LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last tube post so I thought I’d post a pic of the latest quad in play- the Philips EL3N. As today marks my first use with these and they also need a little more time to settle I’ll hold off on comments other than to say “so far so good!”
Definitely more to come on these and if anyone else has used these (or other red base tubes) in the TRP I’d like to hear about your experiences.

IMG_0889.jpeg
 
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WildPhydeaux said:
@budburma
Agreed, I was making some assumptions with respect to reporting on performance of the 76 tubes, basing it only on the first few hours when changes were rather significant. For what's it's worth I've got 40 more hours of burning time plus 20 more listening and they sound closer and closer to the 6J5G. They seem to have lost whatever slight tendency to sibilance they had. I still think they dig a little deeper in the bass regions.

The 76 is really just a direct ancestor of the 6J5, so it's still a single triode tube. However it does have the UX base and needs an adaptor. My limited understanding is that the 37 is essentially the same as the 76 with very slightly different operating points. I have some of these enroute to me to try.

Cheers,
Robert
Click to expand...
I noticed your impressions vs May in another thread. Is the Lampi improving?
 
walterboss said:
I noticed your impressions vs May in another thread. Is the Lampi improving?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reminder to me that I should follow up on that thread and close the loop.

I had two transparency limiting bottlenecks in my system, one which was a surprise and the other I should have known. The first was that preamp, DACs and source were powered via a PS Audio Stellar3 Power Regenerator. Power amp direct to wall. This had made positive improvements back when I had somewhat lesser gear and also lived in the city. Turns out that living rural and with current gear its not only not required for clean power, but actually robs some transparency and dynamics.

The second thing is something I should have tried earlier. The input tubes in my preamp were not ideal. I swapped them out for some known good Siemens and they let the sun shine in.

Now I can readily hear differences in tubes swapped into the Lampizator. The May is still a darned good DAC, but at the end of the day the Lampi has the edge in absolute realism and 3D holographic sound stage.

Cheers,
Robert
 
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More on the EL3N-

These only have a few hours of play on them but so far are sounding really nice. These are easy to drive and produce a nice low end response. Although the bottom end doesn’t dig as deep as some of the triodes I own I haven’t found them to be disappointing. What I really like the most about these (so far) is the midrange production, I would have to say that so far the EL3N produces one of the nicest out there. The low mid response is in the right place- strong enough to support what is going on but without elevating things to the point of sounding shouty. Where and how it blends with higher frequencies is really nice and leaves enough separation between the two that the recording remains comfortably clear. The high end response is where things can become a little tilted towards the sizzle but this is seeming to smooth out as the time passes. I listened to a couple of really “hot” recordings last night after installing these and it was approaching the point to where I started to sense fatigue. Today I’ve listened to 4 new complete releases and have not had that impression at all- just a really crystal clear energetic top end. So far I really like these and will definitely put in some more play time. If you’re rolling tubes in a TRP3 consider these on par with a really great pair of 6L6GC’s but with much more sophisticated midrange. More to come!
 
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Another (new) member here just reached out to me having used a pair of EL34's with a GZ34 and burned his transformer. He has much more experience (40 years) with tubes, power/pre/rectifiers than I do and was very surprised by the meltdown. He hasn't publicly posted his experience and it's not up to me to use his moniker. He's waiting on evaluation of his A3 at Lampi central. Mine was repaired but no diagnosis offered beyond the initial surmise that the rectifier or adapter was bad - I still have them, but haven't found anywhere/anybody to test them. It does makes me curious if others out there have had the same issues and not part of this forum or site or just not posting. If someone here is interested in testing my tube and adapter, I'm happy to send it.
 
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Oh, I forgot to include that his EL34/GZ34 combo worked well together in the A3 the night prior to his transformer burning up with them in place the next day.
 
budburma said:
Another (new) member here just reached out to me having used a pair of EL34's with a GZ34 and burned his transformer. He has much more experience (40 years) with tubes, power/pre/rectifiers than I do and was very surprised by the meltdown. He hasn't publicly posted his experience and it's not up to me to use his moniker. He's waiting on evaluation of his A3 at Lampi central. Mine was repaired but no diagnosis offered beyond the initial surmise that the rectifier or adapter was bad - I still have them, but haven't found anywhere/anybody to test them. It does makes me curious if others out there have had the same issues and not part of this forum or site or just not posting. If someone here is interested in testing my tube and adapter, I'm happy to send it.
Click to expand...
This is a troubling story for all TRP3 owners and I hoping that Lampizator is not only able to determine the issue but offer an explanation of why as well.
 
