ultra 4 se ordered

Berndt · « **on:** 2 Sep 2006, 12:36 am »

I am in the 3 week cue.
I hope to be able to compliment it with a new amp when it arrives.
Ordered it red with natural sides with upgraded output caps.

I am very excited to have a piece of Lloyds work.
Bill

Berndt · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Sep 2006, 08:45 pm »

I made the final payment yesterday, now I am reduced to having the order que as my screen saver!
Is there any burn in shenanigans with Dr LLoyds work?
Suggested warm up time?

steve k · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Sep 2006, 11:47 pm »

My Magic 5B SE sounded great as soon as I fired it up but took about a week to fully burn in. No special warm up is necessary but like most tube equipment, it sounds better after it has been on for a half hour or so. Enjoy!

I'm extremely pleased with the sound of mine. It's the best synergy I've gotten between a tube preamp and my maggies yet. Warm, richly textured with lots of body and detail and it's dead quiet. I've done some tube rolling and the tubes are dirt cheap too. Doc Leppard has this game figured out and he's been quite helpful with tweaks and mods too!
steve

Berndt · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Sep 2006, 12:18 am »

he said MAGGIES

Funny thing the guy who suggested this pre rebuilt my maggies and traded his 6k hovland for an ultra4.

steve k · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Sep 2006, 12:21 am »

I think I know who that is.

Berndt · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Sep 2006, 04:08 am »

small world
how did you like his smgas?
what is your set up?
I just ordered a cathode eye/viper..
for the fun of it.
I love my magnastand smgas.
Blows my mind, how you can mod a set of 200$ used speakers to this level.
I want to change a lot of things in my system.
The speakers are not one of them.

steve k · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Oct 2006, 04:51 am »

Sorry for the late reply. I missed your post.

A friend of mine heard his SMGa's with the Hovland. PG wanted to hear my friend's Ultra 4 and fell in love with it. He's just tired of the micro detail of the Hovland and wants something more musical. Hard to believe! My buddy said the SMGa's with his custom stands sounded fantastic. He loved the Hovland on first hearing but said it was a bit thin in the bass.

I'm using IIIA's that I rewired (the ribbons) with magnet wire and rebuilt the mid/hi crossovers with outboards--alphacore inductors with Multicap/Auricap on the mids and blackgates/auricaps/jensen copper in oil bypass on the highs. I'm biamping with VTL amps. I have to say the Mapletree Magic 5 SE was the missing piece of the puzzle. I get real good system synergy now to the point that I don't want to mess with it at all. I'll fiddle with the sources but the preamp/amp combos are untouchable right now. Very smooth sound.
steve

Berndt · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Oct 2006, 05:16 am »

PG built my maggies.
He has been building my system ever since.
These speakers inspire me to make my system better.
I hear the difference of speaker wire jacks and sorbothane dots under my xo boxes.
I feel as if I have changed over, I blame PG.
(you gotta crawl out of the closet sometime)
I think I might beg him for the olligato oil cap xo's, with jensens, just to hear the difference.
I bought sonicaps and alpha core inductors from Danny at Gr.
These were a great boost in dynamics.
I think Peter Gunn has a good ear, at least I trust his advice sight unseen.
Reason being is that everything he has told me and given me has worked.
BTW, I have a confirmed ship date!
It feels so good to know my tube pre is coming.

steve k · « **Reply #8 on:** 1 Oct 2006, 05:28 am »

Enjoy and give us a full report!
s.

Berndt · « **Reply #9 on:** 1 Oct 2006, 05:35 am »

will do
I think it is funny though that mapletree sells so many components and is so little talked about?
did I mention my pre is shipping?

Peter Gunn · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Oct 2006, 03:32 am »

Time to set the facts straight.......

First off, I am glad Berndt is happy with his speakers and my advice. He was as great a customer as one could want. So good he's now a friend

As for me and my Hovland. I can't believe my relationship with this thing is becoming a topic of internet debate. I have had it a few years now and it does truly do some things in the most glorious way, and some things no other pre I've ever heard can do at all. You have to cater to it somewhat to get all that right, but it is great when it happens. I had a few hours with it tonight that were just sublime, and I am NOT tired of it's micro detail Steven, not by a long shot.

However the simple fact is in one or two areas it's not my first love, which would be fat, warm, hamonically rich if perhaps not mega detailed sound. I like the detail, but I like liquidity more. Somebody makes a pre that can do both I'm there, but until then I'll have to choose. Like anything it's a case of to each his own. On top of all of it starting the Magnestand enterprise has been exceedingly costly and I frankly need the money. That's actually the real driving reason. It will be bittersweet selling it.

Meanwhile that damn Berndt will have his!

Peter Gunn · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Oct 2006, 11:52 pm »

One thing Steve

I recalled I said in an email to you where I mentioned the Hovland could be like getting a picture done at Olan Mills and you see pock marks on your face you never knew existed, and while you can't deny the truth of it it's not the image of yourself you'd like to see daily. That must be where your impression about my "tiring" of the detail arose from.

That's only true with the Hovland if you haven't got everything else right. It was also to point out that when right, and you're doing one thing SO well it can exclude other things by default, and if you enjoy some of those other things (and not all might) you would miss them and perhaps resent the thing taking them away even if it's beautiful at the same time.

I like the Hovland a lot, and could live with it if I had to (what a load to bear, right?) but I've had and enjoyed it for a number of years now. I think it's time to try something else.

