Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

rspyder · Mar 13, 2024

Hello Highstream. Laszlo does use a braided cover from what I can see and it looks like he terminates the braiding at the spaded end. However, I have have not confirmed that with him. Based on the obsessive and detailed design of his TP adapters (relative to other offerings in the market), I have more comfort in with his stuff. That's simply my point of view, though others have really liked his adapters and GC.

As for tone (and pitch), I have the same reaction and the same sonic preference. When I attend a live performance I enjoy it more when the sound system is not over-torqued (bright, shrill), the presentation is balanced (all instruments have their proper place, space and volume), vocals are more forward in the mix (clearly distinct from the other performers) and the sound set up incorporates the character and acoustics of the venue (venue effect). That's what I like to also hear when music is recorded.

Regards,

Ray

highstream · Mar 13, 2024

Dave Cahoon of Zenwave is no slouch when it comes to making (at least) custom cables (you may have seen his posts on some WBF threads). I didn’t think to take a full photo of the cable, but below is a good look.

I neglected to mention that the sound opened up a lot during five hours last night. The clear delineation of space and all instruments is now beyond what I’ve heard before. It was especially evident last night rewatching the new release of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, and again just now listening to some well-recordrd music,

One thing I miss sometimes, especially when things sound really good, is having another set of ears around to compare notes on what I’m hearing.

rspyder · Mar 13, 2024

I have no doubt that Dave makes an awesome cable and I did not intend to suggest otherwise by my comments. They look very well made.

So glad to hear the latest elements in your system are synergizing and blooming in place. It's always satisfying when a plan comes together with good results.

As for "another set of ears", I am blessed and cursed by numerous sets within our Calgary HiFi Wine & Whiskey Club. Lyn Stanley is a member. She is a true audiophile, as well as an absolutely superb jazz performer and all around great person. So I get lots of input, whether I want it or not.

Ray

Blake · Mar 15, 2024

1940's German military-issue Valvo G2504's, a solid plate version in the background, and mesh plate version in the foreground. Construction appears to be otherwise identical.

Carlsbad · Mar 16, 2024

Follow up on type 27 tubes. I got a pair of inespensive Majestic Mesh type 27 globes that tested good and a pair of adapters. first impression is very positive but I'll post more after I listen more. (so you don't ahve to go looking for it, I'm using them in a SE GG3 with VC). Using the 45 setting. they are very similar. The type 27 has a funny pin arrangement that may be why they are not popular now.

Jerry

highstream · Mar 16, 2024

I need some expert advice. Following up on the copper litz ground wires from TP adapters to ground screw on my GG 2/3, described by Dave Cahoon as having very low inductance and high frequency impedance. At ~50 hours of tubes being on, the good news was that tone was still slightly on the warm side and the 60 Hz hum was still gone. The bad news is that in pitch so were the bass and lower midrange: baritone was more tenor, undertones were absent and the upper midrange had become prominent, very alive, but to the point that some recordings became unlistenable. I tried disconnecting first the recti ground connection, then the PT-14 ones, but the pitch problem remained. So I disconnected all three while leaving the spade still on the ground screw. With that, the full range sound reappeared, still with a touch of warmth (and fortunately without the 60 Hz hum, only the 120 Hz). I had assumed that burn in would be necessary, but looking it up online it seems that since the ground doesn't carry any current, that might not be the case (as rspyder had suggested).

So what might be going to cause what I'm hearing with the ground cables?

keithc · Mar 16, 2024

highstream said:
I need some expert advice. Following up on the copper litz ground wires from TP adapters to ground screw on my GG 2/3, described by Dave Cahoon as having very low inductance and high frequency impedance. At ~50 hours of tubes being on, the good news was that tone was still slightly on the warm side and the 60 Hz hum was still gone. The bad news is that in pitch so were the bass and lower midrange: baritone was more tenor, undertones were absent and the upper midrange had become prominent, very alive, but to the point that some recordings became unlistenable. I tried disconnecting first the recti ground connection, then the PT-14 ones, but the pitch problem remained. So I disconnected all three while leaving the spade still on the ground screw. With that, the full range sound reappeared, still with a touch of warmth (and fortunately without the 60 Hz hum, only the 120 Hz). I had assumed that burn in would be necessary, but looking it up online it seems that since the ground doesn't carry any current, that might not be the case (as rspyder had suggested).

