Dehavilland Ultraverve 3 in da house

Seamaster

Active Member
Hello brothers and sisters in Audio,

My journey for audio nirvana has now comes to a stop. I have tried quite few gears through out the years, tube, solid state, and some McIntosh as well. I came to a conclusion from experiences and experiments that I want a tube preamp and solid-state power amp combo. My taste of music is very wide from rock, pop, classical to even dub-step that pose a real challenge to tube amps in general: relative soft and lose bass. I also settle on the sonic signature of 6SN7 family as well as their flexibility for tube rolling. So, the search was on. My budget was under $4000.

One day I have came across a few very positive reviews of Dehavilland Ultraverve, and I also asked the few community members that own the UV. The feedbacks were very positive; no one has said one negative thing about this preamp. Just like other people said, Kara is very nice and knowledgeable. After some discussion, I ordered a remote version with Mundorf silver gold in oil caps in place of the stock Auricap to address the “the UV dose not have the ultimate transparency like other top of the line preamps.” said in either by Dagogo or Positive Feedback reviews I forgot which one. Originally I was going for Duelund caps but they are too big and unable to fit in the case; also, they have too low of voltage rating. The stock caps are rated at 1000vdc; therefore, the Mundorf were 2nd on the list.

When my UV is done, I drove 2.5 hours to Kara’s house for pick-up and also took the opportunity to listen to her reference set-up and her KE-50A KT88 mono blocks. The 1st floor of her house is covered or I can say, “packed” with amp parts, prototypes, and workstation. I can see she sleeps, eats, and breathes with this stuffs and her passion.

A quick listen to my finished UV 3, I was very happy with the tonal balance (stock tubes), the bass was articulate but weak. I knew the Mundorf might take sometimes to settle-in. After her house, I enjoyed at Joe’s Crab Shack with some yummy Cajun snow crab with my family, it was the bomb, much better than the Crab Pot in Seattle.

I have two children that means I really can’t run my amp for 300 hours to settle-in. So I hook the UV 3 with a Hagerman Technology FryKleaner; took the bottom plate off to vent the heat; and left it on for 13.95 days straight. That is 335 hours!



My setup:
MacBook Pro Retina 2013
IFI Audio micro IDSD as digital converter (My turntable is currently out of commission)
Anti-cable Reference 4 or 5 (don’t recall)
Sony TA-N77ES Power Amp
Nanotec Golden Strada #79 Limited Edition speaker cables
Oyaide Tunami GPX power cables
Tannoy Turberry speakers

Test Music:
Sting - All this time
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan (many tube amps struggle with this album due to the bass line)
The Piano Guys
Sony Master Series CD - Beethoven – No.5, Fur Elise, and Moonlight
Genji Video Game Soundtrack (the ultimate test for PRaT and bass and I have not seen a tube amp does not suffer from this CD set yet!)
http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/genji-dawn-of-the-samurai-original-game-audio

Three female vocalists:
http://www.amazon.cn/降央卓玛-金色的呼唤/dp/B001PO5SQG
http://www.amazon.cn/苏曼的夜晚/dp/B0011...&ie=UTF8&qid=1431902251&sr=1-1&keywords=苏曼的夜晚

And Norah Jones.

So far the amp has passed my listening checklist with flying color:

• Charming female vocal with correct male vocal tone at same time (A)
• Big 6SN7 tone as all online reviews claimed, check (A)
• Transparency, check. The Mundorf must worked (A)
• Effortlessness (A+)
• PRaT compare to tube amps (A+), compare to my friend’s Passlab (A-)
• Respond well to tube rolling (A+)
• Bass performance compare to a solid state pre with best bass: speed (A-), impact/attack (A- with Brimar CV1988, A with KenRad VT-231), decay (A+, and lovely)
• HF extension (A to A+ depends on tube), HF fatigue (A+, or none)
• Fit and finish: inside (A), front plate (A), case (B+)
• Customer service (A+)

The reason I rate B+ on the case is the bottom plate is not perfectly flat. I found that out when I tried to replaced the four factory rubber feet with four spikes (glue-on). The spikes would not touch the rack surface at same time. I am pretty sure Kara will take care of me on this minor issue.

