Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

[christoph]

I do not know very much about fengu shui but yes, 45's were for me a discovery of Ked's visit, together with RK rectifier excelled in my setup.
I am already in search of those EML mesh globe Lampi anniv. edition .
If someone has a pair for sale I am very much interested.
Apart from mulitple swaps of power tubes and rectifiers ( 101 D WE , PX 25 and 45 we tried some rectis - RK, Acme 274 b ,regular KR, Fivre and EML 5u4g, all together more than 10 combinations ) we played a match of table tennis Poland - India and we tried a new Crossfire Evo integrated.
Very intense experience and and a visit , thank you Kedar for sharing your broad knowledge of tubes for Pacific DAC.
And Ked is on his way back home right now.

Your view is dramatic, even with bad weather
Funny enough, the EML 45 mesh AG never did it for me in any of my many possible system configurations
I only keep them because they are so extremely rare and also maybe a little for a possible good match in the future
Can you elaborate some on the Crossfire EVO against your trusty Crossfire III ?

 

[marslo]

Your view is dramatic, even with bad weather
Funny enough, the EML 45 mesh AG never did it for me in any of my many possible system configurations
I only keep them because they are so extremely rare and also maybe a little for a possible good match in the future
Can you elaborate some on the Crossfire EVO against your trusty Crossfire III ?

Christoph if you decide one day to cash out the profit with your 45's just let me know.

Pros of the Cross Evo , first impressions:

a/ very transparent ,airy midrange
b/ good highs
c/ no hum

Cons :
a/ strange noise when mute function is on/off, also in the end of auto biass procedure
b/ louder bass reproduction with less control on some recordings

Cross Evo has potentiometer instead of resistor ladder in Cross III, I prefer the latter.
The bass issue with Evo can be probably solved with different settings of the bass section of my Mezzo XD using DSP.
In Ked's opinion the advantage of midrange reproduction by Evo may come from the new recti - Ayon 5u4g but with Sovtek carton box, probably made by Sovtek for Ayon, to be confirmed.
In my Cross III I have EML 5u4g because the original Ayon rectifier broke down a few years ago.
Will try to get this new Ayon/Sovtek recti and install it in in my Cross III to compare with Evo.

 

[bonzo75]

Hi I am not sure if the midrange comes from the new recti or not. It is just that I thought the midrange was very good and as I don't like to guess through the chain what a component does (which brad and Marc love doing), I thought due diligence needs to be done to rule out the effect of the recti. But yes no doubt the midrange of the new evo seemed better

 

[sujay]

Actually, I quite like both the Acme 274b and the RK 5u4g. Pretty much agree with what Marty wrote. I have only compared them on PX4 though. I will replace the PX4s with the EML 45 mesh and report back.

I actually prefer the Acme over the KR 274b. I find the Acme quieter than the KR. Compared to the RK 5u4g, I find the soundstage a bit recessed with the Acme. Like to like I find the DAC plays louder with the RK.......or I could be imagining it. I agree with both Marty and Ked that the RK has better extension both ways. The Acme sounds more relaxed and I find them both equally detailed. I just feel that the Acme might be a better match for the PX4 than the 45 mesh....I will find out soon and report.

Cheers

 

[bonzo75]

Interesting as yesterday the acme stage was more recessed

 

[sujay]

Interesting as yesterday the acme stage was more recessed

Agree.....thats what I meant...the Acme is more recessed

 

[Zero000]

View to beat Christoph's?

I think I may have a competing view in the cards... certainly a lot more water

 

[bonzo75]

I think I may have a competing view in the cards... certainly a lot more water

You need to have big W bass bin dual woofer horns firing on the outside. In the open. They make Henk's grands sounds like monitors.

 

[wisnon]

I do not know very much about fengu shui but yes, 45's were for me a discovery of Ked's visit, together with RK rectifier excelled in my setup.
I am already in search of those EML mesh globe Lampi anniv. edition .
If someone has a pair for sale I am very much interested.
Apart from mulitple swaps of power tubes and rectifiers ( 101 D WE , PX 25 and 45 we tried some rectis - RK, Acme 274 b ,regular KR, Fivre and EML 5u4g, all together more than 10 combinations ) we played a match of table tennis Poland - India and we tried a new Crossfire Evo integrated.
Very intense experience and a visit , thank you Kedar for sharing your broad knowledge of tubes for Pacific DAC.
And Ked is on his way back home right now.

