Hi Joe,
With the way my Vandy 7 MkII speakers love tubes, I could see myself eventually jumping in the Lampi pond with a SE GG purchase. Would you go with the volume control/preamp option or bypass that option?
Best,
Ken
Western Electric 300Bs in my Lamizator Big7
- Thread starter BruceLet
- Start date
Hi Joe,
With the way my Vandy 7 MkII speakers love tubes, I could see myself eventually jumping in the Lampi pond with a SE GG purchase. Would you go with the volume control/preamp option or bypass that option?
Best,
Ken
Hi Ken,
I think at this point, I'd bypass the volume control/preamp section. I always still prefer a normal preamp in the chain. I'd also opt for a better remote, like the apple remote Mike has on his. The only downside is that Lampi dacs don't auto switch but it's really not an issue. I "usually" just upsample to DSD and play all that way.
I think at this point, I'd bypass the volume control/preamp section. I always still prefer a normal preamp in the chain. I'd also opt for a better remote, like the apple remote Mike has on his. The only downside is that Lampi dacs don't auto switch but it's really not an issue. I "usually" just upsample to DSD and play all that way.
Hmmm? Old info? LoL
Go over this weekend and check it out then. Leave the imagination to us poor schmucks who live faaaar away!
Most GG owners I know have SE, not Balanced...though I hear most US orders are for Bal.
Audiocrack, me, Bill,Shawn, soon Chris, Mike L, etc. Same for my B7 and Lite 7 acquaintances. Crashem may have a Bal GG..cant recall, as probably Adam.
AL is converting one of his B7s to Bal and will keep the B7 HeadDac as SE.
BTW, I hear that after the recent firmware upgrade that the R2R PCM is off the chain! Now my interest is piqued!
La Dolce Vita
New member
Enjoy them Bruce!!
The owner of Hyundai, who has the big collection of WE speakers (he has a museum of them) explained in Munich why they don't make tubes like they used to. Don't remember the technical details but the chemicals used to oxidise etc etc were different in those days, and the quality dropped rapidly on what is being used to make them
La Dolce Vita
New member
You both have come such a long way in your views of Lampizator since first hearing my two chassis Level 7 units a couple years ago!!
Glad to have you both on board...it's not the best sounding dac out there...it is the only one that invites you into the listening experience... You feel it...
La Dolce Vita
New member
To clarify... It sounds great...but it is more about feeling the listening experience...immersing oneself into the recording, rather than just hearing or critiquing the sound...
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Mike Lavigne
Member
the SE GG/Elrog/Tak has really touched all the bases for me. I just listen to music and don't think about the sound. while the issue of 2 expensive driver tubes compared to 4 is appreciated, I'm of the mind that single ended has a certain magic that I like. my system already has authority and dynamic life to spare.....it's the nuance that grabs me. less is more sometimes/manytimes. (and I've only listened to a Bal GG at shows and other systems (not in mine) so I cannot say how they compare for sure.....just going on my experience.....I seem to prefer single ended systems).
as far as the volume control to me that's system dependent (as well as space dependant) question. I already have the new dart preamp, so it's a no brainer. the other downside to using the separate pre is an additional interconnect, in my case the very spendy Tara GME RCA's.
as far as the R2R PCM I'm watching how it plays out all around. right now I appreciate the amazing ease of use of JRiver for both up sampling PCM to Quad dsd as well as switching. will Roon/ MQPlayer get as easy to use as JRiver? can the new R2R PCM reach Trinity dac territory with PCM? I'm enjoying where I'm at for now and will see what develops.
but it is very nice to know that I have the option to send my SE GG back to Poland to get the R2R PCM and dsd 512 too if I want to.
mep
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Because even WE couldn't do it and they owned the drawings, bill of material, and the original machines when they put the 300B back into production for a limited time. Sometimes tube vendors "lose the recipe" to make particular tubes even during production. Why? It's usually one or two reasons with the most common being that someone with tribal knowledge (information not contained in any drawing or procedure) who were involved in production leaves the job. The next most common reason is that someone in purchasing decides to buy material from another vendor because it's cheaper than the same material that was always supplied from their original vendor, but now the new material has introduced changes into their product.
There had to be something very special about the cathodes used in the original WE 300Bs because those tubes were known to last for a very, very long time. If all of the original chemicals and metals were still in production from the original suppliers, it still doesn't mean someone could follow the original recipe because there are always things that are known, but not written down. It's a real bitch to capture 100% of tribal knowledge in any procedure even though we try every day. If you lose your entire production tribe, it could take many years of continuous production to regain that knowledge.
In the world of WE collectors, does anyone think the last production batch of WE 300Bs sound as good as the original 300Bs made by the original tribe members?
Mark - I have 3 originals and 4 new. I've heard zero difference in my amps or the Lampi. Both are amazing.
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mep
Active member
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You need to get an original set that were used at the bottom of the ocean as repeaters.
http://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/1956TAT-1/
http://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/1956TAT-1/
La Dolce Vita
New member
La Dolce Vita
New member
Today I tried the EML 45 Mesh Globe, the Psvane Replica WE 101D, the EML 300B Mesh, and the KR 300B Balloon tubes in my Golden Gate. What fun! Interesting findings... While I always loved the Psvane 101D (despite them being overly fatiguing for longer listening periods) today they did not impress. Very forward and the music was not layered and multidimensional. Oh well. The KR Balloons were fine but just fine. Not extraordinary. The EML 300B Mesh were surprisingly excellent. They at times rivaled the EML 45 Mesh Globes. As a result I expect to try them more often. But the EML 45 Mesh Globes still triumph.
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Audiophile bill
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Hi Mike and All,
I am running the absolute latest PCM engine/software and the prototype r2r dsd.
The new PCM is really stunning indeed. I don't bother upsampling in hqplayer now as I really like what I am hearing straight up for PCM. Whether it beats the Trinity I don't know cos I haven't heard one in my system before. It is *a lot* better than the original PCM engine.
Mike Lavigne
Member
Bill,
great feedback about the new RTR PCM circuit/dac. hopefully at the RMAF there will be a GG with it that i can compare directly to the dsd dac section.