Overall, the UV 3 is a lovely sounding piece of gear that is reasonably priced. The performance to price ratio is unbelievably good. Honorably mention its bass performance (which was my worry before) with upgraded caps is on a pair with solid-state preamp on speed and attack, and it is even better than SS on bass decay. The tonal balanced of the UV 3 is correct to a music lover with all right tube magic retained while also being dynamic, transparent, and effortless. This not a hi-fish sounding gear with emphases on HF to sound expensive, the UV 3 is focused on music flow; and again, tonal balance. The sound is very engaging and I often forgot to analyze the music.
 

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Thanks for the sharing. I am researching and studying on tubed preamps and amps. Dehavilland. Never heard of those. :thmbsp:
 
Ultraverve III

Seamaster,

I had come to a very similar conclusion recently. After being mostly satisfied with the Dennis Had Inspire combo (KT-150 {tube rolled w/ vintage TungSol 6550} and LP-2 preamp), there were more than a handful of recordings where the bass would just completely lose control, saturating and fuzzing out on some high energy CD sources. Lucinda Williams "Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone" was a prime example - Track 1, Disc 2 "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was unplayable at even moderate volumes.

My speaker load could be an issue with singled-ended tube amps. It's the Zu Omen speakers, while having a very efficient 97 dB/W-m they have an nominal impedance of 12 ohms. If you look at the impedance curve, they spike up to about 45-50 ohms at about the 70Hz frequency. That's probably the frequency range that it's having a hard time reproducing.

I've had the SS amp + tube preamp combo in the past, and really liked having the best of both worlds. I went looking for an unusual and highly acclaimed SS amp first. That lead me to the First Watt J2 (Nelson Pass' hobby like Dennis Had's hobby with the Inspire amps/preamps). Immediately I was in heaven with the bass presentation - but also the warm tube-like character these amps have. After that I wanted to find an unusual tubed preamp where I can use some of my stash of 6SN7 preamp tubes that I had stockpiled with a different preamp. Up pops the Ultraverve III in my search. Kara happened to have a demo/b-stock that had a little paint blemish (that I have yet to see...) that I was able to buy for a little less than the retail price. The 6AH4 triode tubes are a little harder to find - but are a highly regarded triode for use in preamp circuits.

I haven't found any weaknesses yet, it sounds like I want it to sound on all the various music I listen to. And I haven't been searching the amps/preamps section of Audiogon for a LONG time! (That might be the best part...) My source components are a Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 and a Classe CDT-1/DAC-1 combo.
:tresbon:
 

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Seamaster,

I had come to a very similar conclusion recently. After being mostly satisfied with the Dennis Had Inspire combo (KT-150 {tube rolled w/ vintage TungSol 6550} and LP-2 preamp), there were more than a handful of recordings where the bass would just completely lose control, saturating and fuzzing out on some high energy CD sources. Lucinda Williams "Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone" was a prime example - Track 1, Disc 2 "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was unplayable at even moderate volumes.

My speaker load could be an issue with singled-ended tube amps. It's the Zu Omen speakers, while having a very efficient 97 dB/W-m they have an nominal impedance of 12 ohms. If you look at the impedance curve, they spike up to about 45-50 ohms at about the 70Hz frequency. That's probably the frequency range that it's having a hard time reproducing.

I've had the SS amp + tube preamp combo in the past, and really liked having the best of both worlds. I went looking for an unusual and highly acclaimed SS amp first. That lead me to the First Watt J2 (Nelson Pass' hobby like Dennis Had's hobby with the Inspire amps/preamps). Immediately I was in heaven with the bass presentation - but also the warm tube-like character these amps have. After that I wanted to find an unusual tubed preamp where I can use some of my stash of 6SN7 preamp tubes that I had stockpiled with a different preamp. Up pops the Ultraverve III in my search. Kara happened to have a demo/b-stock that had a little paint blemish (that I have yet to see...) that I was able to buy for a little less than the retail price. The 6AH4 triode tubes are a little harder to find - but are a highly regarded triode for use in preamp circuits.

I haven't found any weaknesses yet, it sounds like I want it to sound on all the various music I listen to. And I haven't been searching the amps/preamps section of Audiogon for a LONG time! (That might be the best part...) My source components are a Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 and a Classe CDT-1/DAC-1 combo.
:tresbon:

Nice gears!