AL may have a pair for sale.

 

[Zero000]

I do not know very much about fengu shui but yes, 45's were for me a discovery of Ked's visit, together with RK rectifier excelled in my setup.
I am already in search of those EML mesh globe Lampi anniv. edition .
If someone has a pair for sale I am very much interested.
Apart from mulitple swaps of power tubes and rectifiers ( 101 D WE , PX 25 and 45 we tried some rectis - RK, Acme 274 b ,regular KR, Fivre and EML 5u4g, all together more than 10 combinations ) we played a match of table tennis Poland - India and we tried a new Crossfire Evo integrated.
Very intense experience and a visit , thank you Kedar for sharing your broad knowledge of tubes for Pacific DAC.
And Ked is on his way back home right now.

For Lampi 45 globe mesh contact JAC Music. Phone him up.

He did say they would do extra runs but they do not have the nice Lampi Anniversary markings.

If you look at the first photo of this thread you will see mine. Internally they are identical to Keds and they do sound the same.

The first time I heard them in a GG1 I wanted them. Mine were from before the Lampi Anniv run I believe. I got the last pair.

It does sound very nice but microphony is too high - same level with Keds and mine so it isn't just mine. Same with EML AD1 which I think is better again sonically but microphony with that is crazy.

 

[bonzo75]

For Lampi 45 globe mesh contact JAC Music. Phone him up.

He did say they would do extra runs but they do not have the nice Lampi Anniversary markings.

If you look at the first photo of this thread you will see mine. Internally they are identical to Keds and they do sound the same.

The first time I heard them in a GG1 I wanted them. Mine were from before the Lampi Anniv run I believe. I got the last pair.

It does sound very nice but microphony is too high - same level with Keds and mine so it isn't just mine. Same with EML AD1 which I think is better again sonically but microphony with that is crazy.

Greg and I compared the Lampi, and globe anniversary mesh and non mesh. I am not saying which sounds better as all are rare

 

[Zero000]

They are really good and I can see the mids it produces working really well with AGs.

Just take all the isolation measures you can with them. They aren't really microphonic but it can be noticeable when playing loud.

 

[Zero000]

@marty.

I liked the way you tried to use EQ because I've tried the same using a lot of control via Equaliser APO and the Peace GUI.

Measuring the frequency response of each valve and eliminating deviances via EQ doesn't produce the same sonics. Now completely eliminating deviances is close to impossible really using that setup but you do have a massive amount of control with it. There is something more going on than plain old FR.

Just thought it was cool you tried

 

[marslo]

For Lampi 45 globe mesh contact JAC Music. Phone him up.

He did say they would do extra runs but they do not have the nice Lampi Anniversary markings.

If you look at the first photo of this thread you will see mine. Internally they are identical to Keds and they do sound the same.

The first time I heard them in a GG1 I wanted them. Mine were from before the Lampi Anniv run I believe. I got the last pair.

It does sound very nice but microphony is too high - same level with Keds and mine so it isn't just mine. Same with EML AD1 which I think is better again sonically but microphony with that is crazy.

Yes, I already emailed Jac, as well as Lukasz.
Made a deal with Lukasz, a bit less expensvie than Jac’s offer.

 

[marslo]

AL may have a pair for sale.

Thank you Norman, as I said above, Lukasz has found a pair for me.

 

[Zero000]

Unusual output triode choices.

Anyone using output tubes that they consider are very unusual i.e. not even mentioned in this thread?

Be interested to hear about it.

 

[Golum]

Lets see how those babies sing when adapters arrive...perfectly matched and best ever experiance with the tube seller...

 

[adamaley]

Uhm, what are those?

 

[wisnon]

PX25 cousin and AD1 vintage tubes. Both need adapters.

 

[Zero000]

Lets see how those babies sing when adapters arrive...perfectly matched and best ever experiance with the tube seller...

I'm confident you have very close to the best or even the best available Lampi tubes you'll ever find.

Game over. Sure you might still roll other tubes in. But they won't be better.