LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP

[christoph]

@christoph
Are you buying a Horizon? If so- Nice! I am not going to pretend to be the last word on how the Horizon functions but as far as a pentode goes the 6J5 is electrically the same so I would imagine it would work in that case.
Have you tried the 6J5 in your TRP yet? If not please do so- you’ll be surprised.

I already have a Horizon
Yes, it is an awesome DAC

I "thought" after both the TRP AND the Horizon use Pentodes from the same tube families, maybe the 6J5 could also work in the Horizon and because I'm a very curious boy, I should/could try the 6J5 in the Horizon.

Unfortunately I sold my TRP BEFORE I got to know about the 6J5 tubes.

 

[christoph]

While you can use the 6J5 tubes in the Atlantic (because it uses pentodes in triode mode - 6J5 is a triode- leaving two elements unused or one in the case of tetrodes like the KT family tubes), the Horizon needs all elements of the pentodes used, so it cannot operate as intended with 6J5's in place.

Thanks for your plausible explanation.
Pity.

 

[Designsfx]

While you can use the 6J5 tubes in the Atlantic (because it uses pentodes in triode mode - 6J5 is a triode- leaving two elements unused or one in the case of tetrodes like the KT family tubes), the Horizon needs all elements of the pentodes used, so it cannot operate as intended with 6J5's in place.

Thank you for the clarification. When you say the Atlantic running a triode leaves two elements unused- which elements are you referring to?

 

[tedwoods]

Thank you for the clarification. When you say the Atlantic running a triode leaves two elements unused- which elements are you referring to?

I was referring to the elements within the tube. A pentode has by design five elements but can be operated as a triode also using three elements (as on the Atlantic). In many tube amps this is quite common and a way to either lower wattage or impart a slightly different sound signature, usually through a corresponding switch (triode/pentode switch).

 

[Designsfx]

I was referring to the elements within the tube. A pentode has by design five elements but can be operated as a triode also using three elements (as on the Atlantic). In many tube amps this is quite common and a way to either lower wattage or impart a slightly different sound signature, usually through a corresponding switch (triode/pentode switch).

Is this what is referred to as triode strapping? Plz excuse my ignorance here- I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the different methods employed.

 

[tedwoods]

Is this what is referred to as triode strapping? Plz excuse my ignorance here- I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the different methods employed.

Yes, this is it...

 

[Mike TRP]

Anybody tried using a 5V4G or 5Y3 instead or the 6J5? TIA

 

[budburma]

@budburma
I was looking over the L63 not to long ago- had heard they are nice but it sounds like you’re preferring it over the other 6J5 bottles. Were did you source these from? I’m waiting to hear back from a supplier on 6J5 glass later this week but may set some aside to try the L63 if available. Let me know!

The Brimar and GEC L63's are a bit polite in the traditional british pipe and slippers kind of way to my ears. I picked them up from them up from an ebay sourced british dealer and an etsy sourced canadian. That said, and I'm overjoyed to have found a combo of Tungsol VT94d's with RCA JAN 5r4gy ('45) or Brimar CV717/5r4gy (one Oldway, one round getters/hanging filaments) that just blew my doors off. BIG and deep stage, inviting midrange, a little top end roll off, bass more musical and less deep with the RCA, clean, detailed, warm. RCA generally denser. AND nary an adapter to be mucked about with.

 

[budburma]

Can the 6J5 family also be used as "Pentodes" in the Horizon?

nope. they are triodes. the atlantic uses pentodes and tetrodes as triodes.....TRP!

 

[budburma]

Anybody tried using a 5V4G or 5Y3 instead of the 6J5? TIA

Those are rectifiers.....

 

[Designsfx]

I was referring to the elements within the tube. A pentode has by design five elements but can be operated as a triode also using three elements (as on the Atlantic). In many tube amps this is quite common and a way to either lower wattage or impart a slightly different sound signature, usually through a corresponding switch (triode/pentode switch).

I’m still interested in understanding the differences between how the Horizon handles pentodes vs the triode setup in the Atlantic. I was reading about this more after these posts and it seems that some feel there are great advantages when using pentodes as triodes- what does this Dac do differently?

 

[Souldriver]

Hey all, I've been moving from a Mojo Mystique X to trying a GA TRP3 and adjusting to what the Lampi DAC brings. A few things that I miss from the Mojo are the powerful feel (it had "cajones”), macro dynamic emphasis (probably too overly done tbh), and big, deep reaching, and punchy bass.