So what might be going to cause what I'm hearing with the ground cables?

How is your ground screw grounded?

highstream · Mar 16, 2024

keithc said:
How is your ground screw grounded?

It’s not, separately that is. Never been quite sure what I would ground it to. The power connection is to a PS Audio regenerator.

keithc · Mar 16, 2024

highstream said:
It’s not, separately that is. Never been quite sure what I would ground it to. The power connection is to a PS Audio regenerator.

Might be worth trying grounding it to the wall ground. There are a lot of cheap DIY cables, but this approach (with City Ground) also might be a good bang for the buck and in the U.S. you can get a 30/45-day return policy if it doesn't make a difference for you.

highstream · Mar 16, 2024

keithc said:
Might be worth trying grounding it to the wall ground. There are a lot of cheap DIY cables, but this approach (with City Ground) also might be a good bang for the buck and in the U.S. you can get a 30/45-day return policy if it doesn't make a difference for you.

When you mention returns, is there a U.S. dealer or is that from the UK?

christoph · Mar 17, 2024

Blake said:
1940's German military-issue Valvo G2504's, a solid plate version in the background, and mesh plate version in the foreground. Construction appears to be otherwise identical.

View attachment 127033

Which one do you prefer?

Blake · Mar 17, 2024

christoph said:
Which one do you prefer?

Still too early for any direct A/B battles between the mesh and solid plate versions, as the mesh is still awakening from a very long hibernation, and is new to my system. The solid plate Valvo G2504 has been my absolute "end game" recti for my Pac and GG, but initial impressions of the mesh are definitely positive.

I'll update the thread later, once I get things fully-cooked and sorted.

Ampexed · Mar 17, 2024

You should know that the Lampizator DACs invert polarity of the output signal. I was at a member's home recently doing some routine tests and found this, which was later confirmed by Lampizator. This was on a balanced version - I don't know if the single ended version does this also.

On the balanced DAC, the fix is a simple reversal of pins #2 and #3 of the XLR cable coming from the DAC's output. The unbalanced version, not so easy assuming it does flip polarity.

The non-symmetrical nature of the waveform from many musical instruments like trumpet, reeds, violins makes it desirable to maintain absolute polarity through the chain. I can hear when polarity is reversed most of the time.

highstream · Mar 17, 2024

Ampexed said:
You should know that the Lampizator DACs invert polarity of the output signal. I was at a member's home recently doing some routine tests and found this, which was later confirmed by Lampizator. This was on a balanced version - I don't know if the single ended version does this also.

On the balanced DAC, the fix is a simple reversal of pins #2 and #3 of the XLR cable coming from the DAC's output. The unbalanced version, not so easy assuming it does flip polarity.

The non-symmetrical nature of the waveform from many musical instruments like trumpet, reeds, violins makes it desirable to maintain absolute polarity through the chain. I can hear when polarity is reversed most of the time.

Is this a reply to someone or a general comment? Just curious, to reverse pins 2 and 3 means taking apart one connector end and presumably de-soldering and re-soldering?

Ampexed · Mar 17, 2024

highstream said:
Is this a reply to someone or a general comment? Just curious, to reverse pins 2 and 3 means taking apart one connector end and presumably de-soldering and re-soldering?

Just an observation that I'm putting out there. When we inverted the polarity from the DAC, the change was significant enough to startle me, but it's also program dependent to some degree. I'm posting this because leaving the DAC as-is is leaving some fine performance on the table, and the fix is easy enough.