I just fund a NOS GEC U52 with excellent measurement and I replaced the stock rectifier with it. Holy… Moly… it is great! Big British tone but load with all the positive aspects of tube magic, even the stuffs off the YouTube sounds great now. I have tired EML 5U4G mesh and Sophia 274B before for similar money, NOS British tubes still have the edge over them.

The UV 3 responses very well to rectifier and 6SN7 tube rolling. Yes, the 6AH4 are very hard to find in matched pairs. I swapped the stock Sylvania 6AH4 with a pair of RCA tall glass 6AH4 I fund, I could not hear much of the difference but I did not compare them side-by-side.

Is that a Ken-Rad VT-231 in your UV 3 now? I like the Ken-Rad the 2nd best so far because they are little fussy (just a hair) on the HF and vocal, love their bass though!

The only weakness I have fund so far on UV 3 is it needs long warm time to sound its best. The volume automatically goes lower every time when you turn it off and on (a manufacture safety design) that makes harder to compare the sound when you roll tubes. Well, a cheap decibel meter can fix this but at this monument I don’t have one.

I am very curious about how the UV 3 sounds with 6F8Gs. From my previous experiences, I liked round plate 6F8G better than my CV1988.
 
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Nice gears!

I just fund a NOS GEC U52 with excellent measurement and I replaced the stock rectifier with it.
.snip.

Is that a Ken-Rad VT-231 in your UV 3 now?
.snip.

I am very curious about how the UV 3 sounds with 6F8Gs. From my previous experiences, I liked round plate 6F8G better than my CV1988.

Holy cow. Those GEC U52's are pricey! I have a nice stash of G-style 5U4G's from Sylvania and RCA, most are military stock from the 40's. Love the G-style coke bottle shape!

That's actually a Sylvania-branded Tung-Sol "round plate" 6SN7GT. Pretty rare, and expensive (but not like your U52's! ;^) and recommended by that link on the de Havilland website for 6SN7 tube rolling. I also have some nice vintage Sylvania opposed plate Chrome Domes (not the newer angled plates) as well as some NOS RCA VT-231/6SN7 that I haven't tried yet. I've been sniped late on a few metal base Sylvania 6SN7W's lately. They're fetching some pretty high prices these days.

Those 6F8G's would require an adapter to fit - right? I wonder with the little wire dongle coming off the base to fit to the top connection - would it still work with the sunken tube socket?

My First Watt J2 takes a while to warm up too, so I let them both cook for about an hour before settling in for focused listening.
 
Holy cow. Those GEC U52's are pricey! I have a nice stash of G-style 5U4G's from Sylvania and RCA, most are military stock from the 40's. Love the G-style coke bottle shape!

That's actually a Sylvania-branded Tung-Sol "round plate" 6SN7GT. Pretty rare, and expensive (but not like your U52's! ;^) and recommended by that link on the de Havilland website for 6SN7 tube rolling. I also have some nice vintage Sylvania opposed plate Chrome Domes (not the newer angled plates) as well as some NOS RCA VT-231/6SN7 that I haven't tried yet. I've been sniped late on a few metal base Sylvania 6SN7W's lately. They're fetching some pretty high prices these days.

Those 6F8G's would require an adapter to fit - right? I wonder with the little wire dongle coming off the base to fit to the top connection - would it still work with the sunken tube socket?

My First Watt J2 takes a while to warm up too, so I let them both cook for about an hour before settling in for focused listening.

These were my WA22 headphone before. For UV 3, we need an adapter's wire from the top instead from the side, or it would not fit, I already tried that.
 

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Here are the pictures of my WA22 before and after ModWright Mod.
 

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Oh, I forgot to post some pictures of inside of the UV 3. I don't know what are those lights for, may be hum eliminators to bun off standing charges?
 

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Two more pics. Those Mundorfs are rated at 2.2uF/1000VDC.
 

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Annual update:
My statements in the review are still valid. The timbre and correctness of sound from UV3 are first class. The long-term marriage of Mundorf silver gold in oil caps is still going strong. Minimum 400 hours are required for Mundorf caps to reveal their true goodness.
 
