Haha been quiet for a bit work is busy but rewarding. Then I started posting on DNA Stratus, Ragnarok and this thread. Have always been curious how much better a custom LF339 is than the standard version. Someone on the aussie forum wants to buy my LF339 but my son wants it so it's his. I had the 'bright' version of LF339. Wonder what it's like with the warm version. That said, I still have the whole range of 'good' power tubes and they do transform the La Figaro. Of course the drivers EF80 and EF86 sounds very good to my ears.
I had to source all of the parts myself as yuking won't do this for you as far as I know. I think the parts in total were around $400-$450 and that includes all of the capacitors (output coupling, power filter), hookup wire, signal interconnect wire, some resistors. You could go deeper and spend a lot more but to me it's not worth it. There is some risk involved in shipping this amp safely from China. Once the build is complete, I'll post a complete list of parts that I used in case someone wants to repeat the process (some resistors I had wrong). The large film caps (in white) were the most expensive and most challenging because they replace electrolytic capacitors that are under the center square cover. You need very large capacitors in order to get enough uF and size becomes an issue. In fact, what I sent is slightly too large and it's going to require some chassis modification in order for it to work. The amp is going to be a 6C5/6J5/L63 version and you can roll some different tubes with adapters: 6SN7 --> 6J5 (L/R pair that uses only a single 6SN7 triode, switchable so you don't burn out half of a 6SN7) Loktal 6J5 which I believe is 7A4 76 --> 6J5
They're making the final arrangements for the adapters, does anyone want to change or back out? Mizicke5273 (EF86, EF80 - two pairs each, USA) maximus69 (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, USA) Josh76 (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, USA) elNan (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, USA) danniveng (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, Denmark) flac4me (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, USA) UntilThen (EF86, EF80 - one pair each, Australia) Price estimation was previously posted, please refer to that.
Thought I'd post an update on the custom amp. Both the film and electrolytic capacitors I selected created size/space issues. Unfortunately, I didn't have a 339 on hand for measurements when I purchased the parts. The diameter of the 6 top electrolytic capacitors was pretty large and so a non-standard bracket had to be created and other components shifted around. One of the two film capacitors that needs to go under the center cover. A larger cover had to be created to accommodate both of them. Not a straight forward custom build but they seem up for the challenge and are good at solving these problems My original intent was to select parts/wiring that had a similar color but the availability of parts that meet the specifications can be difficult.
First post on headfi! After reading through the 284 pages on here I'm beyond excited to receive my LF339 from massdrop; expected to ship mid September , from the most recent drop (it only sold 7/10 to my surprise after seeing the previous few drops all selling out within the first couple of days). Can't wait to join you guys and enjoy it with HD650/HD800
