There's already a thread about the LP-33 in which this post would be better suited for. Line Magnetic LP33 Phono Stage
Sure did......And have a demo in stock currently. I think it's nice stage, and at a good price point as well (considering how expensive other tube phono stages are getting!).
You should not ever swap any of the 12A?7's. They each have different gain characteristics and are intended for different purposes in different circuits.
I tried 518IA with a ANK Dac 2.1. They work very well together. Both have very holographic imaging, great instrument voice placement. Very smooth texture and detail. Not the last word on dynamics and bass authority but if you keep to the appropriate genre I have not heard any sound better than that combo. The Audio Mirror DAC is supposed to be quite a bit better than the ANK but I haven't tried it.
Just ordered some RCA 6L6’s and Mullard 12AX7’s from Brent Jesse to swap in. Looking forward to them and won’t need to fiddle with tubes for a while.
Looks awesome! (bet it sounds awesome as well) For anyone thinking about the new LM32 dac, I've had my demo unit here for a while now and I have to say it sounds flat out great. Very similar to the previous 502, with the addition of dsd. Honestly, at it's price point, this likely one of the best values in dacs that's currently available.
Different speakers I know, but when I hooked up P3ESRs to the 518IA, I tried the 8 ohm tap first and there was a real lack of bass. The 4 ohm tap worked for me to get the bass rocking.
Strange considering these measurements. Harbeth P3ESR loudspeaker Measurements "Other than a dip to 5.7 ohms at the bottom of the midrange, the P3ESR's impedance remains above 8 ohms for almost the entire audioband, which will make it a good choice for use with tube amplifiers, provided they can swing enough volts to drive it to high enough levels. However, the shape of the impedance curve suggests that the balance will tilt up a little at the high end with such an amplifier."
Great to read about your experience with these tubes. Curious to know where you purchased the Phillips 5R4GYS..... Upscale seems to have them reserved for Prima Luna owners.
I bought it from Upscale, when they had a lot more stock and would sell them to anyone. And it really is a fantastic-sounding tube. Bass is incredible. However, I don’t use it in my Line Magnetic amp any longer because it does not protect the rest of my expensive tubes the way a GZ34/5AR4 does. So I take a small hit in performance to get longer tube life everywhere else.
Thanks for that interesting point regarding the other tubes. I have 300B mono amps with 5r4gy rectifiers , would the 5R4GYS be an ok replacement? Not sure what the S denotes
What amps specifically do you have? I would ask other owners of your amps. I’m sure some of them have rolled the rectifiers.
Well gentlemen, I have joined the club thanks to a killer deal in the classifieds from @Kray. I have no where for this amp on my current rack but am moving in 10days to a new home where a new piece of furniture will allow it in the system full time. I got her warmed up and played a few records through my Wharfedale Reva 2s, and there was some astonishing clarity right off the bat. Playing some familiar records revealed some small details I had never heard before. However, the sound was lacking some bass punch and was overall a little bright. I powered down the amp, switched from the 8 ohm taps to the 4 ohm, gave it a couple minutes of being off per the manual, and fired her back up. I am playing the first record using the 4 ohm taps now and the bass is slammin. And the clarity is still there, just a more balanced sound. I will switch back and forth a few more times and I plan to try the 16 ohm taps as well for ****s and giggles, but the 4 ohm taps seem the likely winner with these speakers. Sounds fabulous. Now I just need to get a mono switch and a headphone amp integrated into this chain. I use both quite frequently with my HK PM650.
Congratulations... As a former owner of a 518iA and having it power modded Altec Lansing A7's, I can say it is an endgame power amp. without any flaws. I do use it with a 6SN7 tube preamp. When I use it with vinyl, there is a tube preamp, for an entire tube audio chain. It is also flawless with the system DAC with digital reproduction. The Altec's are designed to run on the 8-Ohm tap. The Altec's roll off at a -3 dB of 47-Hz. so I do use a commercial sub at 40-Hz. and below. Enjoy your 518iA...
It really is an amazing amp. The only downsides to me are the cost of the output tubes (when they need to be replaced) and the amount of heat it generates (actually a positive for half the year in upstate NY). In the summer, August seems to be the worst, it makes my room very hot and I mostly listen at night with a nearby window open. I don't like to run a fan or AC when I listen to music for obvious reasons. I recently added a Herron phono stage to my system, and I can't listen to music without tapping my stylus to the beat, that's how snappy and rhythmic this whole combo is...