You are correct - interchange the wires on pins 2 and 3 on one end only on the XLR plug. You can do it at either end, but just do it at one end. Soldering is required although someone might sell polarity inverting XLR cables.

I don't own this DAC - wish I did, but I just blew my bank account on a new turntable setup.

highstream · Mar 17, 2024

Just heard from Laszlo about ground cable burn in. He can’t explain it, but his Tripoint grounding unit took a month. So back in the connectors go…

Dave of Zenwave adds that “The cable will definitely need burn in, ground wires do carry currents and sometimes have the same return path as the signal so it can be quite audible.” He noted, however, that’s there’s no grounding standard in audio and so it ultimately depends on a component’s design.

So to be seen. The sound right now with the ground cables is clean, airy and open and dynamic, with a low noise floor. Very appealing, but being pitch elevated by I’m guessing a third to half an octave across the spectrum leads to some very odd sounds, such as that of the sound of a drum rim on Erykah Badu’s Rim Shot.

Follow up: Puff, a day later and the pitch has come down to normal, leaving the ups and downs of burn in (~110 hrs) — and unfortunately a bit less upper end sparkle and air.

Designsfx · Mar 20, 2024

Here’s a quick post on a new (to me) tube tryout in the TRP3. I had heard many good things about these on the Head Fi forum so I tracked down a quad. This is a Soviet triode known as the 6c5c or 6S5S in English.
I don’t have much more than 20 hrs on these at this point but from what I’ve heard so far these do not disappoint. I only wish I had been able to source a much older example (mine are early 70’s) as I’ve heard the tubes from the 40’s and 50’s are exceptional.

This tube differs slightly from the 6J5’s I normally run in that there is a very slight forwardness in the midrange compared to my late 30’s black metal 6J5’s. The upper frequencies are very nice here and balanced well with the mids. There are no hints of things being overly sharp or crispy- cymbals are sharp and produced with a nice distinctive ring. Ambience and reverb decays are very natural sounding as well.
One attribute that really stands out is the punch in the low end response. Bass lines are deep and not bloated.

I may write down more thought on these later as I really haven’t had much time on them yet. These are not what I would consider hyper detailed but rather very impactful with fluid mids and a very clear/neutral upper frequency response. If you’re interested in finding some send me a note.

Beckola66 · Mar 21, 2024

Designsfx said:
Here’s a quick post on a new (to me) tube tryout in the TRP3. I had heard many good things about these on the Head Fi forum so I tracked down a quad. This is a Soviet triode known as the 6c5c or 6S5S in English.
I don’t have much more than 20 hrs on these at this point but from what I’ve heard so far these do not disappoint. I only wish I had been able to source a much older example (mine are early 70’s) as I’ve heard the tubes from the 40’s and 50’s are exceptional.

View attachment 127268

This tube differs slightly from the 6J5’s I normally run in that there is a very slight forwardness in the midrange compared to my late 30’s black metal 6J5’s. The upper frequencies are very nice here and balanced well with the mids. There are no hints of things being overly sharp or crispy- cymbals are sharp and produced with a nice distinctive ring. Ambience and reverb decays are very natural sounding as well.
One attribute that really stands out is the punch in the low end response. Bass lines are deep and not bloated.

View attachment 127269

I may write down more thought on these later as I really haven’t had much time on them yet. These are not what I would consider hyper detailed but rather very impactful with fluid mids and a very clear/neutral upper frequency response. If you’re interested in finding some send me a note.

I like the fact you don't need an adapter for these, I'm watching this to see how they settle in further down the road.

rspyder · Mar 22, 2024

highstream said:
Just heard from Laszlo about ground cable burn in. He can’t explain it, but his Tripoint grounding unit took a month. So back in the connectors go…

Dave of Zenwave adds that “The cable will definitely need burn in, ground wires do carry currents and sometimes have the same return path as the signal so it can be quite audible.” He noted, however, that’s there’s no grounding standard in audio and so it ultimately depends on a component’s design.

