Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

[cpcat]

I don’t hear anything with normal listening -even at higher levels , although granted I don’t ever go anywhere near max on the volume. Its only when testing for noise at max vol (without signal) where they exhibit this- after finding the right tube positions, that is. During testing, at least one combination I tested resulted in runaway feedback at max vol/no signal, like if you put a microphone next to its amp.

They are microphonic for sure, but they sure do sound good

 

[Zero000]

I'm sure one of the very relevant factors that determines how these valves/tubes vary in sound is how the respond to vibration. They all do it differently because they are all made differently.

If they sound good without detectable annoying issues just enjoy them. That simple.

 

[Golum]

Let’s have some “new” fun..B406

 

[christoph]

Let’s have some “new” fun..B406 View attachment 78649

How would you compare the B406 with the usual suspects?
How high does it rank in your personal hit list?

 

[Golum]

I was thinking how to answer the question regarding "hit list" and somehow I realized I'm "out" of placing tubes in list.

Point is that I really have quite a few diff tubes on hand and I use few more often and few less often but not as I utterly don't like them but they are just maybe different and not fitting my mood or music I listen on some particular day.

Fact is that tube which is almost non stop IN is RD27AS and I love those totally. But I might use them less in the future as I just can't find any to buy as a spare pair for more then a year. Yeah they won't break I know...but they may and then I'm scre.ed. RK242 is second one which is a lot IN...all rounder and great sounding tube with the gain delivery I need. TMFB1 also a killer one with similar gain so love to use them but again - none to buy anymore so rather keep them stashed. 112a, 01A - whoooha great tubes for normal money so dwarf killing a giant situation but in my current setup too low gain and the same story is with 45s (normal or Globe anniv.) and I do love the globe Anniv. CX345 as well - fantastic tube for jazz or vocal sessions.

B406 - todays discovery - lower gain tube, sweet sounding one and I don't want to dissect performance as such but it is the tube which just draws you into music. Maybe description which would fit is that it is giving you a feel of being in the jazz club, where everybody is smoking, drinking, sweaty sticky feel all-around you and you're having a great time...Yeah maybe that is a best description. And no, it's not a jazz club from '21 century where everything unfortunately is sterile and you need to enter with white gloves on, etc.

Don't know if I answered the question but this is how I see it now...

 

[Lampie519]

Anyone tried an R-Type triode ? (4 V heaters)
R-Type Valve: R Type Tube » Electronics Notes (electronics-notes.com)

 

[cpcat]

I was thinking how to answer the question regarding "hit list" and somehow I realized I'm "out" of placing tubes in list.

Point is that I really have quite a few diff tubes on hand and I use few more often and few less often but not as I utterly don't like them but they are just maybe different and not fitting my mood or music I listen on some particular day.

Fact is that tube which is almost non stop IN is RD27AS and I love those totally. But I might use them less in the future as I just can't find any to buy as a spare pair for more then a year. Yeah they won't break I know...but they may and then I'm scre.ed. RK242 is second one which is a lot IN...all rounder and great sounding tube with the gain delivery I need. TMFB1 also a killer one with similar gain so love to use them but again - none to buy anymore so rather keep them stashed. 112a, 01A - whoooha great tubes for normal money so dwarf killing a giant situation but in my current setup to low gain and same is with 45s (normal or Globe anniv.) and I do love the globe Anniv. CX345 as well - fantastic tube for jazz or vocal sessions.

B406 - todays discovery - lower gain tube, sweet sounding one and I don't want to dissect performance as such but it is the tube which just draws you into music. Maybe description which would fit is that it is giving you a feel of being in the jazz club, where everybody is smoking, drinking, sweaty sticky feel all-around you and you're having a great time...Yeah maybe that is a best description. And no, it's not a jazz club from '21 Century where everything unfortunate

Don't know if I answered the question but this is how i see it now...

Thats a fine answer!

I measure the relative gain on all the tubes I try with the vc on the B7 with an SPL meter and the bass decade test tones from the Stereophile test CD. Using the Shuguang 300b-98 (stock on mine) as reference the gains are as follows:

Shuguang 300b-98 0db
TJ 300b globe mesh -1db
RCA 112a + 3db
Cunningham 01a 0 db
National Union 45 -6db

Add 6 db overall gain for balanced operation. My B7 is balanced and has the 5 position heater switch for reference.
So the NU 45s are light. The RCA 112a is 3db hot compared to the other 300b types so might work better for those that need more gain.

I appreciate your impressions of the B406, haven’t seen anything on that one. Needs an adapter? Looks like B4 to UX4 if not mistaken.