These are very important factors. In me case, my room did not have doors that opened. I replaced the wall AC unit with a quiet and powerful split pack unit. The room was large and the AC was powerful enough to keep the room at the desired temperature, eith the amp on or off. Now I do consider the 528iA to be an endgame amp with the Altec A7's. With the 100 dB sensitive Altec's, it can do it all, from quiet listening to full concert volume. During my tube audio quest, I picked up a dozen amps, with this amp. Obviously this is more that I need and would be able to make use of. It was never my intention to keep all of them. I began to pare them down. A couple of amps have hum issues that need to be addressed do they were set aside for now. Different amps have a specific nitch they fill. The monoblocks, they are the BIG tube amps. The restored Fisher 500C, It is my sole vintage receiver.... Down to the 511iA. The key to reasons not to keep it would be the money tied up, which I can live with, as the reason I purchased it in the first place was to better my audio experience and it fulfills that objective. Which brings me to the deciding factor, the cost of replacement tubes. I bought my original Rogue M-120 monoblocks on eBay. They were older units and I decided ahead of time, when I experienced component failure, I would use Rogue's upgrade program to upgrade to the M-150's, which I did. My moves toward lower power amps were not prompted by a search for better sound quality, as I was fine with the SQ of the M-150's. Because I lived and worked in the same place, I like to have the stereo on all of the time. With the monoblocks, I was burning two quads of KT88's, every time I lit them up. Having very high sensitivity speakers, I questioned the need to be burning all of those high output power tubes. This is what led me down the lower power amp path. The SQ is what encouraged me to keep traveling... Unlike most of the flea power single ended amps, the 845 power tubes are powerful and have a plate voltage of around 1kV. Because the 845's are powerful tubes, they don't have a long life like 300B tubes will. They might only have an average lifespan of 2000 hours, about the same as a KT88. In each case, I am referencing tubes of modern manufacture. I did do a rough cost comparison as to running a single ended amp with 845 tubes compared to a class A/B amp running KT88 tubes. Which both have a similar life expectantly. The main point to consider is that, in a single ended amp, there are only two output tubes total, one tube for each channel. In a class A/B amp, you have a pair of output tubes for each channel, so four output tubes total. Taking these factors into consideration, I guesstimate that the net cost of replacing the 845's are only about a third more than it would on a KT88 tube amp. I was able to part with the 518iA for two reason being, that I had other alternative amps. Because the Altec speakers I am using are 100 dB in sensitivity, I can listen to most of the music that I listen to at low volume levels, that only are workable with high sensitivity speakers. With that in mind, I have a small Decware 3.9-Watt Mini Torii that is a 6V6 based single ended pentode design. This is not only a sweet little amp but the Tung Sol output tubes I am using are only $45 s pair. I won't be doing any rock concerts with it, but it will fill the room with sound quite nicely. For someone else with less efficient speakers, the 512iA is the perfect solution to most power needs and the beauty of having a class "A" amplifier. If I need additional power, I have a nice 30-Watt Audio Note Kit amp, which, with its NOS EL34 power tubes, comes real close to the sound of a single ended amp topology and has enough power to bring the Altec's up to the level needed for an indoor rock concert. For the other 98% of you, the 518iA will do the job nicely.
So, I am about to start looking for some speakers to compliment my new (to me) 518ia. I am looking for something easy to drive that will fill a large-ish room with sound, even at moderate volumes. I am still missing the upper bass punch of my old solid state HK integrated, though the LM is substantially better just about everywhere else. Also, the system is going in the living room if our new home, so WAF is greatly important. As far as sound, I really value the presence, dynamics, and naturalness of music, over detail and imaging, though I want something that is a good all around performer, nothing too far on either side of the spectrum. I listen to about 60-75% Jazz, with the rest being rock and acoustic music. The rock I listen to is usually classic rock or alternative type of stuff, nothing too heavy and no metal. I’ve been considering the likes of Devore Gibbon Super 8s (or similar), Klipsch Forte IIIs, Zu Audio, etc. Given the current state of everything right now, in person auditions are likely tough. I prefer buying used as I find you get more bang for your buck and with a good deal stand to lose very little if I don’t like them and need to move on. Budget is about $1k-$2k max. I will likely make a separate thread for recommendations in the future, but I figure this is as good a thread as any to find a great match for this awesome amp. Any suggest Are much appreciated.
Those are all good ones to check out. I would add Omega and maybe some AX series Audio Note. Please keep us updated on which direction you go. I love my speakers, but I would love to hear this amp with some of the more efficient designs you are exploring.
I can agree with you on that. Getting a speaker that eeks out the last bit of detail, does not necessarily mean that it sounds natural and most overly detailed speakers do not. Imaging is just one of many sound qualities of a speaker and has about enerything to do with being a point source, you listening room and listening position. In a large listening room, to me its more about filling the room with sound, than imaging. I don't worry about imaging. I do worry about a natural effortless sound. I think the Forte line is a good speaker. I do think the will perform better with a more powerful amp than 22-Watts. With a 518iA, I would go with the Cornwall's instead. Your budget of 1-2 k, doesn't work with either of these speakers. It would, if you buy some vintage Cornwall's and allow to upgrade the crossovers to ALK Engineering models. As to Zu's, they do work better with music line Jazz, Vocals and Acoustic music. When you go to rock or other music with a hard edge, they will be dynamic, but to point of being harsh and quickly fatiguing. Which ever way you go, it is important to stay with easy to drive speakers with high sensitivity. With the Zu's, I might go with the Omen Dirty Weekends, for a grand. Maybe member @Benzion can hop in here with some comments about the Zu's, as he has a pair.
Yeah I’ve seen some forte IIIs pop up for a little over $2k, I would probably stretch for the right speaker, but I need to see how the chips fall over the next month or so with the expenses of updating and furnishing a new home. My long term goal for speakers is probably along the lines of the Devore O93/96 or similar. Just not feasible in the near future and, while the Wharfedales sound quite nice, I know a larger driver and easier to drive speaker is the way to go for this amp and my room. Cornwalls unfortunately are out of the question as they are too big for the needed level of WAF for my living room. The Tekton Perfect SET speakers are intriguing but they are quite ugly IMO
Come to Brooklyn - I will play the Zu DW MkII's for you, using a 300B SET amp. Just wear a mask and gloves. No joke, the invitation is real.
Something to consider. I have three pairs of Vintage Wharfedale speakers from the late 1960's. They are the W60, W70 and the W90. These models were made in their plant in New York. All are exceptionally good sounding speakers. I have played them to loud SPL's with all type of music, using a vintage, early 60's Scott 22-Watt integrated amp that uses power tubes in the EL84 family. I never bothered to run the amp full out. You should be able to locate a pair in nice condition for $200-$300 for the W60, $300-$400 for the W70 and $400-800 for the W90. They come in different finishes, including a high grade fine furniture finish. They all have excellent WAF. Here is a link to an eBay search I just did. wharfedale w60 w70 w90 | eBay
