Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

[Highlander]

Considering that reissue of WE300b rolled out to the market I believe like a year ago (+/-) it will be super difficult to find them on the used market...

Which is exactly my concern after losing out on that pair due to internet unavailability.

Meanwhile I struggle with a great DAC limited by it's present tubes.

 

[dminches]

Which is exactly my concern after losing out on that pair due to internet unavailability.

Meanwhile I struggle with a great DAC limited by it's present tubes.

You should also consider the Takatsuki 300Bs. I think they are great too.

 

[Highlander]

You should also consider the Takatsuki 300Bs. I think they are great too.

Everything I have heard is that the Taks are outstanding. But if I cannot afford a pair of Western Electric reissues at $1400.00, I certainly cannot afford those. I can manage $1k for a very lightly used WE pair. Which is why I was so distraught at losing out on the purchase of that pair the other night ,through no fault of mine, simply a terribly timed power outage.

 

[Golum]

Meanwhile I struggle with a great DAC limited by it's present tubes.

I was trying to find if you posted which tubes you currently use but could not find it. Anyhow I'm not sure on which assumption you base your quest for WE300b (no doubt fantastic tubes based on many experiences here) but on another note they just might not bring in your system what you look for. I have Elrog 300b sitting in the cellar for example and I tried bunch of other 300b and didn't like them vs 242/PX25/RD27AS/12A/ad1/71a/...
There is a big number of "HiEnd" tubes for GG which might even cost a fraction of the price of WE or Taka and are very well worth of try. Which tubes did you try so far?

 

[cpcat]

What about RK PX4’s? It doesn’t seem like there is much on these.
Anyone with experience they are willing to share?

I would like a best recc for every position on the 5 position rotary switch.

I would vote for new issue WE300b and RK242 as two positions.

Caveat is that I haven’t heard Tak 300bs.

 

[Golum]

What about RK PX4’s? It doesn’t seem like there is much on these.
Anyone with experience they are willing to share?

I would like a best recc for every position on the 5 position rotary switch.

I would vote for new issue WE300b and RK242 as two positions.

Only heard EML PX4 in B7mk2 and to me not sufficiently dynamic. Kind of boring...

 

[christoph]

Only heard EML PX4 in B7mk2 and to me not sufficiently dynamic. Kind of boring...

Same here with the RK PX4
Much preferred the RK25 and even more so the RK 242 at virtually the same price as the RK PX4

 

[Highlander]

I currently have RK-PX4's in the DAC. I have previously borrowed and tried 242's, and two different pairs of NO S45's and 101D's. The PX4's are somewhat average in their sound, neither great in the midrange or impressive dynamically. The 242's were great, dynamically, the 45's were reasonably good overall, though sometimes a bit dry, I did not like the 101d's I found them somewhat harsh and analytic at times. None of the tubes, so far, have offered me that magical golden midrange that I am looking for. It was my "hope" that a good pair of 300B's might be the right option for what I want. And, in the class of truly good 300B's, there are no reasonably priced options. I had hope that the Psvane Acme's might be worthwhile, but after reading about their unreliability those are not an option. The Takatsuki 300Bs are way out of my price range. The Elrogs had serious reliability problems, are expensive, and I don't believe are even made anymore? About all that leaves is for a used pair of the Western Electric reissues to pop up, though, as Golum noted, I could be waiting a long time for those.

 

[Golum]

Did you try cheap 112A, 01a or 71a NOS tubes which you can all use on 300b setting and they all sound marvelous. What eventually you can chase also is 45 Globe Anniversary which is a fantastic tube with beautiful mids.
300b wise - Elrog new production under Thomas Mayer does not have issues and yes they produce them still, old ones yes they had big issues. Psvane the same - initial ACME had some problems while later on they solved and they've been OK.

