Tube rolling in Line Magnetic 518ia

Just purchased the fabulous LM 518ia. Really love it so far. SET is the way to go.

Has anyone rolled the tubes in their 518? Recommdiations?

Does anyone know who made the stock tubes or does LM make their own tubes?

 

Congrats! I just bought one here this year. Amazing, amazing amp. Mine came with RCA black plates for the AX7 tubes.

I bought Shuguan 845Bs from Upscale audio and they were very worth it. Better harmonics and spatial presentation, right out of the box.

Btw I think I read the stock LM tubes are rebranded Shuguan.

Did I say amazing amp?

 

@Echoes Myron Yeah it's great. I think I'll always have a SET from now on

So what's the difference between the stock Shuguan 845 and the Shuguan 845B?

 

Nice. What speakers are you pairing with the amp?

 

@Nephrodoc Golden Ear Triton One with a Manley Chinook phono stage

 

Tomorrow i will list the tubes that i rolled in the 518ia.

Speakers that i used with great results were the Devore Gibbon X, Raidho, GoldenEar Triton 2 with the best speaker being the Tekton Double Impacts which really showed how good the 518ia really is.

 

Here is some info on the 845B. I think the stock 845 are excellent, but these are next level.

Also curious about your thoughts on the switch from Primaluna to Line Magnetic. I own and love both amps.

845

 

Please do. I'd love to know

 

this really long thread has a lot of tube rolling experiences with the 518

Line Magnetic 518IA Integrated Amp and 502CA DAC

 

I like the LM more. In my system there is a lot more detail with the LM and the instruments sound more realistic

 

Yep I would give the LM the edge too but both are excellent. For me tube sound is all about the harmonics and I think the LM delivers a little more.

My Primaluna is in a very bright room with poor acoustics but it can definitely provide those magic moments. I am thankful to have both, and they are both end-game amps for me.

 

Congrats! What did you upgrade from?

As @james pointed out, I'd suggest posting in the 518IA thread and especially reading it to get plenty of suggestions, ideas, and feedback.

Line Magnetic 518IA Integrated Amp and 502CA DAC

 

The story about Shuguang vs Psvane is somewhat messy. Read more here.
Who is Psvane? | Psvane & Treasure Audio Tubes

As I understand it the earlier LM tubes were produced by Shuguang, however branded Psvane. Nowadays Psvane is another factory with new ownership. I have compared the original Shuguang 805s to later Psvane 805s and to my ears Shuguang sound better in my LM508.

 

Here is what i used in my 518ia. EL34 Winged C in place of the 6P3P nice layered sound and texture, Philips 5R4GYS huge difference compared to stock if you were to replace only one tube this would be it, Psvane 12AX7-Tll smooth yet full of life or Raytheon 12AX7 1962 manufacture adds a little more kick to the low end but a little less life compared to the Psvane.

 

I found that the stock tubes that come with the 518ia are pretty good and the amp sounds fantastic with them. The improvement came with changing to the Philips 5R4GYS which improved the mid-range and added depth the other tubes would be rolled for a slight flavor change if desired. I could live with the stock tubes in this amp.

 

Philips 5R4GYS. Who would have thought that a rectifier tube could have this much effect on the mid-band?!
Love the orange gold face plate model, bet that one sounds even better..

 

That`s what i have the orange gold face plate, very upscale looking.

 

What I found and this is with very revealing speaker's, is that a really good mid powered class A/B tube amp can come close to the 518iA SET.

I have a Audio Note L4 Kit amp that I have installed NOS RFT KT88's and it is my favorite sounding A/B tube amp.

I believe it does get close to the SET, but it is not an SET. A good SET is a good SEt and IMO, the 518iA is a super fine SET that will drive any number of speaker's and with excellent speaker's, it is definitely an endgame amp.

One thing I will comment on is, whether your source material is digital or analog and assuming that you have a good play back in place for both, there are going to be records or CD's and plenty of them that are just of average recording quality.

With these average record's or CD's, you class "quality" A/B is going to get about the most out of these sources as you are going to get. Playing these same record's or CD's through the SET amp is not going to further improve on the sound quality, that is not present in the first place.

I do think that you can really do some magic with NOS EL34 power tubes, in a quality amp. That will get you as close to the SET magic as you are going to get with a class A/B amp, and it is pretty close.

 

That is the amp that I had. It is a truly beautiful amp. It is one of the nicest looking amps (and nicest sounding), that I have ever seen.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of either silver or black amps. The LM replacement for the 518iA, the 845 is just another black amp.



Here is the LM 845iA, which to me, looks nowhere near as nice as the 518iA with the gold plate face.

 

Does anyone know who made the stock tubes? I've heard either Psvane or Shuguang

 

In the early 518ia Shuguang made the tubes for LM.

 

Wonder how to decipher early from new

 

Mr. Harper (LM importer) might know. He was in Italy should be back now.

 

Tube-rolling is one thing. Changed the N-Cap Neglex 0.33 mfd capacitors to Miflex KPCU-01 0.33 mfd capacitors and that was a noticeable improvment.
I have for the moment PSvane 845 Acme serie, Tesla KT88 (original with white socket), GEC Gold Lion U-52 (original) and Siemens E83CC triple mica tubes.
And the resolution is amazing, the depth when watching movies. Never, ever and surround**** anymore.
With the sep amp one is as into the movies.