Designsfx said:
This is a troubling story for all TRP3 owners and I hoping that Lampizator is not only able to determine the issue but offer an explanation of why as well.
Click to expand...
I think there is an important cautionary tale here for all Lampi owners (B4 in my case) that the tube rolling can easily get out of hand and must be approached with extreme caution. Perhaps a dedicated thread limited to valve replacement mishaps. From my own experience, one can be easily enticed to treat the Lampis as mere "vessels" to experiment with various tube rolling schemes, and since the results can be so astonishingly positive to the point where it's hard to recognize it as the same DAC you originally purchased, we must not therefore overlook the potential pitfalls from repeatedly jamming tubes in/out all day long. We're sure to eventually cross paths with some unscrupulous sellers out there as well as bad/incompatible tubes and adapters from well-intentioned folk. In short, be forewarned that you may need to fork out a good chunk of money to pay DHL to ferry your DAC back-and-forth to the Warsaw factory for repair.
 
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Agent86 said:
I think there is an important cautionary tale here for all Lampi owners (B4 in my case) that the tube rolling can easily get out of hand and must be approached with extreme caution. Perhaps a dedicated thread limited to valve replacement mishaps. From my own experience, one can be easily enticed to treat the Lampis as mere "vessels" to experiment with various tube rolling schemes, and since the results can be so astonishingly positive to the point where it's hard to recognize it as the same DAC you originally purchased, we must not therefore overlook the potential pitfalls from repeatedly jamming tubes in/out all day long. We're sure to eventually cross paths with some unscrupulous sellers out there as well as bad/incompatible tubes and adapters from well-intentioned folk. In short, be forewarned that you may need to fork out a good chunk of money to pay DHL to ferry your DAC back-and-forth to the Warsaw factory for repair.
Click to expand...

Also, see the concurrent discussion in the Horizon thread about a loose socket.

LampizatOr Horizon - Tube Rolling Paradise

A 91 year-old guy is stretching his legs after a looong sleep ... I'll see how it develops after a few weeks at the gym :) OK you got me, what is it?
www.whatsbestforum.com www.whatsbestforum.com
 
You may want to check with the factory, however, with over 40 years of tube rolling and building- what I can tell you is that current production Chinese sockets are horrible. They do not hold their tension are made of inferior "metal "and are, unfortunately, the only game in town for exotic 4 pin types (UX-4 etc) .Surplus NOS supplies of sockets are pretty thin and expensive and are not conducive for production.

I go out of my way to avoid Chinese sockets of any type.


"If" the Lampi sockets are Chinese -- they won't stand up to to tube rolling. You are asking for trouble by doing anything outside of ordinary tube replacement. Once almost any socket looses tension - it is toast. Once a Chinese socket loses tension it is garbage because the quality of the metal. Some old US production types could be re-tensioned - but even so, it is the beginning of the end.

Another warning , if sockets are directly soldered to the PC board with out any mechanical fastening to a bracket or chassis - you will compromise the soldered connections over time with excessive tube rolling by flexing the board with excessive insertion and removal.
 
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Obviously if folks are jamming any tube which "kinda fits" into their Lampi tube DACs they will eventually get what they deserve - and it'll not be the mind-blowing performance they may have hoped for.

However, in both of these Atlantic reports it is my understanding that the tubes used are electrically compatible with the TRP. Remind me of the details of the earlier one (Budburma?) but I think there was an adapter in play also. But this recent report was with EL34 & 5AR4, which are tubes specifically identified in the user manual and back plate on the DAC as compatible. My wild guess is a faulty transformer, but details are unknown.

I've heard of folks cleaning their old production tube pins with fine brass brushes or steel wool and later having a melt down because a tiny metal fiber was left on a pin and caused a short. Not saying this is the case here, obviously, but a full account of the incident and lead-up may contain clues.

The TRP is MADE for tube swapping. You would think the sockets in use are up to somewhat frequent tube changes. The sockets in mine don't look like any of the cheap sockets I typically see coming from cheap streams out of China. They are quality Belton units made from incredibly durable glass fiber resin. The sockets themselves appear quite up to task. And the sockets are indeed secured to the circuit board, not relying on the circuit soldering to hold them in place.

IMG_20240616_145826.jpg

It's true that NOS sockets are rare and wildly expensive if they can be sourced. And true that many new sockets are a bit dodgy for tube rolling, but not all as evidenced by the Beltons which are readily available. However high quality new production sockets are also available, including UX-4 etc from Yamamoto.

