New Line Magnetic 508ia Integrated Amp

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by GoldprintAudio, May 20, 2016.

  1. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    There may be a slight loss of detail and space but I feel it's more than outweighed by the gains in dynamics, texture, immediacy, impact and overall cohesiveness gained through use as an integrated.
     
  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    The better tubes will do that. That's why I've been hyping tube rolling this whole time. ;)
     
  3. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
    Hello,
    I'd like to aks you, are 805 ACME worth their price?
    I got my lm 805 ia with extra pair of tubes (PSVANE 805A-T ) for free. After 11 moths of usung 805A-T are finishing their life. Sound became slimmed down, lack of weight and stopped to engaging, became analytical. Once I repleaced used tubes for stock 805 with Line Magnetic logo music started to be engaging again. I stopped analyzing just enjoy the music.

    Have any of you compaerd 805A-T to Cossor? Asking because Iam also thinking about them if not decide to spent over 1000USD for ACME. It is possible I will be looking for new pair of 805A-T as well. They sounded musical for me. Open sound, with good soundstage, strong controlled bas with good weight of midrange.

    Also will have to change 6sn7, still using electro harmonix. I love sound of my musical system even with them. Happy that still can be better.
     
  4. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    @Insaimz I have found that the 805 ACME tubes are a substantial improvement over the LM stock tubes. I have never heard the 805A-t tubes however.
     
    thomaskong likes this.
  5. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    To me Acme 805 is worth the money.

    I bought mine from this source.

    PSVANE Acme Serie 805 Vacuum Tube High-end tube Best Matched Pair [Psvane Acme Serie 805] - $725.99 USD

    Some NOS RCA, Amperex, National Union tubes are worth trying but they had gone out of the market since I put some information here.



    I have Cossor 805 used less than 30 hours.

    If you decide to change 6sn7, one of the most musical one is RCA vt231.

    You may try Russian 6n8s tubes which are available under 100$ per pair.

    2PCS 6N8M / 1578 / 6SN7 SELECTED PAIR MELZ TUBES! NOS! METAL BASE! OTK! RARE50'S | eBay

    Melz 1578 is getting hard to get and pricey since I praised it.

    Shootout of Nos 6sn7 tubes
     
  6. tlowe

    tlowe Life Explorer

    Location:
    somewhere
    That is why we shouldnt praised any tubes we like...:laugh:
    Anyway, I have quite a number of popular 6SL7 and 6SN7 tubes in mint condition (mostly with no or light emission mark and tested near or above 100% emission) to sell and wondering if it is feasible since I am located in Singapore. Postage to the US or Europe is not cheap, looking at around USD15-20 per small package. Below is the list and if there are enough ppl who are interested, then I will post them in the classified ads section.

    RCA (Sylvania labeled) 5691 - 1 pair
    TS 6SU7 GTY - 1 pair
    SYL 6SL7 WGT - 1 pair
    SYL VT-231 - 2 pairs
    SYL 6SN7 WGT - 2 pairs
    RCA VT-231/6SN7 GT - 3 pairs
    NU 6SN7 GT - 2 pairs
    TS 6CG7 - 1 pair
    CBS-HY 6CG7 - 2 pairs
    TOSHIBA 6FQ7 - 2 pairs
    MATSUSHITA 6FQ7 - 2 pairs
    NEC 6FQ7 - 1 pair

    Most are matched with same date. These are spares from my collection and near new condition as I dont use them.
     
    thomaskong likes this.
  7. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz

    Thank you so much.

    How about Sylvania vt-99 with adaptor? One man have been told me 6f8g (vt-99) in his opinion always sounds better than 6sn7's.
    Also I was reading few pages before about 6CG7, so I was watching them on ebay, but firstly better to ask here for opiniones.

    I found few tubes in Poland from trusted seller. There is Melz as well. Please have look, maybe any of them is worth attention:

    https://allegro.pl/oferta/lampy-rca-6sn7-gtb-para-idealna-100-11240893905

    https://allegro.pl/oferta/lampy-melz-6n8s-6sn7gt-para-idealna-metalowy-cokol-10979590013

    https://allegro.pl/oferta/lampy-general-electric-6sn7-gta-para-dobrana-10972016639

    https://allegro.pl/oferta/lampy-sylvania-6sn7-gtb-chrome-top-para-dobrana-10623727036

    https://allegro.pl/oferta/lampy-rogers-canada-6sn7-gtb-para-idealna-nowe-nos-10717177468


    I have been told on Polish forum that melz sounds like razor blades if is without holes like below
     
  8. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    You know what.

    I had spent 15k$ on tubes after I got LM 508 4 years ago.

    Now I have too many tubes got stuck in attic.

    Around 12 pairs of Nos 805, 100 pairs of 6sn7 and 6f8g, 40 6sl7 and variant.

    Only 7 pairs of 300B but 3 tubes(initially two pairs but one of them died) of WE 300b made in 50's.;)

    [​IMG]

    By the way I also placed an order for Cayin 300p push pull amp to try with Altec A7.

    I will use quad Psavne Acme 300b tubes on it.