So to be seen. The sound right now with the ground cables is clean, airy and open and dynamic, with a low noise floor. Very appealing, but being pitch elevated by I’m guessing a third to half an octave across the spectrum leads to some very odd sounds, such as that of the sound of a drum rim on Erykah Badu’s Rim Shot.

Follow up: Puff, a day later and the pitch has come down to normal, leaving the ups and downs of burn in (~110 hrs) — and unfortunately a bit less upper end sparkle and air.

Hi Highstream! Sorry for the tardy reply. I've been offline for a while. I do have a suggestion, but you may not like it. I suggest you take the PS Audio Regenerator out of the power circuit (i.e. disconnect your GG 2/3 from it and even your preamp).

PS Audio does some unsual (i.e. unconventional) things with the ground in its power conditioners and "regenerators".

We have a member in our local audio club who has the latest and top PS Audio Regenerator and it has caused similar issues with his Brinkmann DAC that you've experienced with your GG 2/3. It has also cause one of the channels in his Brinkmann phono amp to lose 12dB of signal output. It took us two weekends to isolate the problem. Once we took the PS Audio out of the power circuit everything returned to normal. When we put it back in - the problems reaappeared. We cycled through two times with the same results. A high-end audio retailer has since adivsed that there are a couple of component manufacturers who are actually telling prospective purchasers that their gear will not work properly with PS Audio power conditioners/regenerators.

For what its worth. Hope this shared experience maybe helfpul. Ground issues that become signal issues can be very frustrating and hard to diagnose.

Regards,

Ray

highstream · Mar 22, 2024

rspyder said:
Hi Highstream! Sorry for the tardy reply. I've been offline for a while. I do have a suggestion, but you may not like it. I suggest you take the PS Audio Regenerator out of the power circuit (i.e. disconnect your GG 2/3 from it and even your preamp).

PS Audio does some unsual (i.e. unconventional) things with the ground in its power conditioners and "regenerators".

We have a member in our local audio club who has the latest and top PS Audio Regenerator and it has caused similar issues with his Brinkmann DAC that you've experienced with your GG 2/3. It has also cause one of the channels in his Brinkmann phono amp to lose 12dB of signal output. It took us two weekends to isolate the problem. Once we took the PS Audio out of the power circuit everything returned to normal. When we put it back in - the problems reaappeared. We cycled through two times with the same results. A high-end audio retailer has since adivsed that there are a couple of component manufacturers who are actually telling prospective purchasers that their gear will not work properly with PS Audio power conditioners/regenerators.

For what its worth. Hope this shared experience maybe helfpul. Ground issues that become signal issues can be very frustrating and hard to diagnose.

Regards,

Ray

I'll check, but grounding issues are common across a wide variety of conditioners and regenerators where a dedicated electrical box and/or ground rod is not used. Your friend's PS Audio regenerator likely had a fault that needed repair. Nothing new and not the basis for generalizing. I've come across an audio dealer or two that doesn’t like the PS Audio regenerators. Not had enough experience with power conditioners to be able to judge.

There's an interesting discussion comparing the P15 regenerator, which I have, with the Puritan PSM156, which is better built for grounds, at https://forum.psaudio.com/t/power-plant-15-and-a-puritan-156-conditioner/36759/6. One point made is that they serve different purposes. On the recommendation of a dealer last year, I got a good deal on a Wyred power conditioner to feed the P15, and that helped a lot at the time, especially with DC snubbing. Had I known of the Puritan, I might well have gone that way. Now I'm thinking seriously about auditioning the Puritan City Ground Master and Route Master combo (not a fan of substantial importer mark up, but that's how it goes).

To be clear, with the tube adapter ground wires the 60 Hz hum has completely disappeared, while a softer but audible 120 Hz hum remains. It seems to be coming from the Oppo, which my only fully digital component, ATC speakers aside, other than a cable box and TV. It's also to note that the Lampi GG dac is a SET design, which according to Lukasz is inherently noisy.

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