Cheers,
Robert
 
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budburma said:
Another (new) member here just reached out to me having used a pair of EL34's with a GZ34 and burned his transformer. He has much more experience (40 years) with tubes, power/pre/rectifiers than I do and was very surprised by the meltdown. He hasn't publicly posted his experience and it's not up to me to use his moniker. He's waiting on evaluation of his A3 at Lampi central. Mine was repaired but no diagnosis offered beyond the initial surmise that the rectifier or adapter was bad - I still have them, but haven't found anywhere/anybody to test them. It does makes me curious if others out there have had the same issues and not part of this forum or site or just not posting. If someone here is interested in testing my tube and adapter, I'm happy to send it.
Click to expand...
There has been a few I can remember of, most don't post though. All of them related to tube rolling and with the rectifier in many cases. Which is why i took my horizon off its filament supply and gave an external 4v / 5v power supply direct to board instead.
 
Yes, previously unused tube (from a reliable source) with a previously used adapter.
WildPhydeaux said:
Obviously if folks are jamming any tube which "kinda fits" into their Lampi tube DACs they will eventually get what they deserve - and it'll not be the mind-blowing performance they may have hoped for.

However, in both of these Atlantic reports it is my understanding that the tubes used are electrically compatible with the TRP. Remind me of the details of the earlier one (Budburma?) but I think there was an adapter in play also. But this recent report was with EL34 & 5AR4, which are tubes specifically identified in the user manual and back plate on the DAC as compatible. My wild guess is a faulty transformer, but details are unknown.

I've heard of folks cleaning their old production tube pins with fine brass brushes or steel wool and later having a melt down because a tiny metal fiber was left on a pin and caused a short. Not saying this is the case here, obviously, but a full account of the incident and lead-up may contain clues.

The TRP is MADE for tube swapping. You would think the sockets in use are up to somewhat frequent tube changes. The sockets in mine don't look like any of the cheap sockets I typically see coming from cheap streams out of China. They are quality Belton units made from incredibly durable glass fiber resin. The sockets themselves appear quite up to task. And the sockets are indeed secured to the circuit board, not relying on the circuit soldering to hold them in place.

View attachment 132706

It's true that NOS sockets are rare and wildly expensive if they can be sourced. And true that many new sockets are a bit dodgy for tube rolling, but not all as evidenced by the Beltons which are readily available. However high quality new production sockets are also available, including UX-4 etc from Yamamoto.

Cheers,
Robert
Click to expand...
Yes, a previously used adapter with a previously unused (by me) rectifier.
The sockets in my A3 are ceramic with uncertain origin and mounted directly to the board - it's given me cause for pause actually (along with the transformer meltdown) and my rolling is slowed way down. I had to out stanchion supports in a phonostage for the same reason - too much flexing with tube changes. I haven't used a rectifier with an adapter since, but do continue to use two from a maker on Head-fi for my 7193's because they sound soooo gooooood! Actually have a TP pair on order, too.IMG_5347.jpeg
 
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the tube sockets are pretty much stock standard.i find that most manufacturers just use chinese made sockets - the horizon one i think is from cmc - it is a teflon socket rather than ceramic. with silver coloured contacts not gold coloured ones. i have toyed with changing the sockets on my board to a yamamoto but the ones on the horizon are not plate contacts but solid lugs which means they are quite painful to remove that socket you have there bud will not be the cause of a transformer blow. Trannies blow when they draw too much current, is there a photo of the gz34 tube he used that i can have a look?
 
WildPhydeaux said:
Obviously if folks are jamming any tube which "kinda fits" into their Lampi tube DACs they will eventually get what they deserve - and it'll not be the mind-blowing performance they may have hoped for.

However, in both of these Atlantic reports it is my understanding that the tubes used are electrically compatible with the TRP. Remind me of the details of the earlier one (Budburma?) but I think there was an adapter in play also. But this recent report was with EL34 & 5AR4, which are tubes specifically identified in the user manual and back plate on the DAC as compatible. My wild guess is a faulty transformer, but details are unknown.

I've heard of folks cleaning their old production tube pins with fine brass brushes or steel wool and later having a melt down because a tiny metal fiber was left on a pin and caused a short. Not saying this is the case here, obviously, but a full account of the incident and lead-up may contain clues.

The TRP is MADE for tube swapping. You would think the sockets in use are up to somewhat frequent tube changes. The sockets in mine don't look like any of the cheap sockets I typically see coming from cheap streams out of China. They are quality Belton units made from incredibly durable glass fiber resin. The sockets themselves appear quite up to task. And the sockets are indeed secured to the circuit board, not relying on the circuit soldering to hold them in place.

View attachment 132706

It's true that NOS sockets are rare and wildly expensive if they can be sourced. And true that many new sockets are a bit dodgy for tube rolling, but not all as evidenced by the Beltons which are readily available. However high quality new production sockets are also available, including UX-4 etc from Yamamoto.

Cheers,
Robert
Click to expand...
This is an A3 TRP? Looks SO different from mine...
 
