Thomas,
I had to return two sets of the Melz 1578 tubes due to noise. I could hear them at my listening position and my speakers are not very sensitive. I did get one quiet pair and kept those. I wanted to get another pair for when these wear out, but gave up. The 6N8S from Ukraine are surprisingly good. |
First impression of the 1578 - wow! Looking forward to see how they sound after a little burn in. |
@shkong78 I ordered a pair of those 1578's last Saturday and they just showed up on my doorstep. I will give them a try tonight or tomorrow. I was surprised they got here so fast.
I'm surprised you liked the 6N8S so much. I thought about getting a pair, but everything I read about them was negative. I saw some selling for $4.50 each.
Looking forward to trying the 1578's. Thanks for the information about them. |
I bought a pair of the Melz 1578 from the seller @shkong78 recommended for my Modwright LS 100. I played them for a while last night and they sounded really good right out of the box (I had the LS 100 in HTBP mode for about an hour to get them warmed up, watching TV).
They are detailed, dynamic, and the bass is prominent with a texture that I have not heard in my system before. Pithy might be a good description of the sound of the bass. The soundstage was expanded and there seemed to be more separation between the instruments. I can't wait for them to break in a little more.
They were one of the best bang for the buck upgrades I've made to my system. I've used Shuguang CV-181, the stock Tung-Sol tubes, Sylvania Chrome Domes, Sylvania 6SN7GTA "tall boys", and Sophia Electric clear and blue tubes. The 1578s were the best by far. |
Black Sabbath and the 1578s seem to get along well. |
@shkong78 Have you contacted the ebay seller about the noise in your 1578s?
One of mine has noise with no music playing, some crackling. I can hear it from my listening position about 9 1/2 feet away. It's not noticeable while listening to music unless there's a quiet section. I love the overall sound and tone of the 1578s but don't think I can live with the noise. I've switched the tubes from one channel to the other and the noise follows.
I contacted them about it and they replied with a question, which I have answered. Waiting to see if they'll offer a replacement. |
@shkong7One tube is as quiet as tubes get, the other is noisy.
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@luisma31 It was a different seller.
@shkong78 It's been at least 20 hours. I'm not about to re-solder the tubes. |
@shkong78 The seller of the tubes (the one in Russia that you recommended) has offered to replace the tubes and pay return shipping. So far, so good. I'll update once I receive the replacement tubes. |
@shkong78 It's actually a she, someone named Olga. It was a little odd that she asked me to send the tubes to an address in Delaware. I'll wait and see how it all plays out. |
If you have issues with the 1578's, your first course of action should be to contact the seller. I'd avoid trying things like re-soldering unless you can't get satisfaction from the seller, or you don't care about taking a loss if you're unable to return them due to modifying them. |
I didn't feel like the 1578s had closed in highs and I didn't notice any noise in the upper registers, just the crackling out of one tube. They definitely had more pronounced bass, perhaps that gives some the impression of "closed in highs"? |
@lowrider57 I returned they pair. They said they'd send me another matched set. |
So far so good. When I have a new pair of tubes that work properly, then I'll consider them a stand up dealer :) |
Thomas,
I ordered a pair of the 6n8s and those are on the way from the Ukraine. The replacements for the 1578's that had noise are also on their way. Looking forward to doing some comparisons of my own.
For now I have my Sylvania 1950s vintage 6SN7GTB chrome domes in. They are really nice sounding all around, but don't have the bass of the 1578 and maybe a little less detail. They are very "neutral" sounding and do everything right, but I liked the way the 1578's added more detail and texture to the bass.
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I received my replacement set of 1578 tubes today and they sound fantastic. No crackling like I had with the bad one I received the first time. My air conditioning has been on so I don't have a good sense yet of how low the noise floor is with them, but they are a little bit more noisy than other tubes I've used. So far the sound is wonderful with music playing. |
Thomas, the replacement tubes are much better. They are a little more noisy than other tubes I've tried but they do great things with the music. It seems to have more weight and texture. |
@lowrider57 that's a bummer. Seems like a bit of a crap shoot. |
The Sylvania GTBs sound really good and are reasonably priced. I'm listening to the 6N8S right now, they are surprisingly good! |
My 6n8s tubes arrived yesterday. I was only able to play a couple of songs, but right out of the box, these sound like winners. Very quiet and detailed, good dynamics, and a little more "tubey" sounding than the 1578s. I'm reserving judgment on them until I can do some extended listening, but initial impressions are very good. |