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Not on here much these days found the thread as was looking up Kara's pre again. I have something you can clarify for me possibly. In the Dagogo review he mentions how the stepped volume control in most stepped is not as good as the UV. I just edited this as looked on Kara's site and volume is stepped --32 steps so not sure how this is different than most stepped. Possibly being something to do with current going through all resistors in the conventional set up but not so in hers which now makes sense. Care to confirm?

I had a Modwright LS100 in here and was impressed by the musicality with it.
There was a used UV on the market about 5 months ago or so up here in N. Cali and the seller took a better listen and decided not to sell. I was set to go have a listen prior to buying.
There is also the ICON audio la4mkiii with very little info about it. point to point wired ,, tape monitor ,, not as good volume control but tried and true blue velvet remote controlled volume.

And finally there is the Sachs based 6sn7 which is an elaboration on the tubes for hifi kit . I would be curious to hear what impressions are on any of these . I probably could of just looked for a more recent thread on this but hey, I was here already and am impressed with Kara's work even just looking at it and not hearing it as of yet.
 
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Sorry for the late reply, I have not visited this site for a while. Amplifiers came and went in my system, and UV3 is still here.

Not on here much these days found the thread as was looking up Kara's pre again. I have something you can clarify for me possibly. In the Dagogo review he mentions how the stepped volume control in most stepped is not as good as the UV. I just edited this as looked on Kara's site and volume is stepped --32 steps so not sure how this is different than most stepped. Possibly being something to do with current going through all resistors in the conventional set up but not so in hers which now makes sense. Care to confirm?

Kara's volume control is relay-based, correct me is I am wrong, it is not motorized, here is an explanation:

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/benchmarks-256-step-relay-controlled-attenuator

https://soundmovements.co.uk/diyaudio/Attenuator.html

I did not find the volume pot has any problem but I also do not have a different version of the UV preamp to compare. The thing that attracts me the most is about the UV is it sounds so natural not hi-fi sounding for lack a better word. It is VERY sensitive to the rectifier and signal tubes rolling, that makes it very versatile not so much for the cathode follower

I had a Modwright LS100 in here and was impressed by the musicality with it.
There was a used UV on the market about 5 months ago or so up here in N. Cali and the seller took a better listen and decided not to sell. I was set to go have a listen prior to buying.
There is also the ICON audio la4mkiii with very little info about it. point to point wired ,, tape monitor ,, not as good volume control but tried and true blue velvet remote-controlled volume.

I visited Modwright's shop in Oregon years ago, and listened to his reference system. Dan's work sound differen from Kara's work. Modwright sound impressive Hi-Fi is a good way. Kara's system sound more organic, analog, and little more ballsy/earthy.

And finally there is the Sachs based 6sn7 which is an elaboration on the tubes for hifi kit . I would be curious to hear what impressions are on any of these . I probably could of just looked for a more recent thread on this but hey, I was here already and am impressed with Kara's work even just looking at it and not hearing it as of yet.

It all comes down to your personal preference, but the best tubes I have used are British CV181, Mazda silver shielded 6FQ7, or most British NOS 6SN7 are a good start. I had really good musical luck (not mechanical luck, lol) with Psvane 845 and KT88 tubes, their higher grade tubes just blew other new production tubes away, I very curious to try their 6SN7 type against NOS tubes.
 
My current setup:

Marantz HDCD1 CDP (as a transport only) or Mackbook Pro
Border Patrol DAC SEi with custom installed Jupiter Copper Foil Paper & Wax Capacitor
DeHavilland Ultra Verve 3 with custom Mundorf silver gold oil caps
Jeff Day/Yamazaki custom MC30 refurbished by Pat Hickman of Whammerdyne Audio
Melody M845 monoblock (love those) with Sophia 300B 2.5v mesh plate in place of NOS RCA 2A3
Tannoy Turnberry Prestige (not GR) speakers (the weakest link of the system)
Triode wire labs USB and RCA cables
Triode wire labs speaker cables with DIY Duelund "tone" wires
Anti Cable LV3 power cables
Torus Power Toroidal Isolation Power Transformers/conditioner
 
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