While I know every DAC has it's own flavor, i was hoping to tube roll and regain some of these aspects while also staying withe the Lampi and the technicalities step up it offers.

Current Chain:
Antipodes K50 -> FTA Callisto -> GA TRP3

Tubes I have tried (and should probably write impressions on):
- RK anni 5u4g, WE 422a
- GEC KT66, GEC KT77, Siemens f2a, Tesla EL51

So far my favorite has been the WE and KT77s.

On my list to try (or try to find):
- RCA 80 Globe, Mullard GZ34 (an absolute favorite in my amps), Chatham Potato masher, few other rectis I have laying around.
- RCA 6L6, GEC KT88, NOS Tung Sol 6550, new Tung Sol KT170


To my knowledge these all should be safe with the lampi and compatible drops ins (minus the 80 recti). Has anyone tried or have impressions of the tubes that are on my "to try list"? Or any recommendations that would lean towards my preferences?

 

[Golum]

Hey all, I've been moving from a Mojo Mystique X to trying a GA TRP3 and adjusting to what the Lampi DAC brings. A few things that I miss from the Mojo are the powerful feel (it had "cajones”), macro dynamic emphasis (probably too overly done tbh), and big, deep reaching, and punchy bass.

While I know every DAC has it's own flavor, i was hoping to tube roll and regain some of these aspects while also staying withe the Lampi and the technicalities step up it offers.

Current Chain:
Antipodes K50 -> FTA Callisto -> GA TRP3

Tubes I have tried (and should probably write impressions on):
- RK anni 5u4g, WE 422a
- GEC KT66, GEC KT77, Siemens f2a, Tesla EL51

So far my favorite has been the WE and KT77s.

On my list to try (or try to find):
- RCA 80 Globe, Mullard GZ34 (an absolute favorite in my amps), Chatham Potato masher, few other rectis I have laying around.
- RCA 6L6, GEC KT88, NOS Tung Sol 6550, new Tung Sol KT170


To my knowledge these all should be safe with the lampi and compatible drops ins (minus the 80 recti). Has anyone tried or have impressions of the tubes that are on my "to try list"? Or any recommendations that would lean towards my preferences?

All of the tubes You mentioned above have been tried and if any stands out as a favorite in many systems is f2a with maybe 80 Globe as a rectifier preference for TRP. But of course, this is system and owners' ears dependent, so it has to be taken with a grain of salt.
Anyhow all above you mentioned are safe and for 80 you need an adapter.

 

[tedwoods]

I’m still interested in understanding the differences between how the Horizon handles pentodes vs the triode setup in the Atlantic. I was reading about this more after these posts and it seems that some feel there are great advantages when using pentodes as triodes- what does this Dac do differently?

First off, I would have to say there is no hard-and-fast rule that using pentodes as triodes would result in a univocally beneficial outcome.
It all quite depends on the circuit and application.
In the Atlantic, apart from specific design goals it also serves as a means to open a wider family of common (or less common...) audio tubes (pentodes or tetrodes) for use in a DAC, instead of the "typical" DHT triodes as these are found in the Big7, Golden Gate, etc.
The Horizon uses its tubes in a totally different manner though, where all tubes within each channel (triodes plus pentodes) work in tandem utilizing the various available elements within the tubes to produce a new and different "tube that never was" of sorts, that, from what I gather at least, handles the tasks of amplification, buffering and regulation as a whole.
The exact way this is done is of course proprietary to Lampizator and at the same time quite unique and intriguing but also as many would argue (including me of course...) spectacular sounding.

 

[Designsfx]

I remember being asked about this a while ago but had forgotten about it( @abdodson ). Here is the condensed version of this thread I put together prior to receiving my TRP. Comments are sorted by either power tube and rectifier or by pairing. This eliminates having to scroll through all the side chat of the thread but stops at page 110. Hope this helps someone out as it took forever to parse down!

 

[Designsfx]

Hey all, I've been moving from a Mojo Mystique X to trying a GA TRP3 and adjusting to what the Lampi DAC brings. A few things that I miss from the Mojo are the powerful feel (it had "cajones”), macro dynamic emphasis (probably too overly done tbh), and big, deep reaching, and punchy bass.

While I know every DAC has it's own flavor, i was hoping to tube roll and regain some of these aspects while also staying withe the Lampi and the technicalities step up it offers.