 

[Highlander]

The EML 45 Globe Anniversary tubes were something I originally thought about, on the rare occasions they can be found. However, previously in the discussion, Bonzo75, who has always seemed to know his stuff said "The EML globe anniversary solid plate is quieter and more nuanced than the gone anniversary mesh or the Lampi 45. This is better on Greg's horns when listening to violin and piano. On vocals the mesh are better. In the KR preamp, the mesh gave a bigger stage and air but were noisier so I preferred the KR 45, which I don't like in the Lampi at all". That somewhat put me off them.

 

[jbrrp1]

Boy, is Ked ever right about those KR 242's! I had tried a pair in my Pacific and was not happy when feeding the DAC into an ARC Ref 40 or a D'Agostino Momentum HD - - both preamps were clearly being overloaded, resulting in some nasties in the highs that no one would want to live with. But when they were good, they were very, very good....

I just changed to a CH Precision L10 linestage and thought to try these 242's again. Yowza! This pre can handle the signal strength with the 242's driving, finally. Things are just SO dynamic and revealing. To my ears this is due principally to significantly better microdynamic snap, unraveling more layers of harmonic texture and space in everything. In some ways it is a subtle shift, but it has a major impact: drums just have more "live" snap as the stick strikes, voices have more articulation and texture, musical lines enjoy greater separation and articulation. Everything sounds more alive and more "real" and perhaps more differentiated still. In terms of sonic balance, I do think the 242's tend to a leaner presentation than the RK 300B's and RK T-100's I have been using, and in my system I'm going to need to balance that out a bit, but it sure seems worth it, and attainable! That's my mission now!

Other tubes I have tried in my Pacific are:

RK PX4's (came with the unit): just boring to my ears, and I have never had them stay in for much of a duration (although I did let 'em run for over 200 hours when I first got the Pacific). The system sounded like it had a bit of blanket on it. These were the least interesting tubes I have tried.

Takatsuki 300B's: lovely in tonality, but overall too soft a presentation for my liking (didn't serve Rock well). I feel like it rounds off edges a bit too much, and also creates a slightly gauzier haze in the soundfield, with less believable dynamics.

RK 300B's: richer, more robust, dynamic, and one of the better matches to my system. I listened with these a lot, but ultimately deferred to the next choice...

RK T-100's: as I understand it, these are just a 300B variant, and they sound much like that, but they have a bit more of a vivid presentation, having a little more dynamics and tonal color than the RK 300B's. I could see how these might be too much of a good thing in some systems, but with my TAD's I had liked them the best (up until last night!).

RK PX-25's: these were like the 242's, in that they drove too hard to work with my preamps, so they didn't get more than 100 hours trial in my system. In listening through the prior problems with both the 242's and these, I thought the 242's were better (but that is hard to truly evaluate when you have to sort out musical peaks!). I will have to revisit them with the new pre.

My experience here is echoing Ked's: when you can get the 242's to work with your Pacific in your system, they are simply a stand out tube.

 

[bonzo75]

Boy, is Ked ever right about those KR 242's! I had tried a pair in my Pacific and was not happy when feeding the DAC into an ARC Ref 40 or a D'Agostino Momentum HD - - both preamps were clearly being overloaded, resulting in some nasties in the highs that no one would want to live with. But when they were good, they were very, very good....

I just changed to a CH Precision L10 linestage and thought to try these 242's again. Yowza! This pre can handle the signal strength with the 242's driving, finally. Things are just SO dynamic and revealing. To my ears this is due principally to significantly better microdynamic snap, unraveling more layers of harmonic texture and space in everything. In some ways it is a subtle shift, but it has a major impact: drums just have more "live" snap as the stick strikes, voices have more articulation and texture, musical lines enjoy greater separation and articulation. Everything sounds more alive and more "real" and perhaps more differentiated still. In terms of sonic balance, I do think the 242's tend to a leaner presentation than the RK 300B's and RK T-100's I have been using, and in my system I'm going to need to balance that out a bit, but it sure seems worth it, and attainable! That's my mission now!

