I've tried TungSol 6v6GTs and Russian equivalent 6P6S tubes in the Poseidon (directly, no adapter needed). I only tried them with the supplied input/pre tubes, and they sounded a little dark, thin, flat, and rolled off compared to my favorites 7193 and 6SN7.
I am pleased to report that I have been listening to the Poseidon DAC with the Taiko Olympus server via native XDMI for about one week now and that the sound produced is absolutely fabulous.
This DAC has absolutely no issue leveraging what the Olympus XDMI delivers and is scaling beyond what I've previously experienced in digital...
It is also a significant improvement over the Analog XDMI card IMO adding liquidity, better tonality, body, emotion and soul to my listening sessions.
A very sensical pairing with even the finest server on the planet!
Unfortunately my inclination to upgrade my Pacific is always dampened by the prospect of noisy tube based DAC playback. I love my Pacific but it always ends up being noisy due to some output tube acting up. I end up switching tubes and all is well till it starts again. It’s part and parcel of the tube rolling experience with Lampi’s. Of course all tube gear has this intrinsic problem. But my ARC gear tends to be quieter because I’m not tube rolling. ARC frowns on this practice as does CJ. Use our tubes only, they say. We test the heck out of our tubes. If you tube roll, you’re on your own. There’s a logic to that. Of course the audiophile desire to endlessly tweak is why Lampi has a great business model.
Unfortunately my inclination to upgrade my Pacific is always dampened by the prospect of noisy tube based DAC playback. I love my Pacific but it always ends up being noisy due to some output tube acting up. I end up switching tubes and all is well till it starts again. It’s part and parcel of the tube rolling experience with Lampi’s. Of course all tube gear has this intrinsic problem. But my ARC gear tends to be quieter because I’m not tube rolling. ARC frowns on this practice as does CJ. Use our tubes only, they say. We test the heck out of our tubes. If you tube roll, you’re on your own. There’s a logic to that. Of course the audiophile desire to endlessly tweak is why Lampi has a great business model.
Yes, of course, I can understand that. It all depends on how aggressively you are tube rolling and the quality of NOS tubes etc. I have gone through relatively long trouble-free periods with my Pacific. But, eventually, TRP gets you into trouble because of the inherent variability of different tubes. Some of the tubes I have tested (e.g., 112A) are 100 years old (!), and it's not surprising that one can run into issues with stuff that old. It's remarkable that 100 year old tubes still work at all! Of course, one can play it safe with a Lampi DAC and stick to well proven tubes like the KR 242s. But what's the fun of that?
I’m impressed how much better my Pacific sounds as I upgrade other parts of my system. I moved from an ARC Ref 3 to a Ref 6SE, which produced a qualitative jump in sound quality removing a trace of hardness in the sound of the ancient Ref 3. The biggest recent quantum jump was moving up from an antique ARC Ref 210 monoblocks to much much more massive ARC 750SE, the most powerful tube amplifiers ARC ever made with a mind-boggling 18 KT-150 tubes per channel. That was like Thor’s hammer as far as I’m concerned. The Pacific now speaks with much greater authority and the dynamics are scary. So, Lampizator DACs, even ones as ancient as the Pacific, can still keep up with other improvements in the signal chain.
Great question. It’s a challenge. One way is to locate the amps a fair distance away from my listening chair. In my current setup, it’s about 16’. Measuring the temperature when the amplifiers are on, I find it raises the temperature around them by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. But at my listening chair, not so much. But these behemoths are best suited to cooler temperatures. On warmer days I run my AC to cool my room down. Summer is almost over in the Bay Area. We have a late summer here. The next 6 months should be much cooler.
But trust me, all such concerns fade away when you bask in the glory of the sound produced by these magnificent amplifiers. There’s a limitless sense of dynamics with no trace of strain or harshness. Even at lower volumes of 1-5 watts, there’s a tremendous sense of power. They are also highly transparent revealing layers of detail that I didn’t notice before.
Finally the build quality is just Rolls Royce. I’ve had many wonderful amplifiers in my house over the past 30+ years. Nothing l have owned match their build quality. The panels are massive and the chassis is as robust as you can imagine. Each amplifier weighs 175 pounds. These are built to last. And they are quiet as any solid state amplifier I have owned. They are utterly noiseless being fully balanced.
And here I sit sweating the decision to move from SET to DHT PSET or DHT P-P because the extra tube will confuse the inner structure of the soundstage. Actually I do have another amp which is PSET (not DHT) and that’s what it does.
I do use a 1 watt SET to drive my La Scalas. They sound lovely but it’s always a feeling of lack of drive. Of course the ARC 750SE are at the other extreme end of power and size. My 1 watt SET I can pick up with one hand. Only Superman could do that with the 750 SE’s!
At the other end of the tube amplifier spectrum, my 1 watt SET’s. They look like they were assembled in someone’s garage, which they probably were. They’re a bit noisy with a hum from the transformers when they start up. In short, you get what you pay for. Not that these are cheap. I’ve seen SET’s like these list for 10 grand. Compared to that, the ARC’s don’t seem overpriced. But you’ve got to match the amplifiers to the speakers. The ARC’s are primarily to drive very low efficiency speakers, not horns.
I've posted my Poseidon for sale in the classifieds, would love to keep this amazing DAC in the community. As for me - I'm back to solid state. I salute all you tube rollers and chasers!
Listing is showing as closed and I can't fiz that for some reason but the DAC is still available for sale. I will update this post if and when that changes.
I've posted my Poseidon for sale in the classifieds, would love to keep this amazing DAC in the community. As for me - I'm back to solid state. I salute all you tube rollers and chasers!
I would give a second chance to the Posseidon with nos tubes. Yesterday we tested a Posseidon with the cheapest possible tubes. The set cost 400€ (9 tubes). The improvement was shocking compared to the stock tubes. The owner couldn’t believe his ears. It was like a totally different dac.
That's good to hear there are cheaper options. I think Poseidon sounds excellent with stock tubes as well. Tube DACs, so I've learned, are not for everyone. Nothing wrong with that, I hope I find a solid state DAC that comes close to the timbre and technical performance of Poseidon.
I would give a second chance to the Posseidon with nos tubes. Yesterday we tested a Posseidon with the cheapest possible tubes. The set cost 400€ (9 tubes). The improvement was shocking compared to the stock tubes. The owner couldn’t believe his ears. It was like a totally different dac. View attachment 136769