Current Chain:
Antipodes K50 -> FTA Callisto -> GA TRP3

Tubes I have tried (and should probably write impressions on):
- RK anni 5u4g, WE 422a
- GEC KT66, GEC KT77, Siemens f2a, Tesla EL51

So far my favorite has been the WE and KT77s.

On my list to try (or try to find):
- RCA 80 Globe, Mullard GZ34 (an absolute favorite in my amps), Chatham Potato masher, few other rectis I have laying around.
- RCA 6L6, GEC KT88, NOS Tung Sol 6550, new Tung Sol KT170


To my knowledge these all should be safe with the lampi and compatible drops ins (minus the 80 recti). Has anyone tried or have impressions of the tubes that are on my "to try list"? Or any recommendations that would lean towards my preferences?

@Souldriver
I love the RCA 80 Globe- grab a UX4 adapter for correcting the pins. My other favorites are the RCA 5R4GY (JAN WWII dual getter) and the Sophia Aqua 274B. I was never too crazy about the Potato Masher but they’re not horrible either.

Old RCA 6L6 models are good but the 6J5’s are way better. I’ve not tried the KT170 in my dac but did have KT150’s in for a short time and found them to be too congested sounding for my taste. My experience with the KT88 was the same although I wasn’t using early GEC’s but rather the LinLai “dream” quad that the dac was sent with.

Do you experience a slight roll off in treble when using the Mystique X?

 

[GroovySauce]

I remember being asked about this a while ago but had forgotten about it( @abdodson ). Here is the condensed version of this thread I put together prior to receiving my TRP. Comments are sorted by either power tube and rectifier or by pairing. This eliminates having to scroll through all the side chat of the thread but stops at page 110. Hope this helps someone out as it took forever to parse down!

Wow! Thank you for sharing that! This is a great resource.

@Souldriver Is the TRP new? how many hours? It look mine 200+ hours to open up. It was all over the place brittle and thin then it would be dark and highs were no where to be found.

Currently running EML 274b with GL KT77s It has enough punch and drive to do damage, can feel like a sucker punch to the gut. The Sophia 274b Aqua II and GL KT77 had more drive and energy in the bass. A bit more rounded edges, not as much attack as the EML 274b.

 

[GroovySauce]

If you choose to try the 6SN7 you WILL need to purchase adapters as that tube is basically two 6J5 elements within a single bottle. There is a pic of my dac with a quad of NOS Raytheon’s on the top of this page. You’ll need to purchase a set of “6SN7 to 6J5 Parallel“ adapters. If you’re familiar with Xuling adapters you can pick them up here-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2045051891...8MR8GB&hash=item2f9d758b00:gYIAAOSw785lL0rW

Is there a quick way to test to make sure the adapters are wired correctly? I ordered from that seller and they should be arriving today or tomorrow.

For anyone who is running the Sophia KT88s How long did it take them to open up? at 47 hours I pulled them out. The top end was really soft and just about missing. When I put the GL KT77s back in the upper midrange and treble came back.

I've been running them in on another amp in my living room and now just passed 100 hours. I'm wondering if it's time to give them another try or I should cook them some more. If they don't float my boat I'm going to sell them. I want to give them a fair go before making a decision.

 

[highstream]

Is there a quick way to test to make sure the adapters are wired correctly? I ordered from that seller and they should be arriving today or tomorrow.

For anyone who is running the Sophia KT88s How long did it take them to open up? at 47 hours I pulled them out. The top end was really soft and just about missing. When I put the GL KT77s back in the upper midrange and treble came back.

I've been running them in on another amp in my living room and now just passed 100 hours. I'm wondering if it's time to give them another try or I should cook them some more. If they don't float my boat I'm going to sell them. I want to give them a fair go before making a decision.

I feel like a broken record: Patience is a requisite in high end audio. Plan on about 300 hours for new tube burn in, i.e., stabilization in sound, including with the Sophia KT-88, which was my favorite in the TRP. But then I just had a recti in my GG that didn’t settle until around 360, and then needed another 72 hours after I used contact cleaner. That time is just being on, not necessarily playing anything,

 

[GroovySauce]

@highstream Thank you, I'll keep them going. Earlier in the thread I thought you were referring to the burnin time of the TRP. My TRP is barely hatched and still needs a few months of regular use to settle, at 319 hours now.