Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread
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All three came from eBay.
I paid £400 for the matched pair. And about £160 for the single one.
A total bargain in other words.
I paid £400 for the matched pair. And about £160 for the single one.
A total bargain in other words.
It is hard to find much info out about these valves.
JACMusic has this to say. But it is about the Telefunken.
Year: Appr 1940...1950.
This is NOS VALVO branded AD1, but inside I see the characteristic (getter pill) TELEFUNKEN system. These are the one and only best ever AD1. In a nice VALVO box, but not belonging to this tube originally. Sorry for the price, but try to find REAL AD1 NOS and a perfect curves plot along with it.
The tube has an original label on it: 'GEGENTAKT' which means it is possible to use it also for a push pull amplifier. This was a selection for higher peak emission. So this tube is the finest of all AD1 you can ever get. It confirms from the tube curves, they are magnificent. I bought tube from a collector who is getting too old, and selling off his stuff. I know definitely he never used it, only test it as on a Funke W19 before selling to me.
Valvo bought the early AD1 (barium pill) from Telefunken. The later, Barium coated versions, is the Siemens EbIII rebranded or the Tungsram /Philips rebranded. The Tungsram /Philips have a reputation to develop grid current or gas if you buy NOS. However, the TFK barium pill tubes are finest quality. As far as I experienced myself, any NOS comes out of the box with exact specifications, as if put in yesterday. They do not even need a burn in. It needs no explanation why tube collectors prefer the NOS Barium pill TFK tubes. You recognize those by a bubble on the middle of the plate, inside which was the Barium pill before closure of the bulb. By the activation process, they managed to have that evaporated and have it condensed on the filament. I think with an electrostatic field. At that time already a 'secret' process, and today the real secrets of the process has been lost as most old engineers have passed away now."
JACMusic has this to say. But it is about the Telefunken.
Year: Appr 1940...1950.
This is NOS VALVO branded AD1, but inside I see the characteristic (getter pill) TELEFUNKEN system. These are the one and only best ever AD1. In a nice VALVO box, but not belonging to this tube originally. Sorry for the price, but try to find REAL AD1 NOS and a perfect curves plot along with it.
The tube has an original label on it: 'GEGENTAKT' which means it is possible to use it also for a push pull amplifier. This was a selection for higher peak emission. So this tube is the finest of all AD1 you can ever get. It confirms from the tube curves, they are magnificent. I bought tube from a collector who is getting too old, and selling off his stuff. I know definitely he never used it, only test it as on a Funke W19 before selling to me.Valvo bought the early AD1 (barium pill) from Telefunken. The later, Barium coated versions, is the Siemens EbIII rebranded or the Tungsram /Philips rebranded. The Tungsram /Philips have a reputation to develop grid current or gas if you buy NOS. However, the TFK barium pill tubes are finest quality. As far as I experienced myself, any NOS comes out of the box with exact specifications, as if put in yesterday. They do not even need a burn in. It needs no explanation why tube collectors prefer the NOS Barium pill TFK tubes. You recognize those by a bubble on the middle of the plate, inside which was the Barium pill before closure of the bulb. By the activation process, they managed to have that evaporated and have it condensed on the filament. I think with an electrostatic field. At that time already a 'secret' process, and today the real secrets of the process has been lost as most old engineers have passed away now."
And the ONLY info of any merit I have on the Tesla comes from an eBay listing.
1x TESLA AD1n (= AD1) Power Triode, NOS, 100%! Up for sale is a NOS power triode TESLA AD1n, which is a direct equivalent to AD 1 tubes by Telefunken, Philips and other manufacturers. It is directly pin-compatible with any AD1 tube, although its internal construction slightly differs, since it has a cathode sleeve from which the heater is not isolated, so the heater needs approx. 2A. The tube comes in a carton roll and is absolutely mint . According to the date code, it was manufactured during 10 / 1949. Electrically measures like a new tube should, at Ia= ~72mA, S= ~5.5mA/V (Vf=4V~, Vg1=-48V, Ea=300V). Perfect! I measured the tube for a long period to ensure stable performance.
1x TESLA AD1n (= AD1) Power Triode, NOS, 100%! Up for sale is a NOS power triode TESLA AD1n, which is a direct equivalent to AD 1 tubes by Telefunken, Philips and other manufacturers. It is directly pin-compatible with any AD1 tube, although its internal construction slightly differs, since it has a cathode sleeve from which the heater is not isolated, so the heater needs approx. 2A. The tube comes in a carton roll and is absolutely mint . According to the date code, it was manufactured during 10 / 1949. Electrically measures like a new tube should, at Ia= ~72mA, S= ~5.5mA/V (Vf=4V~, Vg1=-48V, Ea=300V). Perfect! I measured the tube for a long period to ensure stable performance.
As promised the AVO meter readings.