And did I mention I need money?

steve k · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Oct 2006, 01:21 am »

So when is your Ultra due in?
steve

Peter Gunn · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Oct 2006, 03:19 am »

If you're talking to me, it isn't. I still haven't even put the Hovland up for sale yet, and I'm not buying another pre until this one is gone. I'm not even on the waiting list yet. Berndt I think should have his pretty soon however.

Berndt · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Oct 2006, 03:05 pm »

I should be seeing mine next week on the 10th according to the tracking from xpresspost.
aa

topround · « **Reply #15 on:** 4 Oct 2006, 07:27 pm »

I received my ultra 4 se last week and see there is a provision for using two differnt types of tubes
12sn7's or 6sn7's Can anyone tell me the sonic differences between these tubes?

Thanks
mike
Proud Owner

Berndt · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Oct 2006, 07:29 pm »

Quote from: topround on 4 Oct 2006, 07:27 pm

I received my ultra 4 se last week and see there is a provision for using two differnt types of tubes
12sn7's or 6sn7's Can anyone tell me the sonic differences between these tubes?

Thanks
mike
Proud Owner

What is your system and how do you like the pre so far?
Pics?

Here is a thread with some tube rolling on the se4
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=15153.0

topround · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Oct 2006, 12:10 am »

My sytem is in flux right now.
I was using a modded Dynaco st 70 with the van alstine board.
With my Green mountain Europa's sens. 88 db I needed more power
so I upgraded to a vtl st 85 ( plenty o power).
I just started using AudioMagic x caliber 2 silver speaker cables which are fantastic but with a rave happening at my house at the end of the month I have been playing with room treatments and different rooms. I love the pre, I truly believe this pre could do wonders for a solid state amp.
Hard to make any critical judgements at the time. But I will soon.\

mike

rotarius · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Oct 2006, 04:15 pm »

Quote from: topround on 4 Oct 2006, 07:27 pm

I received my ultra 4 se last week and see there is a provision for using two differnt types of tubes
12sn7's or 6sn7's Can anyone tell me the sonic differences between these tubes?

Thanks
mike
Proud Owner

I have owned the 2a se for a couple of months now and I already had plenty of 6sn7 tubes since I have owned octal preamps for a while now. The tubes I received with the 2a were the RCA 12sn7gt which have a nice tonal balance and I like them for Jazz. However, as was the case with the RCA 6sn7gt also, when listening to classical, the massed strings are not as smooth as other tubes I have. There is a slight upper midrange etchiness with the RCA tubes, IMO. Tung-SOL tall bottle 6sn7GTB are nice underrated tubes, not lacking much from top to bottom. I also like the sylvania 6sn7GTA chrome domes from the 50's with my MAD pre. The syl tubes from this era have superb airy treble but depending on your system can cause more sibilance. The RCA 12sx7 tubes were OK, similar to the 12sn7gt but a little too laid back/dark for my system. The ones I like best for the 2A SE are the Hitachi 12sn7 gt. I am surprised by this tube, really big, open sound, smooth, punchy bass and just more involving than others that I have tried. Yes, they are forward sounding but are perfect for my vandersteens and they are not harsh by any means. I also found that the RCA 6x5 is not the best rectifier, I tried several. The syl 6x5gt bottom getter with plates staggered vertically made the sound brighter but otherwise ok. The smoothest and best one was the sylvania 6x5wgt, brown base, top getter with a large area of flashing on top. Hope this helps.
Darius

rajacat · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Oct 2006, 06:24 pm »

Quote from: rotarius on 28 Oct 2006, 04:15 pm

Quote from: topround on 4 Oct 2006, 07:27 pm
I received my ultra 4 se last week and see there is a provision for using two differnt types of tubes
12sn7's or 6sn7's Can anyone tell me the sonic differences between these tubes?

Thanks
mike
Proud Owner

I have owned the 2a se for a couple of months now and I already had plenty of 6sn7 tubes since I have owned octal preamps for a while now. The tubes I received with the 2a were the RCA 12sn7gt which have a nice tonal balance and I like them for Jazz. However, as was the case with the RCA 6sn7gt also, when listening to classical, the massed strings are not as smooth as other tubes I have. There is a slight upper midrange etchiness with the RCA tubes, IMO. Tung-SOL tall bottle 6sn7GTB are nice underrated tubes, not lacking much from top to bottom. I also like the sylvania 6sn7GTA chrome domes from the 50's with my MAD pre. The syl tubes from this era have superb airy treble but depending on your system can cause more sibilance. The RCA 12sx7 tubes were OK, similar to the 12sn7gt but a little too laid back/dark for my system. The ones I like best for the 2A SE are the Hitachi 12sn7 gt. I am surprised by this tube, really big, open sound, smooth, punchy bass and just more involving than others that I have tried. Yes, they are forward sounding but are perfect for my vandersteens and they are not harsh by any means. I also found that the RCA 6x5 is not the best rectifier, I tried several. The syl 6x5gt bottom getter with plates staggered vertically made the sound brighter but otherwise ok. The smoothest and best one was the sylvania 6x5wgt, brown base, top getter with a large area of flashing on top. Hope this helps.
Darius

I have the Mapletree line 3A SE and currently running the RCA12sx7 tubes. I'm having trouble finding a source for the Hitachi 12sn7 gt. I would appreciate it greatly if you would disclose your source.

Raja