[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

WOw, I didnt realise the Leben was so tiny!

It was smaller but also much heavier than I expected. Rock-solid construction.

 

[Skylab]

 
Quote:

This Leben is one incredible sounding amp.  I spent some time with it listening to my office speakers (Totem Mites which are not every efficient speakers) and they have never sounded so good.  My NOS tubes are finally burning in after about 15 or so hours and the Leben is signing.  And it sounds equally wonderful with the LCD-2s.

Sweet!  I am glad to hear that the Leben is sounding good with the Totems as well as the LCD-2.
 


Quote:

Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding the buzzing, I'm not too concerned since I've heard several other Leben owners report buzz with various sensitive headphones. I'm sure Skylab and others are right about it being a tube issue. I'll make trying a different set of tubes a priority. If there's still buzzing with a different quad of tubes, then I'll get in touch with whoever handles the warranty.
 
Today I experienced a truly amazing setup: the Leben CS-300X paired with the Ultrasone Edition 10. Sweet, sweet euphony. There was no buzz with the Edition 10, but I'll try the Edition 8 as well.
 
 

 
Nice!  Glad to know that combo sounds good.  I hope to get to try it today.  The usual family activities have limited both my listening and head-fi time the last few days (but not complaining - I am fortunate that I our family Christmas is really fun and one of my favorite times).  I only even got about 20 minutes with the R10!  But looking forward to the Ed 10 - Leben try-out.
 

 

[Duckman]

My Leben CS300XS is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
 
Happy New Year!
 

 

[dminches]

Congrats. You are going to love it.

 

[Duckman]

And a quad of factory matched Genalex Gold Lion reissues is on it's way too.
 
Hope they're okay.
 
I've heard good things.

 

[InnerSpace]

Quote:

And a quad of factory matched Genalex Gold Lion reissues is on it's way too.
 
Hope they're okay.
 
I've heard good things.

They're more than OK.  They're better than 75% of today's typical NOS.  I think you'll be very pleased.

 

[KevinR70]

Add me to the list of Leben owners!  I've been looking for a used one for months (can't believe I missed Skyklabs sale) and finally broke down and paid full price for a CS300XS from Pitch Perfect Audio yesterday.  Hopefully it will be here in 2 to 3 weeks.  I also went ahead and picked up a used HE-6 with speaker tap adapter yesterday from the FS section to go along with my LCD-2, just for the Leben.  Man, my wallet took a hit yesterday!  I can't wait to get this amp.  Still in the process of researching tube upgrades.  I'm leaning toward the Gold Lions, but not sure about the 12AX7/5751 tubes.  Anyone using the Genelax ECC83/12AX7 tubes with the Genelax EL84's?    What are others using for the 12AX7/5751 tubes that are running the Genelax El84's.  Any other tube recommendations that haven't been metioned earlier?  Thanks.

 

[InnerSpace]

I use the Genelex 12AX7s in another amp, and they're fine.  But the Leben seems to always come with pretty good JAN drivers, so perhaps you should try rolling just the output EL84s first?  Ditching the stock Sovteks for the Genelex might be all you need to do.

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Add me to the list of Leben owners!  I've been looking for a used one for months (can't believe I missed Skyklabs sale) and finally broke down and paid full price for a CS300XS from Pitch Perfect Audio yesterday.  Hopefully it will be here in 2 to 3 weeks.  I also went ahead and picked up a used HE-6 with speaker tap adapter yesterday from the FS section to go along with my LCD-2, just for the Leben.  Man, my wallet took a hit yesterday!  I can't wait to get this amp.  Still in the process of researching tube upgrades.  I'm leaning toward the Gold Lions, but not sure about the 12AX7/5751 tubes.  Anyone using the Genelax ECC83/12AX7 tubes with the Genelax EL84's?    What are others using for the 12AX7/5751 tubes that are running the Genelax El84's.  Any other tube recommendations that haven't been metioned earlier?  Thanks.

I know that you will be more than pleased with your new Leben order. I too ordered my CS300XS from Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio. He has a fantastic showroom.

 

[KevinR70]

Quote:

I use the Genelex 12AX7s in another amp, and they're fine.  But the Leben seems to always come with pretty good JAN drivers, so perhaps you should try rolling just the output EL84s first?  Ditching the stock Sovteks for the Genelex might be all you need to do.

Thanks for the advice.  I will just try the gold lion 84's first.
 


Quote:

I know that you will be more than pleased with your new Leben order. I too ordered my CS300XS from Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio. He has a fantastic showroom.

 
Matt has been very helpful.  Hopefully the wait time won't be too long, he estimated 2 to 3 weeks.  I guess my next purchase down the road will be a pair of DeVore speakers that he highly recommended with the Leben. 
 

 

[MikeLa]

I'm running NOS tubes, 2x 5751 RCA Blackplate's and 4x EL84 RCA Smokeglass.

 

[KevinR70]

Anyone running NOS Valvo EL84's?   

 

[vert]

To all of the Leben owners who also have a Zana Deux, how would you compare the two amps? I noticed Clayton and Muppet posting on the Zana Deux thread.

 

[singh]

I cant seem to find the Price of CS300X .
As i am buying the HE6, they surely need some power , leben suits the bill but i can spend at most $1500, are these within it ( by the looks of it these look exotic, and look like they cost aound 3000-4000, but i am optimistic , so dont flame me  )

 

[mikecole]

Hi guys. I just finished reading all 35 pages of this thread. This is the first place I have visited that had a relatively large crew of Leben 300 owners. I have had my Leben CS300XS for a couple of years now. I love it. I am currently using the original GE 5751s that it came with along with a set of Gold Lion re-issue EL-84s that I just got a few months ago. The Gold Lions are my favorite so far. The Sovteks were too bright and hard sounding. I tried the Mullard re-issues and they were much better, but maybe a bit lush - or they were getting soft after almost 2 years of use. The Gold Lions bridge the gap and have more presence and authority than the other sets of tubes. I listen mainly thru speakers, but when I want to do some headphone listening, I use my Beyer DT-990 Pros. I like these because they have a nice beefy sound to them. The other headphones I tried all had a kind of airy ethereal sound. The Leben does equally well with speakers and headphones, so I am equally happy listebing to either. Now if it only had a phono stage ...
 
Mike