From the other user with the tranny meltdown:
“It looks ok without any signs of burning. It's very good condition Mullard GZ34 with perfect measurements, they are exceptionally long life reliable tubes - best from longevity point of view actually. I very much suspect they were not the reason but soon I will test it in lab. In any case trans meltdown was a shame. In quality designs it could not be a case with any tubes or adapters-even faulty. Never had such thing in my life.

By the way I had confirmation from lab technician - transformer was totally burned.
Technician was in shock actually. Because the fuse stayed intact after incident - most chances
it was internal short in trans, not related to tube. They didn't contact Poland yet.“
 
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GroovySauce said:
I read this entire thread before I received my new GA TRP. I’ve also skimmed and searched more than I care to admit.





I took a different direction for rectifiers. I email Lukasz asking if it was okay to use a very unconventional rectifier device. He said yes, so I placed an order for a Space-Tech Labs Super Tube Rectifier. the STR-1002. I’ve been aware of the Super Tube Rectifier for a few years. Eventually I took a pass and filed it away as a curiosity. Then a buddy of mine started watering that seed…

View attachment 128884
View attachment 128885
View attachment 128886
It can use a pair of 211, 805 or 845 tubes and uses the pair as a full wave rectifier. Use of a single tube for half wave rectification is also possible.

There is an umbilical cable that goes in the rectifier socket on the TRP and goes to the back of the STR.

Also in the back is the IEC. The power supplies the heater current for the tubes.

This means the component, TRP in this case only needs to supply the high voltage AC to be rectified so the power supply of the TRP is on easy street.

Last year I finished my dedicated fully treated room. That was and still is the best thing I’ve ever done for my music system. I had extremely high expectations and knew that it was necessary to get the absolute best musical experience I could. It delivered!

After upgrading from a Holo Audio MAY KTE to the GA TRP I was thrilled and figured I would spend my extra cash on other hobbies and interests. Thanks to my buddy watering the seed I ended up with the STR.

I was expecting a change, I was not ready for how transformative it would be! It sounds like a new system. It’s the most involving reach out and touch the music sound I’ve ever heard. Music flows through out the room in a magical way. I was running a Sophia 274b Aqua II and then the EML 274b Mesh. The Sophia is bold and juicy with plenty of density. The EML is more extended and faster, much better attack and space.

The STR with a pair of 845s is more of both! I really don’t get how that is possible.

I’ve had a paradigm shift of my understanding of density, mass, palpability and aliveness of reproduced music.

Details like cymbals being lightly activated when the kick drum is struck. Not since I added all the room treatment have I been so blown away with now much things have changed.

When I had the MAY KTE DAC my vinyl setup was better across the board. Once the TRP had 200+ hours, some things I preferred about the TRP and vinyl still was the king for almost everything. Now with the STR-1002… The TRP is beating the vinyl side in most aspects.

Another thing I really don’t understand. The whole system seems like it has unlimited power now. Isn’t this the realm of the amp and speaker combo? I’m running a 20 watt tube amp into 96db speakers. So plenty of SPL potential. Listening at less than 80 db peaks there is an incredible sense of power—when called upon—to the music.

I have 120 hours on the STR now. I’m still not sure how to express and convey how much of a positive impact this has had on my enjoyment of my system.

I also elected for the choke option. I’ve just recently started listening with the choke active.

Activating the choke is a significant change. Active it gets euphoric, dreamy, enveloping and extra trippy. What is traded is attack, dynamics and precision. Don’t think that those traits are lost when the choke is active. It’s just not as intense compared to no choke.

I’m doing my best to restrain myself and not be too over the top with my joy of adding the STR. The thing is it’s one of the most mind blowing components I’ve ever added to my system so it’s hard not to.

I’ve been having more fun, experiencing more joy and being overwhelming high on life since I’ve added the STR-1002 Super to my system. It could be it’s the last piece in a long journey to the sound I’ve been chasing for half my life.
Click to expand...
I actually ordered one of these with the 805 tubes + choke option. Should come next week. I'm very excited to listen to this contraption.
 
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Redwoodaudio said:
I actually ordered one of these with the 805 tubes + choke option. Should come next week. I'm very excited to listen to this contraption.
Click to expand...
805 tubes? Can you explain more about this configuration?
 
The STR "Super Tube Rectifier" offers a whole new world of rectifier options.

Plug the STR into the rectifier socket and via the STR an incredible selection of tubes is available depending on model and adapters. 211, 805, 845, 3b22, 300b, 2A3, 572a, 3b22 and others are available. I've found that known recifiers like 5u4g and 274b sound better when running through the STR.

The STR offers a much more holographic and dense presentation than standard rectifiers I've found.

KT170s and the Linlai 845-TA in the STR provide the most expansive and satisfying musical presentation I've ever heard. (TRP + STR)
 
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