Eastern Electric M88 Integraded Amp (Update: GE 6550A)

Freo-1 · « **Reply #20 on:** 1 Sep 2011, 09:22 pm »

Quote from: Andre2 on 29 Aug 2011, 10:20 pm

Well, i have been an aspiring audiophile since I was a teenager. But never had the money, so now I hit 50 and finally I have some budget for this; I guess I will venture on the tube world with the m88, to check tube amplifiers out.

Trust me, you will be most happy with it. A little secret: You do not need to spend large dollars on NOS Euro preamp tubes. Get some quality US made NOS tubes, and the M88 will sound outstanding with them. For the power tubes, I would get the Black Treasures. They are really nice, and seem to be robust.

Andre2 · « **Reply #21 on:** 2 Sep 2011, 07:33 pm »

Thanks all. Just received this pm in my place of business

. Thanks Bill. Getting home and setting it up later tonight and have memorial day weekend to listen to music.

Andre2 · « **Reply #22 on:** 3 Sep 2011, 12:56 am »

OMG ! You gotta be kidding me! How much more sound can I hear from my CDs!!!

Robert Plant and what-his-name in the guitar are sounding soooo goooooooood on dazled and confused!!!

Norah Jones group, the drums, the bass, I coulnd't hear all that before.

Tom Jobim and Sting on Insensitive are so delightful!

And all I did was to retire my solid state Yamaha RX-V1400 with the M88. I am still listening on my cheap Boston Acoustic speaker that I bought in 2004 for $236 a pair!

man! i think my bbq meat has burned cuz I stayed listening to it too long. gotta check it out.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #23 on:** 5 Sep 2011, 01:24 am »

Quote from: Andre2 on 3 Sep 2011, 12:56 am

OMG ! You gotta be kidding me! How much more sound can I hear from my CDs!!!

Robert Plant and what-his-name in the guitar are sounding soooo goooooooood on dazled and confused!!!

Norah Jones group, the drums, the bass, I coulnd't hear all that before.

Tom Jobim and Sting on Insensitive are so delightful!

And all I did was to retire my solid state Yamaha RX-V1400 with the M88. I am still listening on my cheap Boston Acoustic speaker that I bought in 2004 for $236 a pair!

man! i think my bbq meat has burned cuz I stayed listening to it too long. gotta check it out.

Glad to hear it!

If you REALLY want to hear it sing, change out the stock 12AX7/12AU7 with some vintage tubes, and there will be a big improvement. For power tubes, get a quad of Penta KT88SC, or, if you have the coin, get the KT88 Black Treasures.

Andre2 · « **Reply #24 on:** 10 Sep 2011, 03:51 pm »

okay, thanks. I am taking notes. I am really in love with the sound from this amp. Listening to 'court of the crimson king', this hasn't sound this good ever.

I've also ordered the EE DAC plus (waiting eagerly) based on the stereomojo review. My next expenditure, though is some new speakers. then I am done for a while. So maybe next year, I will do some tube rolling.

LeeH · « **Reply #25 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 04:34 pm »

Anyone know which of the signal tubes is used for the balanced inputs?

Cheers

Lee

Freo-1 · « **Reply #26 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 04:35 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 24 Sep 2011, 04:34 pm

Anyone know which of the signal tubes is used for the balanced inputs?

Cheers

Lee

Yep. It's the 12AU7 on the far right looking down from the top.

LeeH · « **Reply #27 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 05:24 pm »

Would that be this one looking at it from the rear view

Freo-1 · « **Reply #28 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 05:28 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 24 Sep 2011, 05:24 pm

Would that be this one looking at it from the rear view

Yep! You got it. I use the balanced input on my M88, and I like the results.

LeeH · « **Reply #29 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 05:49 pm »

Thanks for that much appreciated

I guess i could tube roll the other 2 12au7 valves and leave this one be as i dont currently use the balanced inputs?

Cheers

Lee

Freo-1 · « **Reply #30 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 06:19 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 24 Sep 2011, 05:49 pm

Thanks for that much appreciated

I guess i could tube roll the other 2 12au7 valves and leave this one be as i dont currently use the balanced inputs?

Cheers

Lee

That would be right. The balanced tube has no audible effect when using single ended.

LeeH · « **Reply #31 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 06:39 pm »

Thats brilliant news, Ive seen quite a few 12au7 tubes as matched pairs, now its time to go tube rolling with the signal valves!

Freo-1 · « **Reply #32 on:** 24 Sep 2011, 06:51 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 24 Sep 2011, 06:39 pm

Thats brilliant news, Ive seen quite a few 12au7 tubes as matched pairs, now its time to go tube rolling with the signal valves!

Enjoy the journey. Something to keep in mind: Trust your own ears, not any of our opinions. The views people express, while helpful to a point, have to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because person "A" says tube X is the only one to get with this amp , do not buy it. General tonal characteristics are OK, but you may find your system sounds better with tube Y.

