Lampizator Gain Problem
- Thread starter Agent86
- Start date
Well, you may be right on this. At least I have confirmed it is no longer the vc-03. My data sheet says “Kal” for the vc. At first I thought this was simply a typo for “Bal” as mine is balanced. However turns out it isn’t a typo at all and “Kal” is their internal designation for this vc. Guesses would be Hattor (Arek Kallas) in Warsaw , I believe ,and more likely, or Karan Acoustics in Serbia ( less likely, very expensive ).
Thats all I can say. I haven’t taken my top off yet - too busy enjoying it to care, and it doesn’t look particularly easy to do.
I would have gone with the remote VC Pacific instead
That one gives you the most flexibility for finding the perfect sweet spot gain wise for a whole variety of tubes
Non VC ones i believe always came with that switch like most of the Lampis do (these days)
I want to thank everyone for their very kind and thoughtful feedback.
I ended up getting a Baltic 3 to replace my GG1, and the high/low gain switch seems to have done the trick. The B3 is burning in nicely and I've found that it is very responsive to tube rolling, and even swapping the 12AU7 tubes yielded major changes (despite the fact that the user manual attributes only 10% of the sound profile to them). Switching the stock Russian Mullards with vintage British Mullards, and Dutch Amperex tubes and it sounds like I have three totally different DACs.
Also, I noticed that the B3 sounds best with the AES /EBU input rather than the USB. Just the reverse of my GG1.
I ended up getting a Baltic 3 to replace my GG1, and the high/low gain switch seems to have done the trick. The B3 is burning in nicely and I've found that it is very responsive to tube rolling, and even swapping the 12AU7 tubes yielded major changes (despite the fact that the user manual attributes only 10% of the sound profile to them). Switching the stock Russian Mullards with vintage British Mullards, and Dutch Amperex tubes and it sounds like I have three totally different DACs.
Also, I noticed that the B3 sounds best with the AES /EBU input rather than the USB. Just the reverse of my GG1.
Can you post the pass labs specs I’m curious iis s 3 is not high.
does the pass have an internal gain selector the over drive sound might the next stage ?
software vol and internal Dac vol all effect the sound and can be used to tailor the sound to help your system sound more to ur likening.
a simple cheap way might be a inline imp matching transformer this allows for lower output voltage and have no effect on dynamics. an inline res or passive pre cut dynamics some more then others. companies who make line iso devices also have gain iso transformers. they also would help on iso grounding.
does the pass have an internal gain selector the over drive sound might the next stage ?
software vol and internal Dac vol all effect the sound and can be used to tailor the sound to help your system sound more to ur likening.
a simple cheap way might be a inline imp matching transformer this allows for lower output voltage and have no effect on dynamics. an inline res or passive pre cut dynamics some more then others. companies who make line iso devices also have gain iso transformers. they also would help on iso grounding.
Try them also the tubes you use effects the output imp as well as voltage. The input imp of you pass pre effects the voltage by imp loading
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So far, I'm preferring the B3 sound, as I listen to classical symphonic music and I'm enjoying the greater dynamics and soundstaging of the B3.
As to the Pass Labs, we ran this question by Lukacs, and it seems that the chip-based volume control on Pass integrateds makes them a bit of a delicate flower on incoming voltage. The amp's gain settings can be set higher by adjusting some jumpers, but it's already too high.
As to the Pass Labs, we ran this question by Lukacs, and it seems that the chip-based volume control on Pass integrateds makes them a bit of a delicate flower on incoming voltage. The amp's gain settings can be set higher by adjusting some jumpers, but it's already too high.
The B3 has the wonderful E53 engine, right?
Do you know what engine your GG1 has?
What tubes did you use with your GG1?
In my Amber 3 there is bit of a performance drop.In the lower gain switch. Do you notice much if any sonic compromise in the low gain position with the B3?
Because my Pass Labs integrated amp is very sensitive, I had the factory set my high/low gain at 3v/1.5v. For now, I have to use the low gain setting on the Baltic since my amp clips at 3v. Not as bad as with the 3v on the GG1, but still very audible. I only tried the high-gain setting with XLRs, so I will check it today in single-ended mode.
Do you also use the EML recti in the B3?
I never warmed up to the EML mesh recties.
I find them tizzy sounding.
The KR PX25 I do like a lot but they are quite high gain what might be the reason for your clipping.
I did indeed order the EML Mesh on the Baltic3. I didn't have any issues with it, but for comparison, I am currently trying out an NOS tube, the RCA 5R4GY. Do you have any favorites here?
Per my previous post, I also clip at the 3v setting with the Baltic3 using the PSvane Blue Globes. That's with balanced cables, so I'll try going from 1.5 to 3v a bit later today with single-ended ICs.
I didn't have issues with the EML recties (apart from not really liking the sound of them
)I don't know the RCA 5R4GY but I still like the RK 5u4g a lot.
How would you describe the RCA 5R4GY compared to your EML mesh (274b or 5u4g?) ?
I've only tried one other rectifier, the RCA 5R4GY. Not really burned in yet, but it seems to me a lot more "tizzy" than the EML. Thanks for the KR 5u4g RK suggestion, as I'll go ahead and order one up. For the triodes, I rolled in a NOS RCA that had been recommended in one of the other threads here, but I found it far inferior to the stock Psvane Blue Globes. As for the 12AU7 tubes, my favorite thus far is NOS Amperex Bugle Boys (better than stock Russian Mullards, Treasure Tubes, or NOS Brit Mullards).I didn't have issues with the EML recties (apart from not really liking the sound of them
I don't know the RCA 5R4GY but I still like the RK 5u4g a lot.
How would you describe the RCA 5R4GY compared to your EML mesh (274b or 5u4g?) ?
Which EML mesh recti do you have? 5u4g or 274b?
I found they need several hundreds of hours to lessen the tizzy-ness and even then could not entirely get rid of it...
I hope your RCA 5R4GY is OK if it sounds even more tizzy than the EML
Sorry, I can not participate regarding B3 tubes, I "only" have a TRP and a Pacific but no B3. The rectifiers should behave the same in all Lampi DACs, though.
The EML is a 274, but it's fine, really. The RCA seems a bit too bright, so I'll send it back. Last night, I ordered the KR rectifier, so eager to hear how it sounds.Which EML mesh recti do you have? 5u4g or 274b?
I found they need several hundreds of hours to lessen the tizzy-ness and even then could not entirely get rid of it...
I hope your RCA 5R4GY is OK if it sounds even more tizzy than the EML
Sorry, I can not participate regarding B3 tubes, I "only" have a TRP and a Pacific but no B3. The rectifiers should behave the same in all Lampi DACs, though.