The Leben CS300XS Thread - Page 17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clayton SF 

Those Siemens are not bright at all. They have a very warm tone and they are also very detailed. Old recordings that sounded slightly harsh and brittle on other systems (like the Beatles white LP) sound fuller on the Leben. They temper the highs and make the sound more agreeable and less fatiguing. Very nice. Those Siemens quads weren't cheap and they'll only get more expensive so I should stock up on more of them while they are still available. I've also heard that some older Russian EL84s are good as well so I got a quad of those but haven't rolled them as yet.

Thanks, I shall take note of this.

^ Thanks for the quote, Seamaster. I've been actually looking into getting the RS-30EQ. Eek! But that's another wallet!

Subscribed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamaster 

 

CS300XS is $3,495. and CS600 is $5,795.  

 

That's quite mark-up from original price in Japan

 

But what's the price of a plane ticket to Japan to buy one? Let alone, sight-seeing! After you've posted the review on the CS600 maybe I should trade the CS300XS in for the CS600! Eek!

Get one shipped from price japan.  I am totally satisfied with their service and the entire cost including the voltage converter was less than $2,500.  A good price considering you get a excellent integrated tube amp with the head-amp. 

Yes. I found that out too late. By the way, does that converter come from PriceJapan as well?

voltage converter WILL degrade the SQ. The member iamoneagain and I tested this on his Japanese version $3000 AT headphone amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamaster 

voltage converter WILL degrade the SQ. The member iamoneagain and I tested this on his Japanese version $3000 AT headphone amp.

If you get a good voltage converter, it will NOT degrade the sound quality, if we are taking about stepping down 120V to 100V (I cannot say about 240V>100V).  120V > 100V is a insignificant task.  Get one rated at 300W or better, and there is no sonic consequence whatsoever.  In fact the voltage converter I have does some power line filtering, so it may actually improve the sound.

I must disagree with you this time. Anything extra alone the line will affect SQ or sound signature to a point. That's why I found myself plug my WA22 into the wall bypass the power conditioner for best result. As for CDP, I don't notice any change.

I initially had some hesitation about buying the 100v version made for Japan.

Maybe it's sounds better if you buy the 120v version from the US distributor, and I do not know either way because I am not able to compare the two.

I was on the same boat as you because it's a lot of money to spend and there are alot of unknowns being you are not able to hear or see it in person.

But I am completely satisfied about with the 100v version.

BTW, it was mentioned in a previous thread, but you can buy the voltage covertor at voltageconverter.com.

In this case, headphone with 20-40ohm will be best suite for Leben. Maybe the designer never test it with 300-600ohm headphone? lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by TigzStudio 

Well, I got my reply from Leben directly on the output power and some other information:

 

 

 

---

 

 

Thank you for your interest in Leben amplifier.

As a tube amplifier can accept a wide range of headphones,
we do not have so much detailed specifications, the headphone
output of CS-300XS is 0.85V(850mV).

For your information:

1) Our reference headphone for testing is JVC HA-S800 which is
  32ohms/115dB.

2) The best suitable headphone shall be 20ohms-40ohms, 95dB-110dB
  and over 1000mW input.

In anyway, almost of headphones on the current market are applicable
for CS-300XS.

Best regards.
Yoshi Hontani, Managing Director

 

 

---

 

 

Interesting!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamaster 

I must disagree with you this time. Anything extra alone the line will affect SQ or sound signature to a point. That's why I found myself plug my WA22 into the wall bypass the power conditioner for best result. As for CDP, I don't notice any change.

OK, so we disagree - that is all good, people can get different viewpoints.  Maybe the reason I found no difference is that I am using a power conditioner as well as the voltage converter, which I think helps the sound, whereas you do not use them as you believe power conditioners are detrimental to the sound of amps.

It's actually a little scary to me that the Leben could potentially sound even BETTER...

I'm looking for the Beyerdynamic Headphones for " cs 300" el84 gold lion
 what the best :
dt 880 -600ohm or pro
dt 990 - 600ohm
T1

thanks

 

Does anyone here owns the CS300?  I know people are getting the XS model since it's on Price Japan but my issue is I'll be using it for headphones only and I honestly don't know if there will be a difference between the 300 and the 300XS headphone amp wise.

For those who use Grados (I own the RS-1i) why you think the Leben amps are less than perfect?  

Also I will say that I have imported plenty of Japanese electronics over the years and NEVER needed to use a step-down converter.   One of my old friends was an electrician and he told me houses and apartments do vary on voltage (he see some houses as low as 104v and high as 130v).  A small difference in voltage will not be deadly as plugging in a 110v product in a 220v outlet.  

If I get this (god willing if I have the cash) I will plug it in straight to the outlet.