Hi LM-508 owners, I am very interested by this amp and have been reading a lot about it, but before placing the order, I had a few questions to ask you: I currently have a SS amplifier and would like to replace it with a tubes amplifier because I'm looking for the warm and musical sound of tubes. I read that a lot of tubes amplifiers (example: Primaluna) are very close to SS amplifiers that you cannot tell that they are tubes amplifiers. Would you say that LM-508 is a pure tubes sounding amplifier or more close to a SS amplifier? In order to save shipping cost, I would like to order the amp with other tubes that would improve the sound. Which tubes would you recommend? I don't have crazy budget for new tubes, so please do not exceed 250-300$ per pair Many thanks for your replies
I received Melz 1578 tube 2 hours ago. It blew my mind with nice decay and body, deep bass, wide and deep soundstage. I had not been blown by TS bgrp just impressed with its transparency. To me this one is one tier above TS bgrp. I am listening to "The Wall". which sounds full and powerful without subwoofers. Matched Pair of Melz NOS 1578=6SN7GT=ECC32=6CC10 Holes in Plates with Metal Base | eBay I ordered one more tube as spare.
Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II also sound like SS but with some nice relaxed details after tube rolling with Nos tubes. LM508 will sounds slightly warmer than Magnum but with powerful bass. With limited budget, I recommend Psavne Cossor valve 805 and 300B. Psvane Vacuum tube & Amplifiers I recommend you to get one RCA 5691(6sl7) and pair of Melz 1578(6sn7) from Russia. 1x 1578 / 6N8S (6N8S,6SN7) Lightly used. TEST.double triode,USSR,MELZ, | eBay
Hi, Thank you for your reply. I understand that LM-508 will mostly sound like a SS amplifier with stock tubes. That means that I am obliged to change the tubes in order to have a more 'tuby' sound. It might be a deal breaker for me Regarding Psvane Cossor tubes , what improvment can I expected from them compared to stock tubes? Thanks
Cossor tubes sound more transparent and detailed than stock tubes. They are well worth it. By the way even with stock tubes, LM 508 does not sound like SS but it is not tubby as classic tube amp.
Matched pair Extremely rare 1578 6N8S audiophile 6H8S 6SN7 Metal base 653785085429 | eBay I placed an order of one more pair of 1578 made in 1980 It will take 6 weeks to get it. This dealer offer 60 days of return. After having listened to 1578 for 8 hours, I am convinced this is the King of 6sn7 with nice timber, great bass, wide and deepest soundstage. TS bgrp is not a bad tube but it is over hyped.
In my experience it's not like that at all. I run stock tubes and the sound is very different from my SS amps. At first, when completely new, the sound was indeed similar to to my PS Audio SS amps, and I didn't understand what all the fuss about, but after about 50 hours of break in, the sound has changed dramatically and is now very different.
Hi Ziggi My LM508 sound pretty different than my Nord Acoustics Class D amp. For me, the LM508 has better tone, more body, smoother midrange and highs and more palpable soundstage, but keeping the same level of detail and dynamics. What PS Audio amps do you have and what are the differences with your LM-508?
I have PS Audio Stellar M700 monoblocks - class D amps, delivering 350 watts in to 8 ohm. I also have a vintage Sansui G-7500 reciever - class AB. The PS Audio and the Sansui are fairly similar in sound and very different from the Line Magnetic, which is more bass heavy, warmer and smoother in the treble
Nice room! Lot of room for tube rolling. If you had not get RCA5691 (6sl7), it is the first one to get. Next step will be 6sn7 If you are bass or soundstage freak then you may go for 1578 Melz. Ken rad vt 231 is also pretty good choice all around. If you care about details or transparency, then go for Sylvania vt231. For lush and warm sound, go for RCA vt231. Raytheon Vt231 is also good choice midway between Syl and Rca
New Kids on the block MELZ 6N8S 1579 MELZ 6n9s I had got those Russian tubes made in 50's at 60$ per pair from Ebay. 6n8s corresponds to 6sn7 and 6n9s to 6sl7. Combination of these tube give excellent dynamics, wide and deep soundstage with air and sparkle. You will be surprised! This is the best bang for the buck at 120$ of pair of 6sn7 and 6sn9 tubes. It is not just best bang but almost end game for me after going through 20 more tubes including 570$ TS bgrp.
Thanks for the exhaustive comparison. Hopefully, you update us with your findings once all the new tubes are burned in and you get a better handle of what they are bringing to the table.
These aren't the real MELZ 1579. The real ones have the 1579 stamp on the tube itself. Those are more expensive than that.
You may be right. I have three pairs of 1578 tubes with marked logo. But this one does not have 1579 logo. I had looked for one with 1579 logo at Ebay with no success. The important thing is that I like the sound out of it. It had been running for only 10 hours thus may need more break in. Compared with RCA 5691, 6n9s made in 53 give relaxed sound with wider and deeper soundstage, more bass slam while 5691 sounds more vivid. But overall they sounds similar. I do not claim 6n9s blow away RCA 5691. But I enjoy deep bass and deeper, wider soundstage out of 6n9s. I am listening to Pink Floyd's 'The Wall" now. It sounds magnificent through 6n8s and 6n9s combo.
Lol, if you think he'll listen to them long enough to burn in. This guy swaps tubes as often as humans blink. Pretty much everything he comments on are from listening to new tubes for a few hours before he swaps in another one of his hundreds of 6SN7 tubes that he keeps buying. I can't understand how he thinks he's fully heard a tube when it barely had a chance to break-in.
Don't forget about his amazing Silbatone 300B amps with Western Electric 300B tubes that he bought for $4,000.
You are wrong. I paid 3k$ for pair of Nos We 300B made in 40's 20 years ago. But it is impossible to get good one under 10k$ now. I had changed 6sn7 tubes after one hour of playing for shootout. But since I got this 6n8s and 6n9s combo, I do not feel like to swap into other tubes. National Union black glass tube will be in this afternoon. That is going to be the last tube in shootout.
I've started looking into seriously modding my Line Magnetic amp. I truly believe it is a keeper and that it can be significantly improved upon. For me, the move from using it as an integrated to a dedicated amp was evidence enough that although it is an outstanding performer, it was built to a pricepoint. There is so much more potential to be unearthed. Does anyone have the schematics for the amp? I could have sworn someone posted it on here at some point but I couldn't find it with a search.
Hi @jmpsmash - you mention in the post that you looked at the schematics. Is this something you were able to determine for yourself by opening up the amp? Could you share some more information on this?