I went jazz clubbing about 20 yrs ago in Greenwich Village with a jazz aficionado friend as our guide. He took us to places down stairsteps in alley ways into these small smoky out- of -the -way clubs. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life! We ended up with the Rats on the subway back to Grand Central around 5 am- we were 4 guys in a group or never would have done that.

Charles

 

[Golum]

Thats a fine answer!

I measure the relative gain on all the tubes I try with the vc on the B7 with an SPL meter and the bass decade test tones from the Stereophile test CD. Using the Shuguang 300b-98 (stock on mine) as reference the gains are as follows:

Shuguang 300b-98 0db
TJ 300b globe mesh -1db
RCA 112a + 3db
Cunningham 01a 0 db
National Union 45 -6db

Add 6 db overall gain for balanced operation. My B7 is balanced and has the 5 position heater switch for reference.
So the NU 45s are light. The RCA 112a is 3db hot compared to the other 300b types so might work better for those that need more gain.

I appreciate your impressions of the B406, haven’t seen anything on that one. Needs an adapter? Looks like B4 to UX4 if not mistaken.

I went jazz clubbing about 20 yrs ago in Greenwich Village with a jazz aficionado friend as our guide. He took us to places down stairsteps in alley ways into these small smoky out- of -the -way clubs. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life! We ended up with the Rats on the subway back to Grand Central around 5 am- we were 4 guys in a group or never would have done that.

Charles

Thanks for this post.
As we became "data" driven society in general, your numbers are actually nicely putting things into perspective and quantifying our words when we speak about lower gain/higher gain tubes, as in fact numbers you posted nicely match what we've been saying all along for particular tube type.
Thanks for this!

Cheers;
Goran

 

[cpcat]

Thanks for this post.
As we became "data" driven society in general, your numbers are actually nicely putting things into perspective and quantifying our words when we speak about lower gain/higher gain tubes, as in fact numbers you posted nicely match what we've been saying all along for particular tube type.
Thanks for this!

Cheers;
Goran

The 242, PX25, and PX4 are also on my list to round out the data set-but that may be a couple of holidays away

What I have found also is that, using the present vc iteration in the B7 and with my next downstream component being the Pass XVR1, the measured in-room bass response has been consistent across various tube types so far and reasonably flat-and also comparable to my prior DAC setup which was tube/transformer coupled (AN 4.1 kit, <50 ohm output imp). This should help alleviate concerns about issues with impedance matching in most setups. The XVR1 has input impedance of 66kohms balanced. The frequency response is also comparable using the B7 SE output to XVR1 (44 kohms input imp.) as well for me across tube types, at least with those mentioned above.

Some of this could obviously vary in models up and down the line, but should still be relevant—at least in the DHT output models—being from the same designer.


Charles

 

[Zero000]

Thats a fine answer!

I measure the relative gain on all the tubes I try with the vc on the B7 with an SPL meter and the bass decade test tones from the Stereophile test CD. Using the Shuguang 300b-98 (stock on mine) as reference the gains are as follows:

Shuguang 300b-98 0db
TJ 300b globe mesh -1db
RCA 112a + 3db
Cunningham 01a 0 db
National Union 45 -6db

Add 6 db overall gain for balanced operation. My B7 is balanced and has the 5 position heater switch for reference.
So the NU 45s are light. The RCA 112a is 3db hot compared to the other 300b types so might work better for those that need more gain.

I appreciate your impressions of the B406, haven’t seen anything on that one. Needs an adapter? Looks like B4 to UX4 if not mistaken.

I went jazz clubbing about 20 yrs ago in Greenwich Village with a jazz aficionado friend as our guide. He took us to places down stairsteps in alley ways into these small smoky out- of -the -way clubs. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life! We ended up with the Rats on the subway back to Grand Central around 5 am- we were 4 guys in a group or never would have done that.

Charles

Did you know that the closer the spacing the grid wiring has the higher the gain?

Unfortunately, the higher the gain the less linear the valve is.

That makes it worse, BTW Well, in theory all other things being equal.

 

[cpcat]

Did you know that the closer the spacing the grid wiring has the higher the gain?

Unfortunately, the higher the gain the less linear the valve is.

That makes it worse, BTW Well, in theory all other things being equal.

No I did not. Interesting. But then some might not prefer perfectly linear either -but rather some slightly higher proportion of 2nd/ 3rd harmonics. Balanced operation tends to cancel some second harmonic and favor 3rd -which I have considered as a possible disadvantage- but still prefer balanced ( I think), but mostly for the slightly lower noise and higher gain. The output tubes themselves are run in the low part of their power ranges -according to Lampi -which should also mean less distortion and thus relatively more linear in that lower range, not to mention longer tube life, so that could also mitigate higher distortion with higher gain tubes.

