Lightstream Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 (edited) Now that my Elekit TU8500 valve preamp is for the most part run in, I have to say that not only is this the finest quality kit I've ever assembled in some 40 years, but the results are knockout! Such transparency! Once I had got the right cable sorted to run from the preamp to the h/phone amp, I was literally shocked at the level of articulation and focus being laid bare in my venerable Sennheiser HD540 Reference headphones (pleather pads and Mogami cable). I had no idea that the Psvane 12AU7-T (gain matched in all parameters) valves were THIS good! I know they are superb from top to bottom, but this was now something at a new level. No, they are not the traditional old school valve sound by any means, not of the Mullard and Amperex Orange Globe ilk of luscious warmth, they are superbly transparent and linear from top to bottom, or as far as I can currently ascertain. If I want extra warmth I can pop the stock Chinese 12AU7s back in, or a set of Mullards. I have not been tempted. I am very happy that I went straight for the upgraded components from the word go. This preamp is QUIET. I've heard much noisier transistor gear. Even the phono stage, with it's upgrade OPA2227 op-amps and quality polypropylene caps is very close to the silence of the line stage, I am delighted with the results! It's surprisingly dynamic, focused and articulate. The headphone amp is a much modified Silicon Chip design that has all Dale low-inductance resistors, Nichicon Muse caps, Black Gate bypass caps, Vishay output resistors and Russian paper-in-oil caps in the output circuit, plus a brand new and just run-in audio-gd Earth HDAM in place of the input op-amps. Power supply is an audio-gd pure Class A beast that could power several amp boards, or amp/preamp as a unit easily. It's fully adjustable for current and output voltage, another gem from Kingwa! The pure silver cable from preamp to h/phone amp is of my own construction, an attempt to loosely copy the superb Slinkylinks pure silver cable I use from the Schitt Audio Multibit DAC (Mimby) to the preamp. Consisting of 2 x 4 nines pure silver 0.25mm conductors in teflon tubing, encased in a braided outer - nylon, not metal, and finishing in Telluride copper Bullet plugs on either end (as are the Slinkylinks). In some systems this cable has been extremely pure sounding if a touch dry, not here! Full of life and the utmost articulation that leaves my two other silver cables sounding less, as good as they are. The Slinkylinks reign supreme from top to bottom, but I only have one set of them at this time, though I am looking to buy another set if I can find some. My homemade versions are very slightly less full in the bass regions, but the detail and dynamic focus is so good, that used in this situation they are brilliant. An example from a couple of days ago; listening to 90125 from Yes, specifically "Hold On", I've heard this sound full of energy and punchy before, but not with the dynamic alacrity and undistorted vocal articulation I was experiencing that day! WOW! I could hear every syllable in perfect clarity and even though this album is recorded a touch bright, there was no sharpness or nasty edge here at all. Astonishing, as any of my other home theatre or main system amps will let me know it's a bit of a hot recording. With the TU8500 combo, I was not only singing along, air guitar and bass was now not only mandatory but unquestioningly essential! Bass dynamics were almost shockingly fast and dimensional. Best I've ever experienced this album. Ricki Lee Jones' brilliant live album (a favourite), Naked Live, was simply astonishingly intimate and riveting, the rest of the world simply disappears. This is also a fine feature of the 30 year old Senn HD540 Ref1s, they have this ability to effectively vanish, while sounding so communicatively organic and alive at the same time, something I find lacking in many of today's headphones, musical gems, just like the Elekit TU 8500 preamp. Brilliant! I have included a picture of the system below ..... yes, I know, the power amp needs a case! I've just acquired one recently, so that's on the list. Meantime, the amp is utterly silent just as it is. the heatsink is temporary, although the Class A power supply does get rather warm and once in it's new case, the output transistors will be secured to the bottom of a metal case. Edited March 1, 2019 by Lightstream 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffnutz Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Did you buy it direct from Elekit in Japan or somewhere else? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 (edited) Cool build LS and your enthusiasm for it only reinforces the positive reviews about all of the Elekit products online. I’ve heard it said from a reliable source that their 300B amplifier is about as good as it gets for a 300B circuit. Any under the lid shots of your Elekit preamp? Steve. . Edited March 2, 2019 by Steve M 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightstream Posted March 2, 2019 Author Share Posted March 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Gruffnutz said: Did you buy it direct from Elekit in Japan or somewhere else? From Japan, yes, but not from Elekit, another eBay seller who gave good service and the kit arrived weeks ahead of the suggested time of arrival. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightstream Posted March 2, 2019 Author Share Posted March 2, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Steve M said: Cool build LS and your enthusiasm for it only reinforces the positive reviews about all of the Elekit products online. I’ve heard it said from a reliable source that their 300B amplifier is about as good as it gets for a 300B circuit. Any under the lid shots of your Elekit preamp? Steve. . Yes there are, they all came with my original posting under valve gear ... I think I can post them again here if you like, no problem. I took my time building the kit, around 8-10 hours, though some have done it in half that time. I didn't want to do that, taking great care to not only check that all components were with the kit, but since my instructions were in Japanese (fortunately I've built more than enough kits to understand the process and the quality of the instruction sheets is truly excellent!), I double checked everything as I populated the boards and then again afterwards before firing up the preamp and checking voltages as per the instructions - all were spot on. A really good soldering job was essential for me - I'd saved long and hard for this kit and already pre-bought the upgrade components some months previously in anticipation - and although I'd run out of WBT silver solder, I did use some quality fine solder and everything went perfectly. I have heard of other kit builders who have not been so careful with their soldering and had issues come up later on. I also took the time to trim and sand back all of the board links, as they all come in one sheet that needs separating into the various sections. A fine file was all that it took to get a good finish and I reckon it looks tidier and more professional ... even if it's hidden under the case I know! The preamp started up perfectly and has run absolutely silently ever since. None of my previous valve gear has ever been this quiet, a great credit to the designer. Pictures show the stock Chinese valves and for the first day I had a ball with them, if I had to I could happily live with them. The Psvane 12AU7-T's however are another story, in a word, brilliant! Last job that I haven't got to yet is a cable tie for the cables from the transformer. Edited March 2, 2019 by Lightstream 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanghai Wally Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Aloha Agree Elekit are gorgeous luckly found a nice pair of TU-898/300B Brilliant Sound out of the JBLs matching fine with Kennwood KA-7002 as preamp Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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