You will hear so much more music, as you said because of the greater articulation of the musical lines. You will see more of the journey of the whole note.

The leanness thing - unfortunately, I tried 3 pairs of 242s and found that one was not lean. I understand that the RK 242 has better bottom end so you might want to try that. I have never heard it with the CH but other magic pairing was with Audionet Stern and Pac, and the GG with Analog domain and aries cerat preamp was also quite good.

 

[jbrrp1]

You will hear so much more music, as you said because of the greater articulation of the musical lines. You will see more of the journey of the whole note.

The leanness thing - unfortunately, I tried 3 pairs of 242s and found that one was not lean. I understand that the RK 242 has better bottom end so you might want to try that. I have never heard it with the CH but other magic pairing was with Audionet Stern and Pac, and the GG with Analog domain and aries cerat preamp was also quite good.

Interestingly, the very bottom end was just a tad thicker changing from the RK T-100's to the KR 242's. But the CH Precision M10 amp let's me dial in the global feedback, and going from 11% to 20% seems to have shaped that up to bring the right balance of fullness and articulation there. I'm thinking that a little richer upper bass, lower mid's would be nice. I'd hate to have to try multiple pairs to find Goldilocks!

 

[wisnon]

I currently have RK-PX4's in the DAC. I have previously borrowed and tried 242's, and two different pairs of NO S45's and 101D's. The PX4's are somewhat average in their sound, neither great in the midrange or impressive dynamically. The 242's were great, dynamically, the 45's were reasonably good overall, though sometimes a bit dry, I did not like the 101d's I found them somewhat harsh and analytic at times. None of the tubes, so far, have offered me that magical golden midrange that I am looking for. It was my "hope" that a good pair of 300B's might be the right option for what I want. And, in the class of truly good 300B's, there are no reasonably priced options. I had hope that the Psvane Acme's might be worthwhile, but after reading about their unreliability those are not an option. The Takatsuki 300Bs are way out of my price range. The Elrogs had serious reliability problems, are expensive, and I don't believe are even made anymore? About all that leaves is for a used pair of the Western Electric reissues to pop up, though, as Golum noted, I could be waiting a long time for those.

EML Mesh anniv 45, EML 300b XL. Check em out.

 

[wisnon]

The EML 45 Globe Anniversary tubes were something I originally thought about, on the rare occasions they can be found. However, previously in the discussion, Bonzo75, who has always seemed to know his stuff said "The EML globe anniversary solid plate is quieter and more nuanced than the gone anniversary mesh or the Lampi 45. This is better on Greg's horns when listening to violin and piano. On vocals the mesh are better. In the KR preamp, the mesh gave a bigger stage and air but were noisier so I preferred the KR 45, which I don't like in the Lampi at all". That somewhat put me off them.

National Union vintage 45 ST shaped bottle. Cunningham CX325 or RCA UX245 NOS globe 45.

 

[ctydwn]

Boy, is Ked ever right about those KR 242's! I had tried a pair in my Pacific and was not happy when feeding the DAC into an ARC Ref 40 or a D'Agostino Momentum HD - - both preamps were clearly being overloaded, resulting in some nasties in the highs that no one would want to live with. But when they were good, they were very, very good....

I just changed to a CH Precision L10 linestage and thought to try these 242's again. Yowza! This pre can handle the signal strength with the 242's driving, finally. Things are just SO dynamic and revealing. To my ears this is due principally to significantly better microdynamic snap, unraveling more layers of harmonic texture and space in everything. In some ways it is a subtle shift, but it has a major impact: drums just have more "live" snap as the stick strikes, voices have more articulation and texture, musical lines enjoy greater separation and articulation. Everything sounds more alive and more "real" and perhaps more differentiated still. In terms of sonic balance, I do think the 242's tend to a leaner presentation than the RK 300B's and RK T-100's I have been using, and in my system I'm going to need to balance that out a bit, but it sure seems worth it, and attainable! That's my mission now!