For example, I have found that the Japan Mullard clone tubes (12AX7, 12AU7) are a great buy at a pretty cheap price. They have excellent quality control, and sound very close to the orignal tube the clone is copied from. Also, the old RCA/Westinghouse Black Plates are VERY SMOOTH, while Amperex provides a presence tilt in a slightly upward direction.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #33 on:** 27 Nov 2011, 10:53 pm »

Thought I would bring this up to date:

I have enjoying this amp for several months now. I would easily put this up against any of the other high end offerings out there (C-J, VTL, Manley, Cary, Audio Research, etc). This amp holds its own quite well.

Rolling the 12AU7's and 12AX7's does indeed change the tonal character. Each of the KT88s I have tried seem to like a different set of 12AU7 and 12AX7 set of tubes for one's preferred tonal character.

What really surprised me was how the amp changed in sound when dropping in a quad of GE 6550A tubes. My buddy lent me a quad he had to try out with this amp. I had not expected all that much, as I've used the 6550A with my old amp and it was not all that great sounding.

However, the 6550A in the M88 makes it a completely different sounding amp. Dropping in the 6550A's made me realize that while we all can enjoy this hobby, getting an audio reproduction system to sound like a live event is a real moving target. Just when you think you have the system where you want it, you later realize that it does some things well, but other things, well,…

The 6550A has a much different bass character from any of the Russian or Asian tubes I've tried, in that it is both deeper and tighter. There is also a LOT more HF energy going on with the 6550A. No one will think there is a HF roll off with this output tube (and this amp). The other observation is that the amp seems to be able to play a bit louder without distortion.

I am amazed that the output tube could make this much difference. No wonder the guitar guys all love this tube.

The take away is that the GE 6550A tube changes the presentation from this amp significantly. While the 6550A has more information going on at the audio extremes, some may find that the 6550A lacks the "midrange magic" that something like the KT88 Black Treasures supply. One could state that the 6550A makes the amp sound "more accurate", but, one may or may not find that desirable.

DavidS · « **Reply #34 on:** 1 Dec 2011, 03:49 am »

I have been looking at this amp. To be honest always thought the KT88 was a middle of the road tube - a tube for someone who wanted tubes but didn't want to stray too far from solid state linear sound.

I have been looking for a second amp and more I think about it I want the convenience of an integrated amp. Have been looking at the EL's and was thinking the 84 might be my output tube until I read reviews / discussion about the deHavilland KT88 Fisher tribute amp (admittedly a 10K amp) and more recently the new Eastern Electric. Thinking that maybe I had the humble KT88 wrong, and maybe not so humble when you start buying Black Treasures.

Freo-1 · « **Reply #35 on:** 3 Dec 2011, 07:29 pm »

Quote from: DavidS on 1 Dec 2011, 03:49 am

I have been looking at this amp. To be honest always thought the KT88 was a middle of the road tube - a tube for someone who wanted tubes but didn't want to stray too far from solid state linear sound.

I have been looking for a second amp and more I think about it I want the convenience of an integrated amp. Have been looking at the EL's and was thinking the 84 might be my output tube until I read reviews / discussion about the deHavilland KT88 Fisher tribute amp (admittedly a 10K amp) and more recently the new Eastern Electric. Thinking that maybe I had the humble KT88 wrong, and maybe not so humble when you start buying Black Treasures.

I do not think you can go wrong with this amp. It sounds excellent as an integrated, and equals or betters many seperates.

Once the stock tubes are replaced with a better grade, the amp really shines. The preamp/driver tubes make a big difference once upgraded. The upgraded power tubes can help out as well, more than I would have otherwise thought.

The other thing with this amp is that is presents itself as having a lot of drive for 40 watts. It seems to handle most speakers, including larger models, quite well.

LeeH · « **Reply #36 on:** 18 Dec 2011, 06:05 pm »

Ive got some PSVANE signal valves coming in the week for the 12AU7 and 12AX7, had these in before on a loaner and liked them allot, will post here my findings in due course

Lee

Freo-1 · « **Reply #37 on:** 20 Dec 2011, 01:00 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 18 Dec 2011, 06:05 pm

Ive got some PSVANE signal valves coming in the week for the 12AU7 and 12AX7, had these in before on a loaner and liked them allot, will post here my findings in due course

Lee

I'm sure you will be happy with the upgrade. Changing out the stock tubes will improve performance remarkably.

LeeH · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 Dec 2011, 10:03 am »

The christmas post must be delaying them as hey have not come yet

Freo-1 · « **Reply #39 on:** 30 Dec 2011, 10:19 pm »

After some extended listening with a variety of small signal tubes, the ones that I find sound the best with the M88 is as follows:

For the 12AX7's the Raytheon Black Plates (shiny) is better by a fair bit. This amp is more senistive to the 12AX7 than a lot of tube amps, so it's important to get that right. The wrong 12AX7 will rob the amp of it's sonics.

For 12AU7 tubes, the Raytheon Black Plates are a great match, better than anything else I tried. The French Military 6189 is also very nice, but hard to find.