    Now I am expanding my inventory of Nos ECC83 and ECC82.;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
    Andy Saunders and tlowe like this.
  9. tlowe

    tlowe Life Explorer

    Location:
    somewhere
    It meant I am more deep in the poison than you...:biglaugh:
    I have spent almost USD14K in less than a year...:biglaugh:
    Yes, really need to stop buying more tubes. I nearly bought another PP amp last month, then I told myself NO...:biglaugh:
     
  10. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State

    I also have Sylvania vt-99 with adaptor which sounds fuller than other 6sn7 tubes.

    If you like full bodied sound, you may try it.

    There is no end to trying out 6sn7 tubes.

    Currently, Melz 1578 is in my LM508, but I consider switching to RCA vt 231 for change of air.
     
  11. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
  12. tlowe

    tlowe Life Explorer

    Location:
    somewhere
    My advise is ignore any GTA or GTB and GE tubes entirely. Save yourself some money and disappointments.
     
  13. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    This is Melz 1578 which give most deep bass among 6sn7 tubes with all around balance.

    But people who prefer analytical details may favor TS BGRP or Sylvania vt231.
     
  14. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
  15. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
  16. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
    So @thomaskong if you spent 15k$ on tubes it means lm508ia is a great amp and you want stay with him.
    I own 805ia. After testing few other brands in my opinion could cost even three times more. If would be made in Germany would cost 3-4 times more for sure.
     
  17. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    Yes I will stay with LM 508 for another 10 years or so, It is an excellent amp with nice details, bass control.
     
  18. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
    had any one experience with those 805's? So fat, so big.
    Just asking :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Andy Saunders likes this.
  19. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    I switched from Melz 1578 to RCA vt231 for fresh air.

    Wow, there is more air floating around Altec A7.

    The strength of Melz 1578 is deep and impactful bass, wide and deep soundstage with pure but slightly less treble.

    While my Chord Dave Dac sent to AS center for repair, I had been using EMMLab Dac2 which give more organic and impactful sound than Dave.

    Dave and Mscaler combo give more details and pinpoint imaging in 3d space.

    With Dave and Mscaler and Lansche 4.1, I prefer Melz 1578 to other 6sn7 tubes made in USA.

    But with EmmLab Dac2 and Altec A7, I prefer RCA vt231 to Melz 1578.

    I may switch back to TS bgrp 2 weeks later.

    Although I have 3 pairs of RCA vt231, I have only one pair of TS bgrp which is damm expensive for small input tube.

    It is kind of mix and match.

    There are no best tubes for everyone.

    Vintage audio tubes are like vintage wines.

    As some people collect lot of varius wines, I collect vintage tubes.


    You may choose a tube depending on system and your mood.;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2021
  20. thomaskong

    thomaskong Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    Now I am using RCA 805, RCA 5691, RCA vt231 and EML 300b in my LM 508.

    But I do not discount ths sound of Psavne Acme 805 or 300b.

    My Acme 805 seems to give more nuanced sound than RCA 805 while the latter give more transparent sound.

    The only reason I am using RCA 805 is that I have 4 pairs of RCA 805.

    After Acme 300b got near death playing 4k hours, I ordered a new pair of Acme 300b this May.

    But somehow, another pair of Acme 300b did not go into socket of LM 508 while it goes into Silbatone 300b SET amp.

    Thus I ordered EML 300b for comparsion.

    I think EML 300b is pretty good tube with robust bass and overall good balance.

    But I get the impression that Acme 300b tend to give more nuanced treble.

    I ordered one more pair of Acme 300b to use in Cayin 300p push pull amp.

    After I get it, I may do more comparison between EML and Acme 300b in LM 508 back and forth.
     
  21. Insaimz

    Insaimz Active Member

    Location:
    Polnd, Bydgoszcz
    You mean eml 300b xls or just 300b? My friend bought second hand 300b xls and has done over 4-5k hours and they are still okay.


    But somehow, another pair of Acme 300b did not go into socket of LM 508 while it goes into Silbatone 300b SET amp.
    Do I understund correctly, they do not fit in lm508 socket ?
     
  22. tlowe

    tlowe Life Explorer

    Location:
    somewhere
    B100Dy H311...:cussing:
    I switched to Raytheon 5687 this morning and have been listening to them for the whole day. Later in the evening, I was thinking perhaps I should get another 1 or 2 pairs for spare as I have only bought 2 pairs in the first round for testing. I couldnt find any decent listings in Ebay now...:wtf::wtf::wtf:
    :doh::doh::doh:
     
  23. M347893

    M347893 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, WA, USA
    Hello everyone. New to the forum. Has anyone had any issues with the rectifying diode in their amps? I have a 805ia which I've had for about 6 months and randomly one day the fuses kept getting blown after turning on. Luckily, it was an easy repair but just wondering if this bodes anything for the future.
     
  24. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Read my thread about this design flaw.

    Design flaw for Line Magnetic's LM-508IA.
     
    Cyclone Ranger likes this.
  25. M347893

    M347893 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, WA, USA
    @Strat-Mangler thanks for your reply. I’ve looked at that thread and this one as well. From what I gathered that specific issue was resolved on the 805.

    Also I didn’t see any mention of fuses repeatedly being blown. Did you have that happen prior to discovering the issue?
     

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