Linlai™ Global 845-D Dream Series vacuum tubes

[Kingrex]

I hear a big difference between the LinLai 845 and the Elrog 845. I don't want to put numbers to it, but I would buy another Elrog before I put the LinLai back in for anything other than temporarily having a tube to make the amp run.

My preamp tube is a 6922 or E88CC. The pre tube also has a big influence. My setup really likes the Telefunken E88CC. The top end extension as well as the speed work very well. A siemens also works well, but may be a little heavier than I need. Others may like the additional bloom.
The driver also matters. Not as much as the power and input.

A friend of mine has the LM218. The real one that cost $10K or so. Not the cheap $3000 one. I had it at my house. My Audion sounds more rich and full than the LM. I thought his LM was more thin and noisy. That means our perceptions of tubes might very quite a bit.

I would try the ACME 845 again, but I do worry about durability of Psvane. They sell a lot of tubes, so maybe I only hear about the odd failure. Mad people like to post more than happy people. I want to try the ACME KT88. But I am hesitant of failures. And I really like the Shuguang Hidden Treasure KT88. For the $600, I could do other things in my room and more globally improve the sound

My Audion amp was a Disaster when I was trying power tubes. You can read about it in the I'm Sick Of Failing Amps thread. I don't have any red plating of any 845 in my amps now. The Psvane would still be my main power tube and I would never have tried the Elrog if the amp worked properly from the start.

 

[jmaktai]

I hear a big difference between the LinLai 845 and the Elrog 845. I don't want to put numbers to it, but I would buy another Elrog before I put the LinLai back in for anything other than temporarily having a tube to make the amp run.

My preamp tube is a 6922 or E88CC. The pre tube also has a big influence. My setup really likes the Telefunken E88CC. The top end extension as well as the speed work very well. A siemens also works well, but may be a little heavier than I need. Others may like the additional bloom.
The driver also matters. Not as much as the power and input.

A friend of mine has the LM218. The real one that cost $10K or so. Not the cheap $3000 one. I had it at my house. My Audion sounds more rich and full than the LM. I thought his LM was more thin and noisy. That means our perceptions of tubes might very quite a bit.

I would try the ACME 845 again, but I do worry about durability of Psvane. They sell a lot of tubes, so maybe I only hear about the odd failure. Mad people like to post more than happy people. I want to try the ACME KT88. But I am hesitant of failures. And I really like the Shuguang Hidden Treasure KT88. For the $600, I could do other things in my room and more globally improve the sound

My Audion amp was a Disaster when I was trying power tubes. You can read about it in the I'm Sick Of Failing Amps thread. I don't have any red plating of any 845 in my amps now. The Psvane would still be my main power tube and I would never have tried the Elrog if the amp worked properly from the start.

Thanks Kingrex for your feedback. I'll be sure to read the thread you mentioned. Meanwhile, what you provide in terms of 845 tube selection is noteworthy to me. Seems you still much prefer the Psvane Acme 845 to the Linlai Elite E-845. Would you say the Psvane was on par with the Elrog 845 (I know it may be a little hard to judge given your brief encounter with Psvane before returning shortly following the red-plate incident), but any sense of comparison would be great.

Have you by chance tried or heard the Elrog 284 (Molybdenum version of the ER845) or the Audio Note AN-845E (Molybdenum 845 made by Psvane).

The reason I ask is I'm trying to see if I can draw some general conclusions with regard to sound signatures. Elrog ER845 and Psvane Acme 845 are graphite tubes (though Acme calls itself "hybrid mesh"), gives a warm, inviting sound with rounder bass; while Linlai E845 is a molybdenum tube gives a neutral and modern sound. So if you've heard the Elrog 284 and AN-845E, then that gives another point of comparison.

This may correlate to @kende experience too with molybdenum sounding more like refreshing sunrise and graphite sounding more like warm sunset.

FYI, I heard the Audio Note Jinro with stock 211 tubes, and found it had a neutral and modern sound (wasn't the warm romantic sound I was expecting to my surprise). Though I didn't pay attention whether those tubes were the AN-4242E or normal Psvane.

BTW, @kende thanks for recommending Haevn, I especially liked the the first track in the Holy Ground album. My wife commented it sounds like one of those soundtracks that our favorite TV show would use for a touching scene.

 

[Kingrex]

I have not heard any other Psvane ACME. And I don't know I have any memory of the ACME. I never heard the ACME and the Elrog head to head. All I know is I much prefer the Elrog over the LinLai that I have.

I also have a Psvane Stereo or something 845. Its not so good. I also have a pile of Shuguang 845. The A,B,C and D. They all sound different. Non are on par with the Elrog.
The Lin Lai is better than all those lesser models tubes.

The only reason I was saying to see my other thread, which is a long read, is that my amp was faulty and red plating tubes. The Psvane ACME may have no red plate issues in my rebuilt Audion 845.