New spec is 6mA/V and these come in at 6.2 and nearly 6.4 mA/V. Excellent and very closely matched. They are also rock solid stable in terms of output. Not always the case with old valves. The seller has an excellent feedback rating. It looks deserved.
If you look down inside the valve, you can see it is brilliantly simply made. No heater insulation simplifies it further I suspect.
My guess is this simple construction is why microphony is so low, which it undoubtedly is.
New spec is 6mA/V and these come in at 6.2 and nearly 6.4 mA/V. Excellent and very closely matched. They are also rock solid stable in terms of output. Not always the case with old valves. The seller has an excellent feedback rating. It looks deserved.
If you look down inside the valve, you can see it is brilliantly simply made. No heater insulation simplifies it further I suspect.
My guess is this simple construction is why microphony is so low, which it undoubtedly is.
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The base in the AVO data manual is described as 8SC. This is not common. It seriously constrained what the valve could have been used in.
As a result, I reckon it is far more likely that valves with this socket have not found an application over the years. Hence the above measurements.
Another nice thought. The engineers that made these had no idea they would sound absolutely brilliant in a Lampizator DAC approximately 70 years later.
Respect to those probably long deceased Czech dudes.
And respect to the Chinese dudes who made the adaptor sockets. This socket type will never allow a valve to shake loose. It's very good, if a bit hard to align the valve with i.e. working out how the pins align takes a minutes thought.
As a result, I reckon it is far more likely that valves with this socket have not found an application over the years. Hence the above measurements.
Another nice thought. The engineers that made these had no idea they would sound absolutely brilliant in a Lampizator DAC approximately 70 years later.
Respect to those probably long deceased Czech dudes.
And respect to the Chinese dudes who made the adaptor sockets. This socket type will never allow a valve to shake loose. It's very good, if a bit hard to align the valve with i.e. working out how the pins align takes a minutes thought.
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If anyone would like a pair PM me. There's a matched pair available as good as these are.
Strongly recommended. They come with a high dynamics warning, though. If you like laid back, they aren't for you. If you like 242, these are more dynamic.
Strongly recommended. They come with a high dynamics warning, though. If you like laid back, they aren't for you. If you like 242, these are more dynamic.
Just spent 4 hours with some very good testing Marconi PX4. Laid back, warm, bloated very generous bass. Soft and very easy to listen to, though.
Switched in AD1. Marconi instantly pulverised. Tighter bass, much higher level of dynamics, better imaging, far greater clarity.
The filaments take a long time to light on AD1. About a minute before full output is reached. Slowest I have come across.
Switched in AD1. Marconi instantly pulverised. Tighter bass, much higher level of dynamics, better imaging, far greater clarity.
The filaments take a long time to light on AD1. About a minute before full output is reached. Slowest I have come across.
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Although it is a 4V valve, like PX4, I think it runs even better on the high setting, like PX25, which is also 4V.
I don't really understand the Lucasz circuit but I think it needs the extra juice of the high setting as it's a 2 amp valve.
Sorry about that.
I don't know why you keep saying this instead of simply saying you haven't heard the 242 done right. When something sounds audibly wrong, one cannot say anything about the comment except that it is a mismatch. The 242 in your set up sounded bad, but that is not how it sounds when it sounds good Same goes for cartridges set up in mismatched systems (arm or phono, for example), or amp and speaker improperly matched. Or room and speaker. And that is why you need to listen to different combinations
That your experience with the 242 does not show other tubes are better. It does show which tube is better among the PX25, PX4, and Lampi 45s And others which have worked in your system, not those that haven't
I qualified the post stating with a preamp I no longer use. 242 may work a lot better with the Luxman. Who knows.
I wouldn't say 242 sounded bad in my system. It just got bettered.
Because of what I think will be better preamp compatibility due to its lower output, and it's general performance, I think it will better in more situations than 242. That's an educated guess without proof so far, though.
I wouldn't say 242 sounded bad in my system. It just got bettered.
Because of what I think will be better preamp compatibility due to its lower output, and it's general performance, I think it will better in more situations than 242. That's an educated guess without proof so far, though.
It didn't sound right at all to me. To really know if sounded right you need to hear it sound right.
I think possibly all tubes will be better in most situations, because 242 is fussy, the point is when it sounds right the Lampi sounds far better than with other tubes sounding right. I bought the AD1 precisely for that reason. I can now hear it in different situations to see if done right it sounds better than 242 done right (not if it sounds better than 242 in your system or in some particular system). And if does, then it is worth configuring the gain of the digital path (or whatever the Lampi preamp match is). Currently I will only aim for a preamp that sounds good with 242
After multiple stops and gos and listening sessions I have concluded that the KR Audio PX25s are not for me. Maybe they are too dynamic for my liking. I am not sure.
If anyone is interested in the pair send me a PM. They probably have less than 50 hours on them. At some point I will list them more widely.
If anyone is interested in the pair send me a PM. They probably have less than 50 hours on them. At some point I will list them more widely.
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