[alvin sawdust]

Congrats on the amp. I know it's a bit apples and oranges but how does it compare to the LD mkvII+?

 

[Kremer930]

 
I could be wrong but my take on the 339 is that when the original partners of Darkvoice had disputes a couple of years back, one partner created La Figaro and created almost equivalent models to Darkvoice. The 339 appears to just be some one upmanship against the Darkvoice 337.

I am not sure about the extra transformer housing given the twin mono design.

 

 

[Kremer930]

I have a Darkvoice 337 and run 5998 and 6SJ7WGT tubes. It sounds great with my AKG702's. I have also plugged in my Ultimate Ear Triple Fi 10's and it doesn't hum.

 

[phiero]

@alvin The LD Mk VII+ is a tight, authoritative amp..it delivers much more precision, much more punch with the HD650s when running with a balanced cable, and my balanced 1212M source, but at the same time, it is a bit fatiguing due to that sharp, tight nature, as it tends to get too overwhelming on your ears after a couple of hours. The hi-hats and cymbals don't melt into music, they are sharp and very audible, and the bass tends to really shake your eardrums. There is much more dynamic range on the LD, but that's not necessarily a good thing for music. 
 
I tend to prefer the Little Dot for Rap / Hiphop and Trance / Electronic where it's all about punch and sharpness, but for every other kind of music, be it Rock, Classical, Vocals etc., I prefer the La Figaro 339. 
 
BTW: I also have a HD800 lying around for a review, and with both the amps, I seem to like the HD650 much more than the HD800. It seems a bit too bright and lacking in bass with both the amps. Great for watching movies due to the wide open soundstage, but not so enjoyable with music. Got a DT990 250ohms as well, and I have to turn down the bass on both amps via EQ in Foobar, else it is so bass heavy, it distorts at normal listening levels. 
 
SO: HD650s are still the best headphones, IMO for LD, for LF, and even Matrix M-Stage. 

 

[phiero]

@Kremer, the third housing isn't a transformer. It's got the massive output capacitors in it. Over 3X larger than the 337, and hence there was no space inside the chassis for them, so they're out on top. The output capacitors help the 339 with lower impedance headphones as well. 
 
Really good to hear you got your hands on some 6SJ7WGTs. When I went out to look for them, I could only find a singe NEC tube, made in Japan. It is NOS, and sounds really sweet, and looks awesome. I wish I could find another. 
 
BTW, I received the Telefunken EF80s for the La Figaro, and they sound even better, even though I haven't fully burned them in yet. Also, can you recommend a good source for 5998s? 
 

 

[alvin sawdust]

Quote:

@alvin The LD Mk VII+ is a tight, authoritative amp..it delivers much more precision, much more punch with the HD650s when running with a balanced cable, and my balanced 1212M source, but at the same time, it is a bit fatiguing due to that sharp, tight nature, as it tends to get too overwhelming on your ears after a couple of hours. The hi-hats and cymbals don't melt into music, they are sharp and very audible, and the bass tends to really shake your eardrums. There is much more dynamic range on the LD, but that's not necessarily a good thing for music. 
 
I tend to prefer the Little Dot for Rap / Hiphop and Trance / Electronic where it's all about punch and sharpness, but for every other kind of music, be it Rock, Classical, Vocals etc., I prefer the La Figaro 339. 
 
BTW: I also have a HD800 lying around for a review, and with both the amps, I seem to like the HD650 much more than the HD800. It seems a bit too bright and lacking in bass with both the amps. Great for watching movies due to the wide open soundstage, but not so enjoyable with music. Got a DT990 250ohms as well, and I have to turn down the bass on both amps via EQ in Foobar, else it is so bass heavy, it distorts at normal listening levels. 
 
SO: HD650s are still the best headphones, IMO for LD, for LF, and even Matrix M-Stage. 

 
Thanks phiero, very informative. You described how i imagined the amps would differ.
 
I also had a listen to the HD800s on my 337se and came away not wanting to get rid of my HD650s. There's something quite magical and engrossing about them that draws you in every time.

 

[phiero]

Here's a pic. With the Telefunken EF80s, and the stock power tubes. Getting GEC 6AS7Gs soon. 
 

 

[miloxo]

^ Great picture! 
 
Can I ask you from who you bought the LF 339? From Yuking/audiophilechina/ebay/others and how much did you paid for it included shipping? (and taxes, what worries me, its really big which makes importing quite expensive I think)
 
The 339 fits me perfect, dual volume control(imbalanced hearing..), probably the sound and looksss, beautiful piece of equipment!

 

[alvin sawdust]

I have the GEC A1834 brown base and Telefunken EF800s in my 337se. No urge to change them.
 
Sweet pic phiero.

 

[RedBull]

Quote:

Here's a pic. With the Telefunken EF80s, and the stock power tubes. Getting GEC 6AS7Gs soon. 
 

You put those headphones there with the amp on, isn't the amp very hot?  Mine (DV337) is pretty hot on top.  Anyone who have both can confirm which is hotter 337 or 339?
 
Nice picture tho.

 

[phiero]

@miloxo I paid $600 for the amp + shipping to India, and had to pay another $120 or so in customs/taxes. The dual volume controls help a lot, especially with older music which itself tends to be imbalanced. 
 
@alvin Yep, just got my brown base GEC 6AS7Gs, and they are sweeeeeeeet with the Telefunken EF80s...... Just the perfect amount of detail not to be too fatiguing, and enjoyable. 
 
@RedBull I took special care when I shot that pic to make sure the headphones don't touch the tubes, or the hot metal parts. The 339 doesn't get too hot on the three black cubes (not even too hot to touch, as the cubes seem to be made of bakelite / insulation material), but try touching the metal base plate around the tubes, and you will be reminded it is a tube amp very, very fast. I think the 339's design makes it run cooler in general, as there are a lot more vents all over the chassis. 
 

 

[alvin sawdust]

Hey phiero, no doubt you will be looking at getting a quality dac next 

 
When will it ever end.........

 

[RedBull]

@phiero, ok, it's similiar then with DV337.  Thanks.

 

[Kremer930]

@Phiero.  Thanks for the update on the 339.  Must be pretty impressive sounding if it beats the 337.  I love the sound of the 337 and consider it to be great value for money.  Having the tubes bought forward on the 339 makes it that little bit nicer looking too IMO. 
 
I dont think the GT tubes were that hard to find.  Much easier than the 5998's.  I looked online at a fair few shops but ended up just watching ebay.  I think that Skylab may have suggested shops that sell them but when I looked they werent obvious in their stock holdings.  For some reason, Tube Depot rings a bell.  They make a great improvement to the sound.  I was running standard tubes before and it was night and day improvement.
 
If you want a brighter top end you can swap in the RCA red hots 5693.  They are very bright up top but I didnt give them any time to burn in before I swapped back to the GT's.

 

[RedBull]

On my system 5693 is not that bright, I love this tube, Power 6080 is a bright sounding tube.