What is the cost of a 845 ACME and Elrog? Have you looked lately. I think its Parts Express or one of those online parts stores that have Elrog for about $400 discounted to other places. Its where I got mine. I think Ispent $1200.

 

[jmaktai]

I have not heard any other Psvane ACME. And I don't know I have any memory of the ACME. I never heard the ACME and the Elrog head to head. All I know is I much prefer the Elrog over the LinLai that I have.

I also have a Psvane Stereo or something 845. Its not so good. I also have a pile of Shuguang 845. The A,B,C and D. They all sound different. Non are on par with the Elrog.
The Lin Lai is better than all those lesser models tubes.

The only reason I was saying to see my other thread, which is a long read, is that my amp was faulty and red plating tubes. The Psvane ACME may have no red plate issues in my rebuilt Audion 845.

What is the cost of a 845 ACME and Elrog? Have you looked lately. I think its Parts Express or one of those online parts stores that have Elrog for about $400 discounted to other places. Its where I got mine. I think Ispent $1200.

Hi Kingrex,

I do not seem to be able to find Elrogs on the Parts Express website (or Parts Connexion), though I know that Elrog should be a lot more expensive than ACME.

Thanks

 

[jmaktai]

Hi
The line Magnetic preamp section it is not realy bypass the signal tubes, you can use passive or active preamp but the signal still goes trough the tubes.Mine has the Alp velvet ,i do not know if is the blue. My amp has no more warranty because i did some capacitor change in the signal path. i replaced the mundorf caps ,with jupiter cooper , and duelund cast pio . regarding the preamp ,yes I have in plan to use passive preamp from Arik but the cheaper line the Khozmo. Arik allready gave me a cote. Get in contact with Arik and give him all the info regarding the amplifier , speaker and cd player impendance so on. He can tailor the preamp to be the best as possible to mach the system .He recommended the best option.Khozmo and Hathor has good reviews.Khozmo and Hathor is made by the same guy Arek. .https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/khozmo-acoustic-passive-preamplifier/

The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive Preamplifier - Review

The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive preamplifier delivers audio for those who want the purist of audio. Handmade and Built with sound as the priority.

www.tannoyista.com

Hi Kende,

I'm re-reading your posts about the overhung filament graphite version of Linlai - 845-DG, and seems that could be a sound signature that works well for me. Would you say 845DG is fuller, warmer sounding than the E845 version? And if ACME is sunset, whereas E845 is refreshing spring water, where would you say the 845DG falls in the spectrum?

Thanks again

 

[jmaktai]

Just a quick update - in the end I decided to go a different way. I scored a pair of NOS matched Golden Dragon 845 Premium Metal, which is still in the burn-in period.

 

[U_J]

Whilst I have not tried either the Linlai or Elrog 845s I do run PSvane Acmes which I have owned for around 3 years years now at a guess I would have put around 1000+ hours on them and they are running perfectly in my SET amps, they red plated straight away when I installed them but as I mentioned in the previous thread on the matter I discussed it with PSvane and they assured me that it is normal . They glow quite the orange/red but work beautifully, they are a real step up from the WE series with much finer inner detail and better bass , they seem more forgiving on bias current, the previous WE's would change character quite a lot as you ramped up towards peak bias of 80ma with a big change in sound even from 78mA to 80mA the Acmes are much more forgiving and the sound does not change much anywhere from 70ma to 80ma. I purposely run my valves "hot" to get maximum drive from them and they show no signs of changing character or transconductance yet.

 

[Nick B]

Hi
The line Magnetic preamp section it is not realy bypass the signal tubes, you can use passive or active preamp but the signal still goes trough the tubes.Mine has the Alp velvet ,i do not know if is the blue. My amp has no more warranty because i did some capacitor change in the signal path. i replaced the mundorf caps ,with jupiter cooper , and duelund cast pio . regarding the preamp ,yes I have in plan to use passive preamp from Arik but the cheaper line the Khozmo. Arik allready gave me a cote. Get in contact with Arik and give him all the info regarding the amplifier , speaker and cd player impendance so on. He can tailor the preamp to be the best as possible to mach the system .He recommended the best option.Khozmo and Hathor has good reviews.Khozmo and Hathor is made by the same guy Arek. .https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/khozmo-acoustic-passive-preamplifier/

The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive Preamplifier - Review

The Khozmo 'Shunt Relay' Passive preamplifier delivers audio for those who want the purist of audio. Handmade and Built with sound as the priority.

www.tannoyista.com

As you have mentioned Arek and the Hattor preamp, I'll chime in briefly and say how pleased I am with a Hattor Big passive/active unit I bought used. It's so quiet, extremely well built with a great remote and has AMRG resistors and the New ClassD opamp. It is a great bargain for the money and is better at detail retrieval than my 6ns7 Supratek Chardonnay preamp. Arek is great to deal with and I will likely order his new 6ns7 buffer and then try the Apos Reserve 6ns7 tubes..