[johnanderson]

I've been waiting for my rca->mini cable to arrive so this is the first time I'm listening to the amp. Compared to my head-six, which I've been listening to for the past month out of my AV710, this amp is definitely brighter and highs are no longer rolled off. Its much more forward too, which makes up for the lack of mids in my D2000's. Drum beats also seem more controlled, but cymbals sound about the same as my Headsix. I can't say it sounds warmer since all I'm noticing is the hiss from the highs. Is this what a tube amp is suppose to sound like? I've never heard one before and my only other amps have been a GV5 and Headsix. From what everyone is saying around here they're suppose to sound warm, but I'm noticing a fuller and more forward sound. So far I like them as they perform better than my head-six in many areas. I just have to get use to these highs

 

[Xoen]

Well, the tube sound is often described as warm, liquidy, natural, and smooth sound. The sibilance could be your Denons though I've never heard one so I could be wrong. All in all, I'm glad to hear you like your LD II. They're great, though not the best, but up there especially with the asking prices. Cheers mate!

 

[jgonino]

It may be the tubes you are using. Other than that the "fuller and more forward" comment sounds right on the money.

 

[Seba]

Burn-in made my M8100's and GE Five Stars less bright and now they sound very good.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnanderson /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been waiting for my rca->mini cable to arrive so this is the first time I'm listening to the amp. Compared to my head-six, which I've been listening to for the past month out of my AV710, this amp is definitely brighter and highs are no longer rolled off. Its much more forward too, which makes up for the lack of mids in my D2000's. Drum beats also seem more controlled, but cymbals sound about the same as my Headsix. I can't say it sounds warmer since all I'm noticing is the hiss from the highs. Is this what a tube amp is suppose to sound like? I've never heard one before and my only other amps have been a GV5 and Headsix. From what everyone is saying around here they're suppose to sound warm, but I'm noticing a fuller and more forward sound. So far I like them as they perform better than my head-six in many areas. I just have to get use to these highs

While there may be a stereotypical tube sound as there is in solid state, it is up to implementation. You can do just about anything with tubes if you know what you are doing. A well designed tube amp can and should have all the qualities of good analog reproduction with nothing overblown.

 

[htbyron]

Hmmm, I wouldn't call the LD II "bright." But it's been a while since I listened to it. I will be able to listen again soon, as I am getting it back after a repair; I can compare it to the Headfive I've been using for a few months (different than the H6 I understand, but an interesting comparo for me nevertheless).

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

If you're running Ediswan EF92 in your LDII then that's the cause of the brightness. The Ediswan wasn't my cup of tea as I consider it too bright even for my HD650s, I would recommend getting a pair of Mullard CV131 or M8161 for a fuller sound.

 

[ethebull]

Yes, the stock tubes on the LD's run bright. This will lessen a good bit after the amp has 100-200 hrs on it, but not entirely. The good news is swapping out driver tubes provides a wide pallet of tonal balance, depth of stage, etc. I've yet to try a quality driver tube that didn't change the sound for the better over the stock tubes, though the stock set sounded reasonable, it's easy to find better ones. Check the tube rolling threads on MkII and MkIII LD's for a bunch of options and flavors.

 

[GlennSter]

honestly, my first impression of my LD II was the complete opposite....

It was not bright at all compared to when i was running my headphone straight from my soundcard or ipod.

 

[johnanderson]

So far my only complaint about this amp is that it gets really hot. It probably increases my room temperature by 5 degrees along with my dual core overclocked cpu. The other thing is that soundstage on this is severely lacking. It was much much better on my head-six. As to the brightness, it seems to go away after I've been listening for a while, maybe an hour or two. Otherwise I do like the fuller sound. I'm probably going to switch between my two amps depending on whether I want a more upfront feeling or if I want a laidback sound.

 

[Penchum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnanderson /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far my only complaint about this amp is that it gets really hot. It probably increases my room temperature by 5 degrees along with my dual core overclocked cpu. The other thing is that soundstage on this is severely lacking. It was much much better on my head-six. As to the brightness, it seems to go away after I've been listening for a while, maybe an hour or two. Otherwise I do like the fuller sound. I'm probably going to switch between my two amps depending on whether I want a more upfront feeling or if I want a laidback sound.

This is quite normal. The unit needs some hours on it, and the tubes also need this. DoA and others are correct, swapping in some better driver tubes (the front pair) will change everything drastically. The default tubes take quite a while to give you an acceptable sound stage.

 

[johnanderson]

Wow, I just went back to my headsix and everything sounds lifeless now. Its like night and day. I can't believe that theres this much difference in one of the best portable amps vs. one of the cheapest tube desktop amps.

As for the amp, I bought it used so these tubes have had some time on them with the previous two owners. Does anyone know how to take care of tube amps? I've read up on some of the previous threads but it seems that most people only use their amps for a couple hours a day. Mines is running straight out of my computer so its going to be on at least 6hrs a day. Are my tubes going to burn out or should I start looking for a good solid state amp

 

[sunseeker888]

6 hours per day won't really burn em out prematurely. This is not exactly heavy use. If you were planning on leaving it on 24/7 like some people choose to do, then that'll add up really quickly. IIRC, most miniature power tubes like the 6c19s the LD2++ uses have lifespans in the 10's of thousands of hour range. If you figured that up, you could probably run it 6 hours per day for almost 5 years before the tubes started weakening. And, unlike transistors, tubes hang on for a while as they are dying, as opposed to just blowing and never working at all again.

 

[cowboyjack2008]

Mine wasn't overly bright when I got it, but is getting sweeter by the day. Literally, if I had to name some sound adjectives, I'd say musical, liquid and sweet. As opposed to detailed and dry. But, say on flamenco guitar music, I can hear the frets and the fingers moving on the strings like never before.

 

[Dorito123]

Source?