Other tubes I have tried in my Pacific are:

RK PX4's (came with the unit): just boring to my ears, and I have never had them stay in for much of a duration (although I did let 'em run for over 200 hours when I first got the Pacific). The system sounded like it had a bit of blanket on it. These were the least interesting tubes I have tried.

Takatsuki 300B's: lovely in tonality, but overall too soft a presentation for my liking (didn't serve Rock well). I feel like it rounds off edges a bit too much, and also creates a slightly gauzier haze in the soundfield, with less believable dynamics.

RK 300B's: richer, more robust, dynamic, and one of the better matches to my system. I listened with these a lot, but ultimately deferred to the next choice...

RK T-100's: as I understand it, these are just a 300B variant, and they sound much like that, but they have a bit more of a vivid presentation, having a little more dynamics and tonal color than the RK 300B's. I could see how these might be too much of a good thing in some systems, but with my TAD's I had liked them the best (up until last night!).

RK PX-25's: these were like the 242's, in that they drove too hard to work with my preamps, so they didn't get more than 100 hours trial in my system. In listening through the prior problems with both the 242's and these, I thought the 242's were better (but that is hard to truly evaluate when you have to sort out musical peaks!). I will have to revisit them with the new pre.

My experience here is echoing Ked's: when you can get the 242's to work with your Pacific in your system, they are simply a stand out tube.

Couldn’t agree more with the finding of the Pacific w the RK KR 242s and a complimentary linestage is incredible to my ears. It bested my prior SS dac for dynamics, snap and resolution. Hopefully not a step backward in any category now moving to Horizon. Sold my back up quad of RK KR 242s to prep for the switch. Enjoy!

 

[cpcat]

I currently have RK-PX4's in the DAC. I have previously borrowed and tried 242's, and two different pairs of NO S45's and 101D's. The PX4's are somewhat average in their sound, neither great in the midrange or impressive dynamically. The 242's were great, dynamically, the 45's were reasonably good overall, though sometimes a bit dry, I did not like the 101d's I found them somewhat harsh and analytic at times. None of the tubes, so far, have offered me that magical golden midrange that I am looking for. It was my "hope" that a good pair of 300B's might be the right option for what I want. And, in the class of truly good 300B's, there are no reasonably priced options. I had hope that the Psvane Acme's might be worthwhile, but after reading about their unreliability those are not an option. The Takatsuki 300Bs are way out of my price range. The Elrogs had serious reliability problems, are expensive, and I don't believe are even made anymore? About all that leaves is for a used pair of the Western Electric reissues to pop up, though, as Golum noted, I could be waiting a long time for those.

RK 242’s or KR? Sorry if I missed - but the RK have a more refined sound according to reports here. I cant offer comparison as I have only had RK 242 and I would echo they are refined (as well as other superlatives) fwiw.

Maybe RK 300b would be another option for you to try or also RK PX25?

 

[RDSChicago]

I strongly second Golum’s recommendation to try the 01a, 112a and 71. They can be had for under $100 per pair and they sound every bit as good and dynamic as the typical, far more expensive DHTs. I also have the LampI 45 Anniversary Editions which are excellent if you can find them, but certainly not 7-8 times better than these less expensive tubes and MAYBE only marginally better, depending on your subjective preference.

 

[wisnon]

45 Anniv Globe distinguishes itself in the midrange, but Cheaper NU 45 gives them a run for the money.

 

[Highlander]

I strongly second Golum’s recommendation to try the 01a, 112a and 71. They can be had for under $100 per pair and they sound every bit as good and dynamic as the typical, far more expensive DHTs. I also have the LampI 45 Anniversary Editions which are excellent if you can find them, but certainly not 7-8 times better than these less expensive tubes and MAYBE only marginally better, depending on your subjective preference.

Thanks for the additional recommendations. I'm more than happy to try affordable tubes. Would you expect the 01a's, the 112a, and the 71's to provide the type of midrange magic I am seeking?