Firstly I would like to thank Karina at iFi for these tubes
to review, as always I try to write honest reviews. These tubes have had over
50hrs of burn-in.
Gear Used: Opus #2 > Feliks Audio Espressivo > Grado SR60e /
Sennheiser HD650
Tech specs and info:
Packaging and Use:
These are actually 5670 tubes in adaptors for use in 6922
sockets, and they come packaged in the usual slim white box from iFi audio. The
box is understated and I appreciate the slim packaging, the tubes are carefully
held in a foam insert to help protect them during shipping. They come with a
pair of white cotton gloves to reduce oils from your skin contaminating the
tubes. Overall a well packaged product which is kept perfectly safe during
shipping.
These 5670 tubes in adaptors can be used in the majority of
amps that use 6922 tubes, and are for the most part a drop in replacement. iFi
audio state that the tubes have been through a rejuvenation procedure of gentle
heating up, and are not to be removed from the included ceramic adaptors.
Sound:
The reason I wanted to try these is that I like the original
tubes that came with my Feliks Espressivo amp but tube rolling is addictive and
I went down the rabbit hole. I am using 6N6P-I power tubes and went through
some NOS Voskhod tubes that were great for warming up the sound of harsher
headphones but lack top end detail. After that I invested in some NOS Tesla
gold pin valves, which have an incredibly lush and slightly forward midrange
but again were lacking finer detail.
I have always been a fan of iFi audio products and their
tube stages in the iTube and Pro iCan all use the 5670 and have incredible
detail with a slight hint of tube lushness. I am not after a solid state sounding tube
amp, but one that has a hint of tube warmth whilst still letting the details
through.
The iFi Jan 5670 deliver, and are in line with what I want,
the first time I listened I was impressed, the highs that I was missing are
back but still without glare. The bottom end is still wonderfully textured and
full bodied; the mid range has an intimacy that is lacking with some more
reference sounding amps. The highs come through with excellent detail that is
lacking in some tube combinations.
Now I know the tube amp output impedance isn’t always going
to play nice with the low impedance Grado SR60e, but I have found with this pairing
I am finding the bloat that occurred with other tubes has lowered, and the
highs that were missing (I know, highs from a Grado not being bright?) came
back.
With the HD650 I always find their top end lacking too, and this combination is not going to make them treble monsters, but it does bring
out some nice energy up top, yet again without harshness or metallic tone.
Conclusion: In my opinion these tubes have made my Feliks Audio
Espressivo an excellent performer for the price, and these tubes offer what I
would call a more neutral sound than some other NOS tubes out there, but they
still have that bit of tube warmth. They don’t make the sound bloated, they
don’t make the sound congested, they are a clear and detailed sounding. Again I
cannot state enough that tube rolling is all about creating synergy between
your gear, if you feel like details are smoothed over with your current 6922
tubes, give these a try, for me personally these deliver the details I crave
without brightness or unnatural tone.
Sound Perfection Rating: 8/10 (you can get the tubes and
adaptors separately for less, but at risk of not having matching pairs, and
without knowing they are genuine)
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