A lot of variables to consider!

Come to think of it, is it possible that is a reason the 242 is so well liked? Its higher gain structure might still provide just enough of those “ desirable“ harmonics even when run on the low end of the power range. I am speculating here obviously. I am no engineer and no expert on any of this for sure.

 

[Zero000]

I think the reason 242 is popular is Ked brainwashed many Lampi users on here through audiophool mind control

The reality is its gain is too high and it has caused people matching problems. It did (standard KR 242) sound OK in my DAC as it was a while back. But KR PX25 was better.

As my DAC is now it would probably run better but I don't feel the urge to buy it. I simply don't think KR or EML make the best valves.

The grid thing I got from this tube nutcase. He has some excellent videos.

 

[MOME]

View attachment 78316 View attachment 78317 View attachment 78318 View attachment 78319 Dang, this is fun!

My DAC is new B7MK2 Balanced with 5 position heater dial and vc.

So, I think all of these have been discussed before. I like the USAF 596 Recti with RCA 112a’s the best so far. The National Union 45s and NU 5U4G Recti are good also but would rank second. I need to revisit the Cunningham 01a and likely will pair with the USAF 596 Recti- but the Cunninghams are very microphonic-so much that at full volume there is actually feedback! My stock tubes are Shuguang 300b-98s and Russian 5C3S. I also need to revisit the 300b-98s with the USAF 596. I have TJ Mesh Globe 300b matched quad arriving Monday and will report back.

I have gone back/forth between balanced and SE outputs and at this point prefer balanced due to slightly less noise and more overall gain working better for me.
It has been quite an excercise in banishing noise from my system. The Uptone Audio ISO Regen I can recommend highly for breaking ground loops over USB. Nice and quiet now and all sorted as the British would

Thanks a lot for your recommendation of the USAF 596 Recti! I bought one and it sounds really fantastic!

 

[cpcat]

Thanks a lot for your recommendation of the USAF 596 Recti! I bought one and it sounds really fantastic!

You’re welcome. I think it looks a little like the robot on Lost in Space. It even has two little eyes that stare at you in the dark. Pairing nicely for me currently with Cunningham 01a’s. So many tubes, so little time.

 

[Lampie519]

1N4007 no eyes staring ....

€ 0,04

 

[cpcat]

1N4007 no eyes staring ....

€ 0,04

SS Recti ?
The eyes are cool watching .....

 

[cpcat]

So- more measurement on NU 45s tonite and turns out they are -3db not -6db gain relative to the 300b types - will correct prior posts accordingly. Sorry, I checked my notes and that is what it said- but retested and even hot swapped various rectis and still the same result -3db relative to 300b (Shuguang 300b-98, TJ-300b globe, Cunningham 01a). It must have been a mistake. So-even better for Lampi owners as 3db variance for 45s certainly isn’t insurmountable.

Also, I’m back to RCA/Cunningham 112a’s and loving them. The Cunningham 01a’s are very microphonic and need some Herbie‘s tube dampers -but apparently he’s out of pocket currently.

Well, I guess it’s too late to edit my prior post-sorry, see above.

Charles

 

[Zero000]

Tesla AD1(n) takes my award for the best available valve for Lampizators, all of my previous posts on various valves considered.

It can't be any other way.

It is almost immune to RFI.

It is almost immune to vibration.

And it sounds great without cheating by using flaws to sound artificially great. Some valves have this mastered, and have you fooled until you've lived with them for a few months.

Good valve.

 

[cpcat]

Tesla AD1(n) takes my award for the best available valve for Lampizators, all of my previous posts on various valves considered.

It can't be any other way.

It is almost immune to RFI.

It is almost immune to vibration.

And it sounds great without cheating by using flaws to sound artificially great. Some valves have this mastered, and have you fooled until you've lived with them for a few months.

Good valve.

Where can I get 4 and how much?

 

[MOME]

I am a bit confused about my heater setting options at my B7 and went through this forum without finding a clarification. Maybe you can support me with your expertise.
I have the old version with a switch and just 2 settings. One is 300b and one 101d/45.
But 45 is 2.5V and 101d is 4,5V?! Does this mean that I can use all tubes between 2,5v and 4,5v with the 101d/45 setting (KR242, Tesla AD1n,..)?
I would be really gratefull, if you could help me.

thank you in advance