude plays in a whole different stratosphere to anything I've ever experienced.

WOW!!!

amp: Music Reference RM9 mk2 w/ Siemens el34

speakers: Sunny Cable Technology H2W10

analog: Dyna 20x-h (level 2 Soundsmith re-tip) , Linn Ittok LVII arm, Townshend Rock Mk2 table, Juicy Music Tercel phono stage

cabling: Morrow and Argent Audio Jaden

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 12:12 am »

Quote from: marjrho on 23 Feb 2013, 05:43 pm

I got it. FINALLY!! Initial impressions, detailed, strong bass and smoooth! I know it will only get better with time.

Sweet! Enjoy that bad boy!

SteveFord · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 12:15 am »

I prefer it to the Audio Research gear; it's hard to put my finger on it but it's a different presentation.
What tubes did it come with?

marjrho · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 04:03 pm »

Thanks guys, enjoying it already. It came with an rca 6sn7gt silver top nos, a tung sol rectifier, and I cant remember the brand for the other tubes. Im not home right now. Will check later.

marjrho · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Feb 2013, 11:32 pm »

Ok, the other two tubes, 6AH4gt, are El Menco.