With my current tube compliment - Mullard ECC32s, Acme 805s, stock 300Bs - is it worth it now to upgrade the 300Bs? If so, to what level? Or should I just stick with what I have? I know 300Bs have already been discussed, but not sure now how an upgrade would impact whet I currently have. Thoughts?
It will make a difference; just not as pronounced a difference. I do recommend upgrading from the stock tubes which, IMHO, none sounded half as good as what I eventually upgraded to. It depends what would sound best to you. The EML 300B-XLS is a tube which provides some nice warmth and good heft/weight to the sound. However, in a system with a lot of both, that wouldn't be what I'd suggest to get. In the event your system would benefit from both, the EMLs do carry a 5-year warranty which no other manufacturer provides (AFAIK).
Interesting. Love that they have a warranty, pretty unusual. How do you feel about the Acme 300Bs? There are a few around at pretty good prices....
I”m curious if anyone has used their 508/805 to power speakers for pretty big rooms. I’ll be moving it into a 40’ x 23’ room and am pretty certain my Devore 3XL won’t have the grunt, especially the lower end. I’ve always coveted the Orangutan o96s and would do that if I could find them used. And after reading about the Altec inspired Heretic 614s and looking at their bigger boxed 612s, I thought this might be a good option even if my wife felt very much otherwise. Any experience with big rooms or either speaker? Thanks much.
My current listeing room on the second floor is pretty big with high loft. Altec A7 drieven by LM 508 can fill the room with no problem. You may find one in good condition at reasonable price if you keep searching.
using acme 805 as well. one of my Royal Princess gone bad so i came back to the stock 300b. the downgrade was enough for me not to go back.
Hello Folks I am a new ( to me ) owner of a LM 805ia previously owned. I have spent the last 2 weeks enjoying this gorgeous monster. Had the Lm211ia previously , which the 805 destroys in Body , Details , Bass pretty much every accept. the only caveat is the buzzing ( not hum) despite chasing down all possible grounding scenarios with no solution. Anyway just wanted to introduce myself & a big thank you to all the prolific posters with their wealth of knowledge and feedback that pushed me to take the plunge. PS Expect newb questions to follow My system: Speakers Trenner & Friedl OSIRIS , Naim Atom ( As streamer , Pre), LM 805ia , Cardas 101 Cables
Glad you're overall enjoying this fantastic value amp! I found using isolation transformers (in my case Core=Power EquiCore) really quieted the noise w/o killing any dynamics.
Thanks so much , Looked it up .. has stellar reviews. Assume you went for the 1000 ? Will def give it a try. I live in an old building in downtown NYC so have to assume its the cause. As a DIY fix I read about copper tube dampers and tried used some copper sheets I had lying around to wrap the driver tube 6sl7 and it seemed to help a bit but the biggest buzz reducer is to leave the cage on .. which I assume works like a farraday cage! Any Human touch gets rid of the noise completely ... go figure.
On tubes , this LM805ia Came with the below If I have done my homework correctly , starting with changing the driver tubes is the key upgrade , and the holy grail is Mullard ECC35 x 3. Will need to save my way up to those meanwhile ... Came with GE 6SN7GTA X 2 JJ 6SL7 TJ mesh plate 300b DIY Linlai 805A DG In a tipsy bout of late night browsing I ended up putting in an offer and now have these sitting in a box Ken-Rad JAN CKR 6SL7GT RCA JAN CRC-6SN7-GT VT-231 pair
You'll likely prefer the RCAs. Those are not the good Ken-Rads so I doubt you'll enjoy them as much as the RCAs.
Running these Ken-Rad's the past couple of months and really enjoying them. They come surprisingly close to the performance of my 1940s TungSol round plates.
Hey thanks so much for the heads up mate & for being the heart of the wonderful thread ! Sadly not refundable so will have to experiment .. wat do you think of the 6sn7 pair? I switched from the GE and it already seems like the GE were a little fatiguing comparitively.
You can go bankrupt buying different 6SN7s without a strategy. I'd suggest deciding what it is you'd like more of and less of before continuing. For instance, if someone thought their speakers were already on the bright side, I wouldn't suggest Sylvania Bad Boys. If they were bass heavy, I wouldn't suggest Ken-Rad coated glass 6SN7s either. By far, the very best are the Mullard ECC32 tubes but they are expensive! Those who tried them didn't regret it but they are hard to come by and cost a ton. However, they took the amp into the stratosphere and if I ever need another one or a pair, I'll happily buy another.
Perhaps this has been covered, but which is the better amp—this or the Willsenton R800i 300B 805? I wasn’t able to find a comparison.
That's because typically, people buy one or the other; not both. From reports I've read, they're all great amps which satisfy nearly everyone so it wouldn't make sense to get a 2nd amp as well, hence the lack of comparisons.
From an aesthetic only viewpoint the LM is waaaay better than the campy looking Willsenton ( and can we agree a crappy name) I had the 300b version on trial for a few weeks , the Midrange was pretty great but the bass and dynamics were very lacking. It was a well made amp and maybe I did not give it enough break-in though ( barley put 50 hrs on it)
PSA The US dealer in WA has a lm805 for only$1999 steal price ( due to Scratches/damage around cage pins)
Quick question Can One swap preamp tubes whilst the Amp is on , or do you have to do the whole song and dance each time of powering amp down and then waiting 15 mins to re-start? TYIA
Hey thanks so much for your advice .. I think after extensive reading , ima gonna settle on starting with the Sylvania Bad boy first .. mainly because all the rports say it has the lowest noise from all the 6SL7. You were obviously right about the Ken Rad's not being the good one.. I really appreciate everyones input here , I know it can start getting tiring responding to the same old questions when a new owner jumps on here. So thank you!
Also shout to @Pedro Guillemain for waxing poetic about the Sylvania 6SN7 I got one for dirt cheap & voila the buzzing / hum has all but dissipated This is sooo much fun
Hello, My first post here. I recently purchased an LM-805ia and would like to know what should the bias current be set for stock 805 tubes vs the Psvane Acme 805? The manual recommends 120ma. The measurement page in the Acme sheet says 75ma as measured value. The box for the stock Shu Huang says 100 on it, no mention of any Ia or unit. Some posts suggest going 10% below the recommended Ia. It will be very helpful if folks here can clarify exactly what should the bias current be set to for the 805ia? I believe the 508ia is a similar design. If the Psvane Acme 805 plate current should not exceed 75, then that would mean the Acme 805 is not a suitable tube for this right? Sorry, if these were covered earlier. I appreciate any inputs or guidance. Thanks, Jai
